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

[danahuff]

My favorites are olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, castor oil, sweet almond oil, and avocado oil. I also sometimes use sunflower oil, apricot kernel oil, mango butter, and rice bran oil. I think the different oils impart different qualities to the soap. You basically just need to experiment and create a recipe that makes soap you like.

 

[vance71975]

Oh ya and Great Value Shortening by it self makes a great soap. I think it is palm and beef tallow if i remember correctly.

 

[debsoap]

I use Olive, Coconut and Palm the mixture gives a hard bar and a rich lather and is so conditioning!

 

[cmzaha]

So happy to see some post about soy bean oil...... I haven't used it because I wasn't sure why but I knew some people didn't like it. I saw it at BJs a few days ago for..... now I can't find it on their web site but it was I think 18 dollars for 35 pounds So do I just have to be careful about how much I use or are there other cons about soy that I should know about before I purchase such a large container? Sorry a little off topic but my favorite oil so far is Olive for infusing and I love coconut. I am sure that may change as I experience some of the new oils that just arrived finally from WSP which I can't wait to try

Please keep in mind a lot of people are severly allergic to Soy. I seem to run into so many I quit using it. Ironically more than people allergic to nut oils

 

[cmzaha]

For base oils I love avocado. Of course being in California our blood is at least 10% avocados at all times anyway. If only it weren't such a dark green, I'd use it much more often!

For additives, jojoba oil hands down. I use it on my hair, skin, and in my soap (at 5%). Too expensive to do for sale of course, but I do get it in bulk in Riverside so that brings the cost down.

I assume your oil comes from Cibaria. I do not find their avocado oil to be dark green and that is where I buy most of my oils. I love Lard, (first) Sunflower Palm & Avocado

 

[bodhi]

Olive. Its gentle, moisturizing, feels great on your skin, lasts forever...

 

[bodhi]

Please keep in mind a lot of people are severly allergic to Soy. I seem to run into so many I quit using it. Ironically more than people allergic to nut oils

Another strike from the vaccine industry.

 

[Ann Marie]

Olive oil hands down. Just love real castile soap perhaps becuase it the one that doesn't dry my skin (living in the desert it is always dry). It is worth the cure wait, and I always end up going back to it after using soap with a combination of oils.

 

[aprilhwth]

Most of my recipes have coconut oil, olive, and palm. I also use castor. In my shampoo bars I use almond oil and cherry kernel oil (a more experienced friend told me it is a cheaper alternative to jajoba oil).

 

[ALINAHALPERN]

I always use a blend, not necessarily the same, but always love olive oil for the kindness to skin. I use palm oil to harden the soap, because my family don't like a soft soap. I like coconut oil in soapmaking for bubbling and for a smooth lather but also for superfatting (and grapeseeds oil too). I also use rice bran oil and, rarely, soy bean oil.

 

[MooreThanBags]

I use olive, coconut, castor, and lard. The combination gives me a lovely hard yet moisturizing bar with rich lather. My customers love it as much as I do.

 

[oilyfella]

I'm new to this infact I hav'nt made any soap yet ,but I want to make olive oil soap as I have got lots of olive oil from my own trees . I'm starting from basics ; at the moment I have got a barrel full of olive wood ash and rainwater slowly dripping through to make the lye in two or three days I should have enough lye to start a test batch with 32 oz of oil and 20oz of lye and water . I've read a bit about this and it seems that the lye that you get from wood ash (k0h) will not make a hard bar of soap, but you can make it hard by adding salt to the mix anyone tried this? Grateful for any tips .....

 

[shella]

loving this am subscribed to this post

 

[vance71975]

I'm new to this infact I hav'nt made any soap yet ,but I want to make olive oil soap as I have got lots of olive oil from my own trees . I'm starting from basics ; at the moment I have got a barrel full of olive wood ash and rainwater slowly dripping through to make the lye in two or three days I should have enough lye to start a test batch with 32 oz of oil and 20oz of lye and water . I've read a bit about this and it seems that the lye that you get from wood ash (k0h) will not make a hard bar of soap, but you can make it hard by adding salt to the mix anyone tried this? Grateful for any tips .....

No it wont make sodium Hydroxide, it will as you said make KoH or Potassium Hydroxide, but never fear, you can still use it, just Google home made liquid soap, that is what you use KoH for so you can make an Olive Oil "body wash" instead of bar soap.

 

[hlee]

I love Olive, Coconut, Lard, Palm, Avocado, Castor, Sweet Almond, Cocoa butter, Shea butter.

 

[Jerry S]

This is a really good topic...As far as I'm concerned I really don't have a favorite oil because when I make soap I generally make soap for either the ladies or the guys. I've found that men like soap that made from the harder oils and lasts a long time and I have made soap for men in up to 8 ounce bars. So far as the ladies, I use softer oils such as mentioned in the thread, olive oil, palm oil and oils which are extremely skin friendly. I guess as a favorite soaping oil I guess lard probably tops my list because I use it in just about all of the soaps I make unless I'm doing a castile or bastle. Lard is cheap and is a great oil in making soap and is one of the original oils used in making soap for over a thousand years. My mother, a Minnesota farm gal made soap just from lard and it was hard to beat for getting hands clean after a day of doing chores and wasn't drying to the skin as well.

 

[gabriellapax]

no doubt...I like extra-virgin olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil.

 

[Bicycle808]

I find it fascinating that ppl attribute gender characteristics to soap, and even the oils from which the soap is derived. To me, soap is a basic human necessity. I have certainly noticed some preference trends that occur along gender lines, but I don't see these as an absolute.

Some folks think that all of my soaps are on the "macho" side. That, combined with the fact that I'm a fat dude with a beard and whatnot, might lead some ppl to jump to conclusions about my soap, I suppose. I'm just trying to make an affordable, natural, basic product that ppl can use knowing exactly what's in it. Does that make for "manly" soap?

 

[mel z]

I find it fascinating that ppl attribute gender characteristics to soap, and even the oils from which the soap is derived. To me, soap is a basic human necessity. I have certainly noticed some preference trends that occur along gender lines, but I don't see these as an absolute.

Some folks think that all of my soaps are on the "macho" side. That, combined with the fact that I'm a fat dude with a beard and whatnot, might lead some ppl to jump to conclusions about my soap, I suppose. I'm just trying to make an affordable, natural, basic product that ppl can use knowing exactly what's in it. Does that make for "manly" soap?

I don't know Bicycle. It could be many things that seem gender attributing.

Women may tend to look at labels of soap more so then men. Women may like to see things like "sweet almond oil" or "shea butter" in soaps. Also, women tend to notice things like skin changes sooner than men. Wrinkles, thinning, sensitivity. Or maybe men notice, but don't talk about it as much and don't think soap is going to help it any.

Age groups may make a difference in a selling area. Young people versus older. Also, area makes a difference. In some areas the simple mention of tallow or lard can make people go bonkers, but others don't think a thing of it.

So, if you are selling, make what you like. See if it sells well. If it does, you are good to go. If you get LOTS of questions about adding more expensive oils or butters, give some a try and add it to your products, see how it sells. First and foremost, do what you like or you can't stand behind it and you can't sell well if you don't like it.

Those are just some thoughts on it. I don't sell any products so take it all with a grain. I just watch a lot of soap videos, read a lot of internet boards, and articles, and watch what is going on locally. Insert big salt shaker emoticon here.

 

[AnitaB]

Haven't experienced all the oils yet

Being a newbie I haven't really had a chance to experience all of the different types. I'll come back in 6 months and give my final answer.