Oil questions

[lavender.dreams.candles]

I heard Castor oil is better to be used than Canola for lather..... Is that true??
Is it better to use Palm Oil vs. Crisco ???
What is the best recipe for basic cp soap??

 

[ChrissyB]

Castor oil is the only oil with rinoleic acid (sp?), thus it creates a fluffy lather when saponified, but it's only recommended to use it in small amounts (5%, though I usually use about 3%) as it can make the soap soft and sticky.
Canola oil will not create bubbles, but it is moisturising/conditioning. Check out www.soapcalc.net and click on the different oils on the list, and play around with different recipes, then you will become familiar with the different oils and what properties they bring to soap.
Coconut and palm kernel oil are high lathering oils also, but can be harsh on some people's skin because they are also high cleansing oils.
That's the dilemma that us soapers face, we want a hard long lasting bar of soap that conditions the skin, doesn't make it feel dry, and we want lots of fluffy creamy bubbles.

 

[SimplyE]

Ditto. Castor and canola are quite different. If canola did not have such a tendancy to DOS, I would use it, but NOT for bubbles. It is very moisturizing. Castor is better known for bubbles, as well as conditioning, but not in overly high amounts.

 

[carebear]

Hmm - I like canola.

I enjoy the richness and volume that canola adds to lather and do use it sometimes, tho not at a high level. And it can make a bar very shiny too!

 

[IrishLass]

I heard Castor oil is better to be used than Canola for lather..... Is that true??

Yes, that is true.

Is it better to use Palm Oil vs. Crisco ???

Palm will give you a harder bar with less of a tendency to DOS compared to Crisco, which is partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cottonseed oil.

What is the best recipe for basic cp soap??

The one that works for you. :wink: Seriously- everyone's preferences are different in regards to what recipe they think produces the best soap, so the best thing you can do is to start with a basic recipe and tweak it to your liking by experimenting (make sure to take notes). Kathy Miller's soap site is an excellent place to start since she has lots of recipes of all kinds: http://www.millersoap.com/.


IrishLass

 

[gekko62]

Ditto Kathy Millers site.I started out there,trying a recipe from each subsection,which gives you fantastic 1st hand experience on what different oils contribute to your soap.Its a darn good starting point really, & has stacks of great info & links. I did 3 batches before I found one I really liked,then using that as a guide,jumped into the world of soapcalc,tweaking & afiddling & have since concocted some good formulas of my very own

 

[oldragbagger]

I made a pretty basic recipe for my very first batch using percentages that I got off of the soap and candle section of about.com. My big foray into the exotic with that batch was adding ground lavender buds and lavender EO which I saw a lady do on a video on youtube. Then I set about to experiment with a lot of oils to find my REAL best recipe.

Well, many batches later (and I have used a different recipe on every single batch) we have come to the conclusion that my first batch was one of the best I ever made. All of the exotic oils and butters I have tried haven't yet produced a bar any better than that first basic bar (although I will say that first batch had shea butter in it because I have been using shea in lotions for a long time and love the way it feels on my skin). Needless to say, all these oils have cost me a small fortune. Although the experimentation was fun, I feel for the most part the money I spent on all those oils was wasted except for the lesson I learned about how unnecessary it all is.

My point..... (yes I have one) is that sometimes I think we try so hard to come up with something unique, exotic, trendy sounding, whatever, that we miss the beauty and quality to be found in a good, basic, well rounded soap recipe. I realize that people with different skin types have different needs, but unless you are approaching this from a "medicinal" standpoint and trying to cure everyone's skin problems (that takes you into another whole realm where your soap becomes classified as a drug) you will appeal to the broadest possible market with a nicely balanced, hard, long lasting, mild, moisturizing, bubbly/creamy lathering bar of basic soap. (And I think by moisturizing, what I really mean is that it doesn't strip all the skin oils away and dry you out.)

So, I think that rather than doing my experimenting with a million different oil combinations, I would rather stick pretty much with my tried and true basic oil recipe (maybe with tiny variations for different purposes, and a 100% OO Castile thrown in because so many people like it) and have my fun experimenting with scents and botanicals and the such. That way, even if it isn't your favorite fragrance or color or whatever in the end, you will still have a fine, quality, balanced, usable soap. And since different people have different tastes in scents and colors and the like anyway, even the soap that didn't turn out exactly the way you expected or to your particular liking may still be attractive and sweet smelling to someone else.

 

[honor435]

so, oldragbagger(funny name) what have you found to be a good recipe?

 

[oldragbagger]

so, oldragbagger(funny name) what have you found to be a good recipe?

