MCT in KOH?

[Servant4Christ]

I have some MCT that I'd like to get used and out of my soapmaking cupboard. Will this work the same as regular coconut oil in KOH liquid soap?

 

[DeeAnna]

MCT is mostly capric and caprylic acids. These fatty acids make soap that's even more stripping to the skin than the lauric acid in regular coconut oil.

MCT will saponify just fine. I personally would not ever use it for soap making, however. Some people do use it in place of or in addition to regular coconut oil. I suspect they have have the idea that the properties of the MCT will carry over into the soap made from MCT.

 

[AliOop]

^^agreed, @DeeAnna.

Fortunately, MCT oil is nice for making solid "lotion" bars, salves or actual lotions. I use it all the time instead of the regular CO called for in the DIY B&B lotion base recipe. You can also use it as the "specialty oil or additive" when making the actual lotion.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Guess I need to make more lotion concentrate. Thanks for the reminder, @AliOop!

 

[Benjamin]

MCT is mostly capric and caprylic acids. These fatty acids make soap that's even more stripping to the skin than the lauric acid in regular coconut oil.

MCT will saponify just fine. I personally would not ever use it for soap making, however. Some people do use it in place of or in addition to regular coconut oil. I suspect they have have the idea that the properties of the MCT will carry over into the soap made from MCT.

DeeAnna, do you think it might work well in a stain stick or other non-skin cleaning product?

 

[DeeAnna]

DeeAnna, do you think it might work well in a stain stick or other non-skin cleaning product?

I haven't ever used MCT in soap, and I have not heard of anyone else doing this. So I don't have any info on which to base an opinion.

 

[Benjamin]

DeeAnna, bear with me on this and let me know if I should repost in a separate thread. I remember reading a post of yours somewhere on the forum that hypothesized the difference in irritating/stripping nature of coconut oil versus palm kernel oil might be due to the greater amount of capric and caprylic oil in coconut oil. After much experimentation, I’ve switched to palm kernel oil for my lauric and myristic acids. While it could be placebo, I’m much happier with the results. BUT, this has made me wonder whether a high capric/caprylic soap might be good for general cleaning purposes. I have young kids and am surrounded by greasy handprints that are resistant to removal with regular household cleaners. I recently mixed up a batch of diluted liquid soap with 1% d-limonene and it worked like a dream. Separately, I’ve been playing with pine rosin in transparent soap. I’ve found that at 5% it helps with lather and transparency, but is too stripping for my hands. Failor writes about using pine rosin for clarity in liquid soap. I’ve also read about tall oil soap. Like rosin, tall oil is a source of abeitic acid. This has led me to consider making a coconut oil based liquid soap with MCT oil, pine rosin, and d-limonene for household cleaning purposes. I thought I might make a batch with and without MCT oil and see if there is any difference. Greasy handprints be gone!