Solvent Extraction in Oils

[OnePlus]

What is everyone's feeling about using oils who have been extracted with the use of solvents? Is there and adverse effect to soaping with these oils or to using the product?

Every time I read someone talk about avoiding olive oil pomace I think about how almost all the coconut oil out there is extracted.

Side note: How you know if Coconut oil has been extracted without solvents... I see soapers choice offers a RBD version and a few other versions.

 

[OnePlus]

bumperpool... anyone?

 

[PrairieCraft]

I buy coconut from a company that offers 3 different grades centrifuge extracted, cold pressed and expeller pressed. None of these 3 methods use solvent and they are all more pricey than what you can get at soapers choice. None of the soaping supply vendors I have shopped thus far state anything about extraction processes. The only thing to do is contact them and ask.

As for the olive oil pomace, if it is food grade I would imagine it wouldn't have solvents. It's a lower grade because the oil is extracted from the pits and the last presses of the olive, I think, not because of the extraction method.

Maybe you know all of this in which case I probably sound like an a$$, but your question was hanging out here all lonely, so...

Your real question, about the effects solvent extracted oils have in soap, will have to wait for someone who actually knows what they are talking about

I will be contacting soapers choice to inquire about warehouse pick up and will also ask about their coconut oil.

Hopefully one of the experts chimes in on this one. Hint, hint.

 

[ChrisShepp]

As for the olive oil pomace, if it is food grade I would imagine it wouldn't have solvents. It's a lower grade because the oil is extracted from the pits and the last presses of the olive, I think, not because of the extraction method.

Hi all,

I did some research on this and found that Soybean and Corn oil are often solvent/chemically extracted and are still food grade. I couldn't say for sure about Olive Pomace - couldn't find any specific info.

 

[PrairieCraft]

I know nothing!! Hexane is used for extraction in a lot of different food products, soy, meal, grits, and also in palm, coconut and pomace olive oil. The only way to completely avoid this is buying organic. Expeller pressed does not mean no solvents were used. The only way to assure the absence of solvents is to buy organic.

I was told the steam refining process which bleaches and deodorizes the oils also creates enough heat for the hexane to be flashed off and the hexane vapor is vacuumed off, leaving trace amounts.

My take is if we are eating it in trace amounts how bad could soaping with it really be?

 

[OnePlus]

I don't eat many refined foods... and I can't think of anything I eat that is treated with solvents. I did notice SChoice carries alot of different COs. Does organic always mean that no solvents or chemicals are used in the extraction process?

 

[PrairieCraft]

If you go out for dinner at all (where you have no idea what product they are using) or use cooking oils other than organic ones then you have ingested trace amounts of hexane. This is a little upsetting as I do try to avoid petroleum products (mostly in detergents and other household cleaners and plastics) and here I find out I'm eating the ****. In large or chronic doses it can affect the nervous system.

From what I gather oils sold as organic are not allowed to be extracted using solvents. Which, I suppose, is why they are 3 times as much. And, of course, you have to trust that your source is selling you actual organic oil and not just labeling it as such.

Using all organic and/or sustainable oils makes the hobby (or business) of making soap a lot more expensive. If it's for personal use why not use the good stuff, but explaining to someone who has to pay for this really expensive bar of soap why it's worth it could be a chore. I am giving the stuff away (hobby) and am still having to explain to family and friends why I would bother spending the time and money on this. Maybe I should keep it all to myself

There are a lot of different threads in this forum discussing the use of higher quality oils versus the cheapest you can find and every one that I have come across suggests that cheap is the way to go as the saponification process is so hard on the oils anyway. I'm going cheap, maybe at some point I will buy enough organic oils to make a batch to compare with the regs.

I use organic coconut oil in my massage practice because it gets applied directly to the skin and is in contact with the skin long enough to absorb and it's also used as a carrier for EO. Soap is in contact with your skin for a short time and is rinsed off almost as quickly as it is applied. I would be more worried about the chlorine fumes you breath in from the shower spray (unless you are on well water).

It is possible to go absolutely nuts when it comes to healthier alternatives. There is always room for improvement but the budget doesn't always cooperate.

 

[carebear]

doesn't concern me for soaping.

for food - when I cook my own I use expeller pressed stuff when I can.

my degree is food science. if you knew what I know... well let's just say a little solvent is not your biggest problem.

 

[BakingNana]

I've asked for and received statements from several companies that the oils I'm purchasing are cold-pressed and no solvents were used. That said, I agree with carebear. If customers didn't ask, I frankly wouldn't care.

 

[MagiaDellaLuna]

my degree is food science. if you knew what I know... well let's just say a little solvent is not your biggest problem.

ROFL

There is some scary stuff out there. It is probably best not to think too much about it, otherwise the only way to be sure what you are eating is to become totally self sufficient as far as food production goes.

 

[Woodi]

I've been all over this topic for many years....can't find a perfect answer...and then I remember: do we know what we are breathing?

I can no longer allow paranoia to rule my life as I've seen what it has done to a few dear friends, who live extremely limited, difficult lives, trying to protect themselves from the ravages which civilization has wreaked on our poor planet.

 

[BakingNana]

Well said, Woodi!