Ghee

[phoenixjwl]

Is there any new info on this? I am allergic to most everything and have been using ghee as a moisturizer but need a good soap and would prefer something not filled with chemicals. I cannot use beef tallow on my skin directly, it causes a breakout as does olive oil and most things soaps are made from...

 

[AliOop]

Have you tried lard? It is very gentle.

 

[DeeAnna]

Fats are broken apart into fatty acids in the process of making soap. Soap made from a given fat will have properties more closely related to the fatty acids, not to the fats from which the fatty acids come.

Ghee (aka milk fat or butter fat) is very high in a fatty acid called butyric acid.

Butyric acid has an extremely strong and unpleasant odor and soap made from a high percentage of butterfat will also have that odor.

Also a high percentage of butyric acid result in a very harsh and drying soap.

Not sure why you're looking for new information on ghee -- these facts are just as valid today as they have been for years.

I don't recommend making soap from ghee.

 

[phoenixjwl]

Have you tried lard? It is very gentle.

I have not. I do not consume any pork, nor have I for years so I wasn't thinking or preferring to use lard. I was reading through many posts though and gathering a sense of knowledge on what works better for things. I'm thinking I may have the best of luck with something gentle using goat's milk. I have successfully used these soaps before, but they often have other things I don't want in them. I'm very new to this and actually never made anything before. I really enjoyed learning of gelling and many other details I had no idea existed. Such a science! And I love science!

Fats are broken apart into fatty acids in the process of making soap. Soap made from a given fat will have properties more closely related to the fatty acids, not to the fats from which the fatty acids come.

Ghee (aka milk fat or butter fat) is very high in a fatty acid called butyric acid.

Butyric acid has an extremely strong and unpleasant odor and soap made from a high percentage of butterfat will also have that odor.

Also a high percentage of butyric acid result in a very harsh and drying soap.

Not sure why you're looking for new information on ghee -- these facts are just as valid today as they have been for years.

I don't recommend making soap from ghee.

Thanks for your informed response. I am not looking for new information on ghee, just learning for the first time for me. I read through many of the posts and found all attempts resulted in soap with an unfavorable odor and wasted product. I have spent many years only bathing, hair included, with clay due to skin sensitivities. I was only inquiring in hopes that I may have happened upon something that may work well for me. I have since discovered, as most things, soapmaking is a large body of science with much detail and needs great scrutiny in order to formulate. Thanks again for your information.

 

[AliOop]

As DeeAnna noted, the way your skin reacts to a whole fat (tallow, or OO) is often quite different from how it reacts to that same fat after it has been saponified, i.e., chemically altered to make soap. Like you, I also would break out if I put straight tallow or coconut oil on my face, but I have no problems using a soap made with either of them.

It sounds like you have tried some goat milk soaps that you liked. If you want to share the ingredient list with us, and let us know which ingredients are troublesome for you, we can probably help you come up with a soap that you can make and enjoy.