First timer here...making seal oil soap

[newtonandpelle]

...And the camels give you that willingly?LOL I am not going to engage in an ethical debate about sources of oils for making soap. I have access to seal oil...so I will use it. I am sure someone from India would shudder at using tallow from a cow since they are sacred animals there...soap needs fat. We use what we have access to.

While it IS illegal to import seal products into the US, indigenous people of Alaska are permitted to hunt seals and use all parts of it for whatever purpose they want.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Yes, we are in a world where just about anything we do may offend someone else's ethics. It is part of being a global world. So each of us have to weigh the situation and determine what is in the highest good - a tough one. I use palm oil,what I buy says it is imported from growers who use sustainable practices. I pray that it is, but sometimes I wonder who is verifying that.

 

[cmzaha]

...And the camels give you that willingly?LOL I am not going to engage in an ethical debate about sources of oils for making soap. I have access to seal oil...so I will use it. I am sure someone from India would shudder at using tallow from a cow since they are sacred animals there...soap needs fat. We use what we have access to.

And I have no problems with seal oil either, here they are so rampant we have had them jump in our boat. Ever see the teeth those suckers have. The camel fat comes from a legal supplier, but I am sure some do not like it. I use palm oil too. No arguments from me. My favorite snow boots when I was a teen were made from seal skin and fur. Boy, they were warm. I loved those boots!!

BTW, I would save some of that oil and make a nice balm with it, I am sure it would be lovely and so will your soap. If I had access to some you can be sure I would go for it, but I would just not be able to sell it.

 

[newtonandpelle]

And I have no problems with seal oil either, here they are so rampant we have had them jump in our boat. Ever see the teeth those suckers have. The camel fat comes from a legal supplier, but I am sure some do not like it. I use palm oil too. No arguments from me. My favorite snow boots when I was a teen were made from seal skin and fur. Boy, they were warm. I loved those boots!!

BTW, I would save some of that oil and make a nice balm with it, I am sure it would be lovely and so will your soap. If I had access to some you can be sure I would go for it, but I would just not be able to sell it.[/QU

If it were me I would use an average of the two Sap values and go with that. Sap would depend more on the type of Seal than the rendering process, I would think. Can you post a link for the document? Many of us here like links. I ran into this same issue when I used Camel fat and had to do a lot of research to come up with an average Sap value.

Still, I would not waste hard to get oil on experimenting, unless this is an easily acquired oil for you since I do realize seal harvesting is allowed in some countries. It would be better to get a base recipe using an oil such as sunflower, canola, OO, etc then sub in your seal oil. Like Susie, I used to never go over 15% CO but with a few years of tweaking, I am finding I can now use up to 18% CO in my recipes without it drying out my skin, and none of my customers have noticed the difference. I do still keep facial bars at 10-12% CO.

If you have the KOH Sap you can divide by 1.403 to get the NaOH Sap value. KOH is for liquid soap, NaOH is for bar soap and both can be referred to as lye. Usually in the forum folks do refer to NaOH as lye. KOH is Potassium Hydroxide and NaOH is Sodium Hydroxide which you probably already know by now.

Here is the link to the scientific article detailing the characteristics of seal oil...twice as interesting since I am also tanning seal pelts:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...haracterization_and_use_as_leather_fat_liquor

 

[cmzaha]

Thanks are you going to make something nice from the pelts

 

[newtonandpelle]

Thanks are you going to make something nice from the pelts

Planning on making lots of nice things!

 

[bookreader451]

I find this discussion fascinating. I love the diversity of our forum and seeing what oils others have access too and how they can be used.

 

[rdc1978]

LOL, in my mind I'm envisioning these camels and seals dying natural deaths before the fat is rendered.

While my feelings may be one way, so much respect for not wasting anything and finding a use for everything. Its not my thing, but I find it fascinating when people find creative ways to not waste.

 

[CaraBou]

Very interesting discussion -- thanks for posting NandP, and for sharing what you have learned. Your soap is intriguing, and I hope we get pics and more info as it cures.

As a professional wildlife biologist and former resident of Alaska, I support and build on what you said. Harvest of seals -- and other marine mammals including polar bears -- is indeed legal by Alaska Natives under the US's Marine Mammal Protection Act. Marine mammals have always been, and hopefully will continue to be, integral to their culture. Marine mammals are no different than land animals (e.g., deer, elk, black bear), in that sustainable harvest is key. Also similar: Commercial harvest is not allowed under US law. Alaska Natives can sell art or clothing that they have made from marine mammals so that they can continue their traditional sustainable way of life. That is probably how cmzaha got her amazing boots.

From your other post: interesting to know seal oil has no scent. I have seen it but never smelled or tasted it. I know Arctic travelers drink small quantities for the high energy content, I've seen dog mushers with it.

"A user of mink oil locally has expressed interest in the seal oil as a possibly somewhat comparable product although I have no idea what they use the mink oil for." I have used mink oil for waterproofing leather, but there are other uses as well.

Cheers, and welcome to the forum.

 

[cmzaha]

Very interesting discussion -- thanks for posting NandP, and for sharing what you have learned. Your soap is intriguing, and I hope we get pics and more info as it cures.

