experimenting with macadamia oil

[Elly]

I wish to experiment using macadamia oil in my next soap batch as I have been making face creams and have plenty of it. Has anyone used this oil in soapmaking before? I read somewhere that it makes a hard bar of soap but don't know if it is high on unsaponifiables.
Thank you in advance for your comments
:wink:

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Macadamia makes lovely soap in combination with other oils and butters. :wink:

 

[Elly]

Thanks Jenny. I did try macadamia oil only as a 10% addition to my recipe and the end result was superb, it gave the soap a certain silkiness so much desired

 

[Bubbles Galore]

That's great Elly. Try it with coconut cream in the recipe too. Very, very nice. :wink:

 

[Woodi]

Sounds great! it is so very much fun to experiment with all the lovely oils now available to us. It is quite expensive here though. Finding a source of oils is one of the most difficult parts of this whole soapmaking experience - but that is depending upon whether you want to sell, make a profit. If it's just for your own use, or for gifts.....we can play away! Have fun!

 

[Jezzy]

It does sound really nice. What would you use the macadamia nut in place of? What is coconut cream? Is that the thick stuff that is in the coconut milk?

 

[Elly]

Hi Jenny, coconut cream!!! that sounds yummy, thanks for the suggestion I am going to try it but would you use it at trace as and addition or in the lye water?. Yes macadamia oil is a bit on the expensive side but not more than sweet almond which is the oil I was trying to substitute just to see if the end result would be as good as using sweet almond and I can surely say that it is superior in the silkiness feeling. I use a lot of macadamia oil for face creams, that is why I just wanted to experiment with it. I live in Australia and macadamia oil is quite abundant although not that cheap, its a lovely oil for mature skin very rich. Thank you guys :wink:

 

[soapbuddy]

Doesn't the macadamia oil have a short shelf life?

 

[Elly]

Hi Soapbuddy, I was wondering about the properties of macadamia oil that is why I posted here, so it has a short shelf life? I also wonder about the amounts of saponifiables in the oil, don't know where to get this info from if you have any suggestions it is much appreciated. I had bad experiences with sunflower oil with rancidity don't want to make same mistake with other oils
thank you for your input

 

[soapbuddy]

I just looked at my notes and it says that macadamia oil has a shelf life of 6 months to one year. One problem I see with this calculation is that we don't know how long it was stored with the vendor before your purchase.

 

[rebekahp]

I use macadamia oil alot in soap at 10%, its one of my fave oils along with castor. Most veg oils are relatively cheap & easy to buy here in Australia. I leave most of my oils in the fridge to postpone rancidity.

Have you tried New Directions for sourcing raw cosmetic ingredients?

 

[Elly]

yes you're right soapbuddy we don't know how long oils have been in storage before we purchase them, I don't know if using no more than 10% of these short shelf life oils will avoid rancidity in the finished soap, i have had bad experiences with sunflower and I think I remember rice bran oil was another oil that caused rancidity pretty fast in the soap, i am almost afraid to experiment with different oils as they are expensive and my budget is limited.

Hi rebekahp I also live in Australia but I find oils quite expensive. I just found an online shop which sells raw materials quite cheap they are based in Tasmania here is the link:
http://www.oilsandsoap.com.au

Yes keeping oils in the fridge would be a good idea, thanks for the tip. I have previously bought materials from new directions but I find their products of poor quality particularly EO. The link I just gave you have much better prices check it out.

Thanks guys for your input :wink:

 

[rebekahp]

yes you're right soapbuddy we don't know how long oils have been in storage before we purchase them, I don't know if using no more than 10% of these short shelf life oils will avoid rancidity in the finished soap, i have had bad experiences with sunflower and I think I remember rice bran oil was another oil that caused rancidity pretty fast in the soap, i am almost afraid to experiment with different oils as they are expensive and my budget is limited.

Hi rebekahp I also live in Australia but I find oils quite expensive. I just found an online shop which sells raw materials quite cheap they are based in Tasmania here is the link:
http://www.oilsandsoap.com.au

Yes keeping oils in the fridge would be a good idea, thanks for the tip. I have previously bought materials from new directions but I find their products of poor quality particularly EO. The link I just gave you have much better prices check it out.

Thanks guys for your input :wink:

Thanks for the link Elly, will check it out. I'm in Melbourne & buy from Auroma.com.au if I can get there. They also have online shopping which I have never used.

Have you bought from https://www.escentialsofaustralia.com/. I find them good, have been using their stuff for a while.

 

[Elly]

No I've never heard of them, will check them up though.

All the best and thanks for your help

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Ozgirls: you know you can buy 500ml Macadamia in Safeway don't you?

I've got a 2+ year old soap that is made with 24% Macadamia and it's not rancid at all. It's made with coconut cream as well.

Coconut Cream is in a can like Coconut Milk and you add it to Indian recipes. :wink:

 

[rebekahp]

Ozgirls: you know you can buy 500ml Macadamia in Safeway don't you?

I've got a 2+ year old soap that is made with 24% Macadamia and it's not rancid at all. It's made with coconut cream as well.

Coconut Cream is in a can like Coconut Milk and you add it to Indian recipes. :wink:

Sure can, IGA have it as well.

 

[Elly]

Hi there Bubbles Galore, nice to hear from soapers down under. I'm sorry to say we don't have Safeways in Sydney, and the macadamia oils from other places are expensive. I am glad to hear your soap with 24% macadamia oil is still ok after such a long time, thanks for sharing this info as I have become paranoid about rancidity and experimenting with so called "short shelf life oils" is a challenge. I will surely use it with more confidence now. I've noticed that a lot of soapers use soybean and rice bran oils, I always thought that those oils were also very prone to rancidity, have you had any experience with these oils? Your input is much appreciated