Soap recipe with No Coconut/No Palm?

[Rachel Barnhouse]

Hello!

New here, I'm wondering if I can create a bar with no coconut or palm oil. I already don't use palm oil but want to create a facial bar without CO either. Coconut is extremely drying, and all substitutes I find is Palm . Any suggestions? Is this bar possible? Thank youuu!

 

[jcandleattic]

100% Olive Oil.
There are many soapers that don't soap with either of those oils. The possibilities are endless. Do some research into oils and their properties and after some experimenting you can create a bar that is perfect for what you want.

Coconut can be drying but that is not always the case. It will depend on the other oils you use in combination with other oils that will bring the properties you want.

 

[lsg]

You can use lard with other oils. Your soap may not have large bubbles, but should have a creamy lather.

 

[Rachel Barnhouse]

100% Olive Oil.
There are many soapers that don't soap with either of those oils. The possibilities are endless. Do some research into oils and their properties and after some experimenting you can create a bar that is perfect for what you want.

Coconut can be drying but that is not always the case. It will depend on the other oils you use in combination with other oils that will bring the properties you want.

Thank you so much! It's good to hear coconuts drying properties can be mellowed out with other oils, I've always dried out but I need to play with it some more.

You can use lard with other oils. Your soap may not have large bubbles, but should have a creamy lather.

I really do need to try Tallow, I've been meaning to. Thank you!

 

[shunt2011]

Lard makes a lovely soap. You can also use babassu oil to replace coconut but it too is a cleansing oil. A well balanced bar will not dry out your skin. Assign some sugar to your water before the lye can add to the bubbles too.

 

[Carly B]

I really do need to try Tallow, I've been meaning to. Thank you!

I was surprised at how different lard soap was from tallow soap. I thought they would be similar, given they are both rendered animal fat, but they aren't. I love both of them, but Hubby seems to REALLY like the tallow soaps. I don't tell him what's in them at first, but his absolute favorite soap is 40% beef tallow, and usually the other bars that get unsolicited positive comments also have tallow.

 

[Kathymzr]

My humble suggestion here, for those who don’t want animal or palm, is to spend some time creating recipes, say, in SoapCalc, then look at each oil separately as to its fatty acid contribution to the recipe. Change oils and percentages so you see how each affects the soap profile. Go ahead a try out all the exotic oils too. While some can be expensive, you can offset or replace coconut oil pretty easily, and if it is to help your or yours’ own skin feel better, then it’s a good investment.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I used rice bran oil in place of my palm oil in one of my recipes and I like the way the soap came out. It is a softer soap so you will want to add in sodium lactate or let it set for longer. It took about 48 hours for it to full set so I could unmold it easily the first time. The second time I added sodium lactate and unmolded in 24 hours.

 

[KiwiMoose]

@Rachel Barnhouse - how much coconut oil have you been using previously? Many of the soapers on here use it at very low percentages if they find it too drying - around 10%. I think a fairly standard amount of CO is 20%-ish. Anything more than that (depending on your other oils in the mix) can be too drying.

 

[DeeAnna]

A lot of people enjoy this recipe -- https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/gennys-shampoo-bar-recipe-and-question.75925/

It was originally shared as a soap to be used for washing hair, but soap-as-shampooo doesn't work for many people's hair. It's really nice as a face or general bath bar, however.

 

[shunt2011]

Gennys recipe is really nice as a facial bar and gentle body bar. I subbed the Soy with Avocado or Sweet Almond Oil. I don't use soy. Just be sure to run it through the soap calculator with the changes.

 

[LBV]

I use only 20% coconut in my bars and the soap is not drying at all. I use beef tallow as well in larger quantity.

 

[Ladka]

I have a couple of bars formulated with 20 % coconut oil. I find them a bit drying for my hands, will try a recipe with 15% only.