Substitution of Olive Oil With Sunflower Oil - The Results

[northernsoap]

So, I was out of olive oil and really needed a quick shampoo, so substituted sunflower oil to use in a glycerin based liquid soap recipe.

Suffice to say, it did not gel - but instead got a gooey liquid. Not bad but does not pass the *clear test*. Regardless it still soaps and serves its purpose.

What does olive oil have that sunflower oil doesn't, that would have resulted in a gelatin?

 

[Lion Of Judah]

how was your shampoo made ? just sunflower oil and glycerin ? what process ?

 

[northernsoap]

Sunflower oil, glycerin, KOH, coconut oil, castor oil - HP

 

[cmzaha]

When I made my single oil batches my sunflower oil batch came to a paste. Not as hard as some but definetly a paste and not a gooey liquid. I do remember it to a long time to get to the paste point. But I do not use the glycerin method. I mix my oils and lye in a pan on the stove keeping temp around 120 degrees until I get a good thick trace then I remove the pan cover and let it sit until it makes a paste, then I cook in the oven for 4-6 hours. The only oil I had that really gave me problems getting to any kind of paste was my rice bran single oil soap. It was not satisfactory in my opinion and will not try it as a single oil again

 

[northernsoap]

Excellent advice - I just didn't have an oven - was using a single burner - kept it going for about an hour an a half - I just substituted sunflower instead of olive oil in a recipe that did call for olive oil - which was probably the reason for it not tracing that much.

When I made my single oil batches my sunflower oil batch came to a paste. Not as hard as some but definetly a paste and not a gooey liquid. I do remember it to a long time to get to the paste point. But I do not use the glycerin method. I mix my oils and lye in a pan on the stove keeping temp around 120 degrees until I get a good thick trace then I remove the pan cover and let it sit until it makes a paste, then I cook in the oven for 4-6 hours. The only oil I had that really gave me problems getting to any kind of paste was my rice bran single oil soap. It was not satisfactory in my opinion and will not try it as a single oil again

 

[FlybyStardancer]

What does olive oil have that sunflower oil doesn't, that would have resulted in a gelatin?

I don't know exactly how these affect the trace in soap, but according to this chart, there is some differences between olive oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil tends to be high in Oleic and low in Linoleic fatty acids, while sunflower is the opposite. Also, sunflower has a higher iodine content than olive oil.

Maybe those differences contributed to the issue?

ETA: Unless you used high-Oleic sunflower oil? That looks to be closer to olive oil in properties.

 

[new12soap]

Excellent advice - I just didn't have an oven - was using a single burner - kept it going for about an hour an a half - I just substituted sunflower instead of olive oil in a recipe that did call for olive oil - which was probably the reason for it not tracing that much.

You used the glycerin method, then cooked the soap for 1.5 hours? I thought the big advantage of the glycerin method is that you don't have to do that?

 

[northernsoap]

Not familiar with any methods - just kept it going for an hour and a half. BTW - the gooey liquid I had yesterday has considerably thickened to the consistency of honey today. I can definitely water it down now.

You used the glycerin method, then cooked the soap for 1.5 hours? I thought the big advantage of the glycerin method is that you don't have to do that?