As a professional wildlife biologist and former resident of Alaska, I support and build on what you said. Harvest of seals -- and other marine mammals including polar bears -- is indeed legal by Alaska Natives under the US's Marine Mammal Protection Act. Marine mammals have always been, and hopefully will continue to be, integral to their culture. Marine mammals are no different than land animals (e.g., deer, elk, black bear), in that sustainable harvest is key. Also similar: Commercial harvest is not allowed under US law. Alaska Natives can sell art or clothing that they have made from marine mammals so that they can continue their traditional sustainable way of life. That is probably how cmzaha got her amazing boots.

From your other post: interesting to know seal oil has no scent. I have seen it but never smelled or tasted it. I know Arctic travelers drink small quantities for the high energy content, I've seen dog mushers with it.

"A user of mink oil locally has expressed interest in the seal oil as a possibly somewhat comparable product although I have no idea what they use the mink oil for." I have used mink oil for waterproofing leather, but there are other uses as well.

Cheers, and welcome to the forum.

And they need to be controlled here. When they are so out of control they jump into your boat when you are just out for a day or weekend of fishing it is not good. You catch a fish they attack it... But when someone saves a beached whale or sick seal on a beach gives it a name posts it on social media what out. Now we have to save them all. Seals are destroying our local fisheries up and down the coast of California. BTW this is my opinion, and twice we had to deal with a blasted seal that decided to land itself in our boat. Actually there was not much that could be done until the blasted things decided how to jump back out so we had to make out way to the bridge to stay safe since our boat did not have a transom door.

As for my Camel fat, it comes from overpopulation of feral camels in Australia (if I remember correctly) and is government-controlled. I criticize no one for what is obtained legally and used properly and humanely. I would still buy a pair of seal boots.

 

[Els]

What an interesting thread this has been! Do you have a regular supply of seal oil? My recommendation would be to add some vitamin E (mixed tocepherols, ideally) as this can prevent or at least delay fats/oils from going rancid. Of course information on shelf life of oils and fats is easy to find for common fats, much harder to find for "exotic" fats like Camel or Seal.

When it comes to experimenting with more common fats and oils, you don't object to using animal fats. You really should get some ordinary (pig) lard and work with that -- it is simply amazing and amazingly easy to work with. I expect (cattle) tallow would be equally nice and quite possibly as easy, it's just that pure lard is so easy to get. I look forward to reading how the seal soap turns out but would be concerned that it might not make a good hard bar -- fats that are liquid at room temperature often don't -- so you may experiment with a mixture involving "hard" fats like lard or tallow. Palm oil is very often used to make a harder bar, but it accelerates? trace. It was after using palm oil as my "hard fat" for quite some time that I used lard for the first time and I'm sure the contrast between lard and palm had a LOT to do with my falling in love with lard!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Regarding the custom oil feature in the SMF calculator -
You can create a personal custom oil, just like you can create a personal custom additive list. I don’t see anyone else’s custom oils or additives in my lists.

The only problem I have with the custom oil feature so far is that I can’t edit or delete an oil once I add it.

 

[newtonandpelle]

Regarding the custom oil feature in the SMF calculator -
You can create a personal custom oil, just like you can create a personal custom additive list. I don’t see anyone else’s custom oils or additives in my lists.
The only problem I have with the custom oil feature so far is that I can’t edit or delete an oil once I add it.

 

[newtonandpelle]

Thanks! Someone else also suggested that so I did. I also added fatty acid information for mink oil to the calculator which gave me a more complete profile in the end recipe since none of the formation was in the calculator.

 

[newtonandpelle]

What an interesting thread this has been! Do you have a regular supply of seal oil? My recommendation would be to add some vitamin E (mixed tocepherols, ideally) as this can prevent or at least delay fats/oils from going rancid. Of course information on shelf life of oils and fats is easy to find for common fats, much harder to find for "exotic" fats like Camel or Seal.

When it comes to experimenting with more common fats and oils, you don't object to using animal fats. You really should get some ordinary (pig) lard and work with that -- it is simply amazing and amazingly easy to work with. I expect (cattle) tallow would be equally nice and quite possibly as easy, it's just that pure lard is so easy to get. I look forward to reading how the seal soap turns out but would be concerned that it might not make a good hard bar -- fats that are liquid at room temperature often don't -- so you may experiment with a mixture involving "hard" fats like lard or tallow. Palm oil is very often used to make a harder bar, but it accelerates? trace. It was after using palm oil as my "hard fat" for quite some time that I used lard for the first time and I'm sure the contrast between lard and palm had a LOT to do with my falling in love with lard!

The second batch I made, I used lard instead of the canola oil. I dont know the source of the lard as it was just "Lard" sold in the bakery aisle. The soap was a lot firmer sooner than the first batch. Both batches seem the be drying nicely. No cracks or rancid smells or anything...but then I have no clue what to look for. Looks like hard bars of soap to me so I think they look great. I am getting impatient and want to try them now but they have only been curing for 2 weeks. I will have access to lots of deer tallow in the fall so will definitely be using that in a soap recipe.

 

[artemis]

I am getting impatient and want to try them now but they have only been curing for 2 weeks.

You can try it now. It is safe. In fact, some like to cut a small bar to try so they can understand how the soap changes as it cures.

 

[newtonandpelle]

You can try it now. It is safe. In fact, some like to cut a small bar to try so they can understand how the soap changes as it cures.

Thanks!! Haha that's what I was waiting for! Someone who clearly knows more about soap making than me (almost everyone) to say go ahead and try it. Not really sure I will be able to truly evaluate the soap since my hands feel like sandpaper these days from so much washing!