Olive Oil Soap and castor oil

[Suds]

I am researching my first batch of CP, aiming for an olive oil soap with canola oil for good lather (and low cost). I am not sure if I will add castor oil for moisturizing and some purported medicinal qualities. Some sites list castor oil as being very similar to olive oil for CP. At brick and mortar, I have only found castor oil at an occasional drugstore, where it is $$$. Will castor oil give me much advantage? If so, will I get noticeable benefit from very small proportions of castor oil?

Suds

 

[IrishLass]

I am researching my first batch of CP, aiming for an olive oil soap with canola oil for good lather (and low cost). I am not sure if I will add castor oil for moisturizing and some purported medicinal qualities. Some sites list castor oil as being very similar to olive oil for CP. At brick and mortar, I have only found castor oil at an occasional drugstore, where it is $$$. Will castor oil give me much advantage? If so, will I get noticeable benefit from very small proportions of castor oil?

Suds

Hi Suds!

If by 'good lather' you mean 'bubbly lather', then I would pick a different oil than canola. Canola is more known for its conditioning properties than it is for its bubbly qualities. If you want to make an olive oil soap with good bubbly lather, I would nix the canola oil and add either coconut oil, palm kernel oil, or babassu oil to your mix.

Re: Castor Oil: Castor oil is very high in ricinoleic acid, which adds to the conditioning level of soap. It also adds bubbliness as well as creaminess to the lather, but not as much in the bubbly department as coconut , palm kernel or babassu. It's somewhat similar to olive in the conditioning department, but unlike olive oil (which is considered a 'hard' oil where its use in soap is concerned), castor is a 'soft' oil that makes for a softer, stickier bar of soap, and quite noticeably so if used over a certain percentage in certain recipes. For a good olive oil soap, I like to use no more than 10% castor, which makes a nice difference (at least to me it does). I also use castor at 23% in one of my other formulas with actually very hard, non-sticky results, but that's in a totally different recipe with mostly all tallow in it. It all depends on your formula as to how much castor is a good amount to add.

I don't know if you have a health food store nearby, but that's where I've always bought my castor oil. It comes in a 2 pound bottle and I buy it for $10.99.

As far as the medicinal qualities of castor go, you are better off using castor oil straight on your skin instead of in soap, because when soaped, the molecular properties of the oils are completely changed and you won't reap the same benefit as you would if it were in its normall state. HTH!



IrishLass

 

[Suds]

Hi IrishLass! Thanks for the tips (comments interspersed with quotes from your reply!).

Hi Suds!

If by 'good lather' you mean 'bubbly lather', then I would pick a different oil than canola. Canola is more known for its conditioning properties than it is for its bubbly qualities. If you want to make an olive oil soap with good bubbly lather,

Re: Castor Oil: Castor oil is very high in ricinoleic acid, which adds to the conditioning level of soap. It also adds bubbliness as well as creaminess to the lather, but not as much in the bubbly department as coconut , palm kernel or babassu. It's somewhat similar to olive in the conditioning department, but unlike olive oil (which is considered a 'hard' oil where its use in soap is concerned), castor is a 'soft' oil that makes for a softer, stickier bar of soap, and quite noticeably so if used over a certain percentage in certain recipes. For a good olive oil soap, I like to use no more than 10% castor, which makes a nice difference (at least to me it does).




IrishLass

It sounds like I should make straight olive oil soap. I was hoping that the canola would add a little lather (just enough to avoid the 'no lather' criticism) and maybe something different in conditioning. Same for the castor oil. I'm happy with most of the olive oil soaps that I have tried. I have an olive oil/aloe vera/glycerine M&P that is not too bad. But you know the criticism about olive oil soap's feel (at best, well, wimpy lather and oily feel...at worst "slimy, or even worse, 'feels like snot'").

I don't know if you have a health food store nearby, but that's where I've always bought my castor oil. It comes in a 2 pound bottle and I buy it for $10.99.

As far as the medicinal qualities of castor go, you are better off using castor oil straight on your skin instead of in soap, because when soaped, the molecular properties of the oils are completely changed and you won't reap the same benefit as you would if it were in its normall state. HTH!



IrishLass

I'm not great about using oil for lotion. I always end up with a mess. Oil on the bottle. Oil dripping from a pump. Oil running down from a pump or spout. OTOH, Lotion manages to stay neat and clean.

It may be coincidence, but I developed a strange rash after switching from Neolia Olive Oil Soap after Costco stopped carrying it. It took a long time for it to go away. I found the M&P mentioned above online at what seems like a decent price. I haven't had much to complain about as far as conditioning goes since.

After I tackle the oils issue, I will address the aloe issue. I'm hoping that the aloe isn't a huge portion of the benefits that I am currently experiencing. I should probably just buy aloe extract and follow a recipe, but I have 5 aloe plants growing in pots. Buying aloe extract seems like a waste. I'm afraid of giving myself too steep a learnng curve all at once.

Suds