Substituting oils

[NoShadesofGrey]

I am very much a soap newbie, so hopefully this isn't toooo dumb of a question.

Can you substitute or partially substitute oils in soap recipes? For instance, if a recipe calls for sunflower oil, could I a couple of ounces of olive oil instead of the full amount of sunflower oil?

 

[carebear]

Yes, and No. You may get a soap with different qualities since the oils determine what the soap comes out like. Oh and you will need to recalculate the lye required since the oils determine that as well.

So yes, you can use just about anything in soap.
But no, you can't "just" substitute it - you need to make adjustments to expectations and lye.

 

[NoShadesofGrey]

Yes, and No. You may get a soap with different qualities since the oils determine what the soap comes out like. Oh and you will need to recalculate the lye required since the oils determine that as well.

So yes, you can use just about anything in soap.
But no, you can't "just" substitute it - you need to make adjustments to expectations and lye.

I forgot I asked this question. Thanks for the reply.

The reason I'm wondering is, isn't olive oil supposed to make a harder soap? So if I used some olive oil instead of the full amount of sunflower oil, would it make the soap harder?

 

[ChrissyB]

My understanding is that a 100% olive oil soap (castille) will be very very hard, after 8 weeks curing.
or you could try 75% olive 25%coconut, that would make a nice hard bar too (bastille)