What's your favourite oil in soap making? Why?

[lukelee]

I have used a lot different oils in soap making, but now I make more and more castile soap (100% EV olive oil). First reason is convenient, I don't have to combine 3,4 oils, and calculate the lye. Second reason is olive oil soap gives the best skin feel.
I use some coconut oil when I make strong cleansing soap. Besides coconut oil and EV Olive Oil, I no longer use any other oils.
What are your favourite oils? and why?
Why does some soap makers love to use 4+ different oils?

 

[dagmar88]

Why does some soap makers love to use 4+ different oils?

No single oil gives me what I'm looking for.

So I don't have one favourite, but I use coconut, palm, olive and castor in my basic recipe.

 

[Lotus]

Grape Seed Oil. Because I cook with it religiously. It's a soft oil, and generally a good use for any sort of superfatting, or the like. It's a great little oil. I like it. It has to be used in a smaller percentage, but I love that it's always available to me. But it helps to make a softness that I like in my soaps.

 

[lemontongue]

Hemp Oil, it gives a nice moisturizing quality in my soap. I use a bit of shea and cocoa butter as well, which makes for a very luxurious soap.

 

[Birdie Wife]

Olive oil for me too because I can infuse botanicals in it and it's cheap and readily available, but lard is a close second hecause of the lather and it makes the bar last much longer.

 

[Brandica2013]

I use to love,love un-refined coconut oil but im new and have been hearing it's drying to skin/hair which is funny cause I was putting in my hair and letting it set for an hour and washing out..it seemed like it helped......I love shea butter so much if that counts

 

[DeeAnna]

Hey, Brandica -- Don't confuse the soap made from the oil with the oil itself!! I get the feeling you might be doing that. Coconut oil SOAP is a strong cleanser, so, yes, it can be drying to the skin. Coconut OIL is a wonderful moisturizer for skin and hair care. Two different critters.

Edit: Here's a link to info about the goodness in coconut oil:
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-quick-note-on-coconut-oil-and-warm.html

 

[christinak]

I use sweet almond oil in all my soap. It's cheap and has great label appeal I also love shea butter.

 

[Candybee]

Olive oil. Hands down.

 

[ruby61]

Love sweet almond oil too. It is one of the few oils that actually can be absorbed in the skin which is why massage therapists love it.

 

[cursivearts]

Olive oil. For luxury oils/butters: shea butter. I am going to try mango butter and sweet almond oil soon so we'll see how those go.

 

[lizflowers42]

People seem to hate to think of using it because it causes DOS, but I really like using soybean oil because it's so easy to buy anywhere, has similar properties to olive oil (which is more expensive). However, you do need to use other oils with it so you get a harder bar. I like a mix of soybean, pomace, palm, and castor, but I am trying to move away from palm oil-I'm going to finish the bucket that I have (probably 2.5 pounds left of it) and stick to other butters to help harden the bars.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

#1 beef tallow followed as a very close 2nd lard, and then I use olive or soy, for reasons already listed. When I can get it I also like a bit of sunflower. I have used grape seed oil but for me I cannot get it easily or cheaply, so tend to save it for lotions and such. The tallow and lards give me a hard bar and I love the feel of them much more than a soap without either.

 

[OliveOil2]

My two favorite oils are rice bran oil and avocado oil, I also like using shea butter and cocoa butter.

 

[Mockingbird Ramble]

lard!

 

[Marilyna]

I like soybean oil, too.
I'd say my favorite if I have to pick just one would be coconut oil. Have to have lather, right?

 

[kazmi]

My two favorite oils are rice bran oil and avocado oil, I also like using shea butter and cocoa butter.

OO2, I use avocado too but have been thinking about trying rice bran. What do you notice the differences to be between them in your soap? TIA

 

[OliveOil2]

The rice bran gives the bar a smooth glossy finish that I don't get with other oils, and I love the way the soap feels on my skin. To me they are very different, the avocado adds the richness for a luxury bar, the rice bran is more of a staple oil. I am not sure about the actual properties, but to me the avocado & hemp are similar. I am sure others here will have more knowledge on the oil properties. I first tried rice bran because I got 35 lbs for $37 I couldn't pass up the price and I was curious.

 

[Ruthie]

Here is another vote for beef tallow and lard. Love the lard the most, I guess. It yields a nice hard bar with a wonderful feel on the skin.

 

[kharmon320]

I too love my lard! I do like tallow as well. I'm going to agree with lizflowers about the soybean. I made a test bar with soybean (only 5 or 10%) about a year ago. When I went back and did a lather test on a few different recipes, I loved the silkiness from the bar with soybean. I don't use a lot, but feel it brings something nice to the lather.