Please help with brand recommendations for oils

[meruspot]

Hi, Im a newbie to soap Making from India. I am quite confused whether to use normal coconut oil from store or extra virgin/virgin coconut oil for my recipes. Kindly help with the best brands of coconut oil that I can use in my recipes. Thanks

 

[lenarenee]

You can use any of those. The virgin/extra virgin (same as unrefined) will be less processed than normal coconut oil (refined). Virgin coconut oil will have a strong scent of coconut, whereas the normal coconut oil will have far less natural scent.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

Welcome to SMF, @meruspot !

I haven't found any differences between using various grades of coconut oil in soap. I don't know the market in India (but I guess it's much larger than in cold Europe, where anything coconut is considered “exotic”) – so I can only guess that it really shouldn't matter.
Maybe the better qualities are better used in the kitchen than in soap (like with olive oil).
Low-grade oil (non-edible qualities) can have side effects like off-colour or accelerating trace (common issue with cheap palm oil) – don't start with these. But later on, when you feel safe using them, why not?

Virgin coconut oil will have a strong scent of coconut, whereas the normal coconut oil will have far less natural scent.

Yes, the oil itself. Sadly, nothing of that smell makes it over into the soap. If you want soap smelling like coconut, you'll have to “cheat”, i. e. use coconut FO.
High-coconut soaps with high superfat might have some “goat” smell to them (like rancid or overheated coconut oil), regardless what the original oils smelled like.

 

[meruspot]

Welcome to SMF, @meruspot !

I haven't found any differences between using various grades of coconut oil in soap. I don't know the market in India (but I guess it's much larger than in cold Europe, where anything coconut is considered “exotic”) – so I can only guess that it really shouldn't matter.
Maybe the better qualities are better used in the kitchen than in soap (like with olive oil).
Low-grade oil (non-edible qualities) can have side effects like off-colour or accelerating trace (common issue with cheap palm oil) – don't start with these. But later on, when you feel safe using them, why not?

Yes, the oil itself. Sadly, nothing of that smell makes it over into the soap. If you want soap smelling like coconut, you'll have to “cheat”, i. e. use coconut FO.
High-coconut soaps with high superfat might have some “goat” smell to them (like rancid or overheated coconut oil), regardless what the original oils smelled like.

okay, that really helps! thanks for the reply! And yes, coconut Oil is available in plenty here, refined, unrefined virgin and so on.. Here coconut oil is also extracted from copra (which is the dried shell of coconut) and virgin coconut oil is what is made from coconut milk. Hence the confusion. Thanks for the answer, I will continue to use the refined version!