It would be very hard to make an 8 oz batch with making sure your scale is very, very accurate. You can do it but I'd recommend you make sure your scale is calibrated (I use 5 quarters since they weigh 28 g or 1 oz) and weigh everything in grams. I'd suggest you make at least a 16 oz batch but this is just my opinion. You'll be surprised at how fast a 16 oz batch will go if you have a large family and lots of friends. :wink: Also, just because I like the above recipes doesn't mean everyone would like them. It's really personal preference.
You don't need exotic oils to make nice soap. There's absolutely nothing wrong in using oils you find at the grocery store. Not many people remember Crisco was originally created for soapmaking. It was later that it was discovered it was excellent for baking. The oils you have would give you many different batches depending on whether you use them at 100% like the olive, coconut and lard or vary percentages of the oils. Remember, you can use ingredients to alter the soaps - oatmeal, salt, infused oils, different dairy products, tea, wine, beer, etc. As an example, a member sent me some soaps in which she used lard and goat milk. They were absolutely lovely but my favorite was one in which she had added calendula. You also don't need palm to make soap. Here's a link to a palm free recipe although it does call for rice bran oil and cocoa butter. You can eliminate the RBO and use 18 oz of olive instead but remember to recalculate to get the correct amount of lye. http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body- ... palm-free/
I will confess there are some oils which I love in soap such as babassu, avocado, rice bran, safflower, sesame and hazelnut. However, most of my basic recipes are just coconut, olive, castor, sunflower and palm (umm...yeah...right after I say you don't need it
). Okaaay...carrying on...check in the baking aisle for sunflower. It's very conditioning and I generally use 10% to replace some of the olive oil in my recipes. You can also find safflower and sesame in the groceries. However, the sesame in the grocery is for Asian cooking and has a strong odor. I think it's unpleasant smelling but you don't want to use a large percentage and it eventually fades (using a strong fragrance helps, too).
I really like castor in soap so I buy it in a gallon container. It works out a lot cheaper in the long run even with shipping. The same with coconut, olive, palm and sunflower. I've switched to using high oleic sunflower since it's more stable and has a longer shelf life. But you can keep regular sunflower in the frig and it will last for a long time. As for butters, cocoa butter might be best if you prefer to make palm free soap. I don't add butters to many of my recipes because I prefer to use them in leave on products or scrubs. I buy shea because I can use it in scrubs, lotions or just whip it for a body butter.
I probably just confused you all the more. You might just want to use what you have on hand and experiment with different variations. You could also try 100% coconut with a 20% SF. The high superfat keeps it from being drying but it's still extremely bubbly. Try replacing some of the water with cream or buttermilk for extra creaminess.
You don't need exotic oils to make nice soap. There's absolutely nothing wrong in using oils you find at the grocery store. Not many people remember Crisco was originally created for soapmaking. It was later that it was discovered it was excellent for baking. The oils you have would give you many different batches depending on whether you use them at 100% like the olive, coconut and lard or vary percentages of the oils. Remember, you can use ingredients to alter the soaps - oatmeal, salt, infused oils, different dairy products, tea, wine, beer, etc. As an example, a member sent me some soaps in which she used lard and goat milk. They were absolutely lovely but my favorite was one in which she had added calendula. You also don't need palm to make soap. Here's a link to a palm free recipe although it does call for rice bran oil and cocoa butter. You can eliminate the RBO and use 18 oz of olive instead but remember to recalculate to get the correct amount of lye. http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body- ... palm-free/
I will confess there are some oils which I love in soap such as babassu, avocado, rice bran, safflower, sesame and hazelnut. However, most of my basic recipes are just coconut, olive, castor, sunflower and palm (umm...yeah...right after I say you don't need it
). Okaaay...carrying on...check in the baking aisle for sunflower. It's very conditioning and I generally use 10% to replace some of the olive oil in my recipes. You can also find safflower and sesame in the groceries. However, the sesame in the grocery is for Asian cooking and has a strong odor. I think it's unpleasant smelling but you don't want to use a large percentage and it eventually fades (using a strong fragrance helps, too).I really like castor in soap so I buy it in a gallon container. It works out a lot cheaper in the long run even with shipping. The same with coconut, olive, palm and sunflower. I've switched to using high oleic sunflower since it's more stable and has a longer shelf life. But you can keep regular sunflower in the frig and it will last for a long time. As for butters, cocoa butter might be best if you prefer to make palm free soap. I don't add butters to many of my recipes because I prefer to use them in leave on products or scrubs. I buy shea because I can use it in scrubs, lotions or just whip it for a body butter.
I probably just confused you all the more. You might just want to use what you have on hand and experiment with different variations. You could also try 100% coconut with a 20% SF. The high superfat keeps it from being drying but it's still extremely bubbly. Try replacing some of the water with cream or buttermilk for extra creaminess.
I think I don't find them drying because the Crisco bumps up the conditioning. I'm actually on the last bar from the beer batch so I need to get motivated and start soaping. Although, my sister just gave me some lard so I won't use the same recipe.
