Shampoo Bar Recipe Question

[katiesue]

I have a shampoo bar recipe that calls for Palm Oil, would there be anything wrong with substituting Hemp Oil in place of the Palm Oil, assuming I use the lye calculator first?

Reason I'm asking I saw a different shampoo bar recipe that I thought I'd like to try, it called for both Hemp Oil and Jojoba Oil. Well I went ahead and bought some Hemp Oil before I saw the price of Jojoba Oil and no way can I afford that stuff so now I've got this Hemp Oil sitting around.

 

[Lindy]

Leave the palm oil in there but perhaps there is another soft oil that you can sub out for the hemp oil?

 

[Susie]

OK, let's look at the qualities of the oils(source Soapcalc.net):

Palm Oil

Hardness- 50
Conditioning- 49
Creamy- 49

Hemp Oil

Hardness- 8
Conditioning- 90
Creamy- 8

Completely different qualities, right?

Now, suppose your recipe called for Olive Oil. Olive Oil's qualities are:

Hardness- 17
Conditioning- 83
Creamy- 17

Still different, but closer, right?

I still consider myself new at soapmaking, so I keep things simple. I substitute out liquid oil for liquid oil(or solid oil for solid oil) in Soapcalc, and see what the changes in the qualities are with each change before deciding what I can or can't substitute out.

 

[LunaSkye]

Hemp oil is one of those oils that has a low shelf life and may cause DOS if used in too high a concentration. Summer Bee Meadow gives a bit of info on a variety of oils and their properties.

In additon, RogueRose has a thread where a number of people shared more info for finding the best oils to use.

 

[katiesue]

Thank you all for the advise. Simple things I never thought of before. Haven't been making soap all that long yet.

Guess I'll be finding something else to use the Hemp Oil with ... maybe another soap making friend.:smile:

Thank you for the links, I'm off to check those out now.

Thanks again.

 

[Susie]

Katiesue, I know it feels sometimes like you will never learn all of this stuff. But, you must remember that none of us were born knowing how to make soap. Every last one of us have been exactly where you are. And we learned just how you are learning. It won't be long before you are answering someone else's questions.

 

[Lindy]

Hemp oil in soap is fine if used in low quantities. I've used it at 10% and it has stayed fine for over a year. It adds a lot to a recipe and you shouldn't be afraid to use it.

 

[Seawolfe]

There is no reason you cant use a bit of hemp oil in your shampoo bars - just not as a substitute for palm oil.
I adore hemp oil in salt soaps and clay soaps.

 

[Lindy]

If you are wanting to sub out Palm Oil the only things close are tallow or lard.

 

[Dahila]

I wonder how would be shampoo bar with tallow instead of palm oil?
I just rendered (is that right word?) 1500 grams of tallow I paid $2 for the tallow on market

 

[Susie]

Tallow should be fine in place of palm oil. It is a common substitution. Just be sure to run the modified recipe through a reputable lye calculator.

 

[DiddlyO]

You could also try shea or cocoa butter.

 

[katiesue]

Would lard work in place of the palm oil for a shampoo bar? I've got lots of lard. Running it threw a calculator of course first.

 

[Susie]

I adore lard in soap, even shampoo bars. It just makes the most creamy feeling lather. I have not tried tallow, as I can't source it locally like I can lard. So, I am not saying anything against tallow.

 

[Meganmischke]

I have larrd in one of my shampoo bars and it is great. I really prefer lard to palm. I just did a little experiment, I made 2 batches of soap exactly the same except one had lard and the other palm. They are only 3 weeks old but I find the lard bar far more emollient. I had my husband try too, he didn't know which one hsd what in it, he said everything about the lard one was better. I have always seemed to favor lard to palm because it is easier to work with, cheaper, and more readily available.

 

[Dahila]

I am not going to order more palm, lard soap is awesome too, I already have one. My tallow soap is only a week old so I have no idea how it is going to be. The lard one is very gentle on skin and is kind of moisturizing. I know soap is not moisturizing but it is not drying at all

 

[Susie]

That would make it conditioning. And yes, that is my experience also.

 

[katiesue]

Thanks to all of you for the help with my question about using lard in the shampoo bar, that's what I'm going to use in my next batch.

I've been making regular soap using lard and I agree with you, it is so moisturizing I just love it.

If I remember I'll post back about my next shampoo bars made with lard and how they turned out. In a new thread of course.:smile:

Thanks again.

 

[katiesue]

I'm finally getting back to you about my shampoo bars I made with lard in place of the palm oil ... I LOVE THEM.

I had them curing all this time and used a bar for the first time the other day, it makes my hair feel so good, way better then the ones I made the first time using palm oil.