We're oldragbaggers alrighty. A "ragbagger" is (in the boating community) a sailor. The "old" part is self-explanatory. Since an awful lot of our friends are fellow sailors and the forums we belong to are boating/sailing related, we have been using that name for many years. I just never think of using anything else.

I find a good basic recipe to be a balance of olive oil, palm and coconut with a little room left in there for your preferences, such as shea, castor, whatever other things that you prefer that are usually used in smaller quantities. Other people may prefer tallow or lard rather than olive oil. I prefer plant oils though.

I have purchased a fair amount of natural soaps, I think maybe 13-15 bars to date, (for investigative purposes) with all kinds of variations in the recipes. I have one in my closet right now that has 7 different oils in it (it cost $5 a bar and has DOS by the way). With maybe one or two divine exceptions (and I am still trying to figure those out) they have been absolutely no better than the basic bar described above.

Now, I realize that if you ask 100 other soapers you will probably get 100 other opinions. And I wouldn't say that any of them are wrong or faulty in their thinking in any way. This is just the conclusion I have come to from my own personal experience.

 

[Guest]

After much research , I find the KISS principle ( keep it simple silly) works best for me .
PO - CO - OO make a great bar of soap.
CO - PO - OO and crisco or lard or tallow or rice bran etc .
OO - awesome soap
OO and CO makes a nice bar ( bastile)

You can use the higher cost oils , but you don't have to , to make a great bar of soap.

 

[oldragbagger]

After much research , I find the KISS principle ( keep it simple silly) works best for me .
PO - CO - OO make a great bar of soap.
CO - PO - OO and crisco or lard or tallow or rice bran etc .
OO - awesome soap
OO and CO makes a nice bar ( bastile)

You can use the higher cost oils , but you don't have to , to make a great bar of soap.

You and I are definitely on the same page, Kitn!!!

And I wasn't even saying that there is one right recipe, or certain oils that are better than others. My point was really just that it doesn't have to be complicated to be good. It's possible to make a darned fine bar of soap with 1 - 2 or 3 oils if the balance is right.

There are soapmakers out there that are artists and creators and soap can be and exciting medium for artistic expression. But you don't have to be a rocket scientist to create a fine bar of soap.

Sometimes I think that folks, however well intentioned, who make it sound so complicated and mysterious can tend to intimidate the beginner into thinking that the goal of making a good soap is so far out there on the horizon and so difficult to attain that they get discouraged.

 

[gekko62]

I started making my own soap,because I couldn't find plain,basic,everyday handmade.Lotsa fancy(& quite beautiful)soap,but nothing I'd use(or could afford!!)for everyday use.So I set out to do it myself....I use 5 oils in my everyday bars-CO/PO/OO/Canola/pkccasionally castor.Nothing fancy,but its a great soap & I love it!-lotsa bubbles,doesn't dry my skin,or go soggy in the soapdish,& stays the distance..
Btw,I love canola!!...less than 1/2 the price of OO,great conditioning value,imparts a lovely sheen.Haven't seen dos yet,my soap dont last that long anyways,,,GO Canola!
Some oils outside the holy trinity do make awesome soap,not that I'd use as regular bars,but lovely soap nonetheless. Nut oils impart something lovely,so does avo. And a lot depends on what sorta soap you want.Facial soap,no way Im having CO in there!
Point??..hmmm,nope,lost it
too much rambling does that to me

 

[SueSue]

The "Holy Trinity", I love that. I was just thinking the same thing the other day. With all my recipes and experiments, the soaps made with simple recipes and simple scents are the most requested from my "customers" ie.. friends and family. I have a found a few exotic expensive nut oils, which I love, not quite sure I could sell them for the price needed to cover the cost plus profit. I may just continue to make them for myself. But for the most part, "Holy Trinity" makes the best soap.

 

[MyNaturesArt]

my fav recipe out of al the ones ive used and tried is

OO,Palm,Coconut,Castor..LOVE IT!!

if i want a super fancy bar, i throw in shea butter..lol

 

[oldragbagger]

my fav recipe out of al the ones ive used and tried is

OO,Palm,Coconut,Castor..LOVE IT!!

if i want a super fancy bar, i throw in shea butter..lol

I'm with you!! This is my basic recipe as well and I have played around with a lot of stuff, but I always come back to this.

 

[JenniferSews]

my fav recipe out of al the ones ive used and tried is

OO,Palm,Coconut,Castor..LOVE IT!!

if i want a super fancy bar, i throw in shea butter..lol

Me too, after lots of experimenting. I keep trying new things but then come back to this.

 

[honor435]

Love oo, coc, po, castor, it my fav, i have used canola with no problems, i have used crisco and lard, but always go back to my fav.! I do add shea or cocoa to some bars, i like it.