Which OO works best for your soap as per your own personal experience?

[girlwhoseeks]

Hi! Basically I want your perspective on which OO you use in your soap and how it works best for you. Ive been using cold pressed olive oil in most of my recipes and the quality of soaps is great, the only problem is it’s a bit too expensive imo. Ive also tried pomace which is cost friendly but the quality and lather does degrade as per my experience. I know there are many other oils out there but this is specifically just for olive oil and it’s various kinds for soap making.

 

[AliOop]

I personally use the inexpensive "light" OO. The quality and lather is the same as virgin OO, but the color is much lighter and doesn't give the green tint that one gets from EVOO.

 

[girlwhoseeks]

I personally use the inexpensive "light" OO. The quality and lather is the same as virgin OO, but the color is much lighter and doesn't give the green tint that one gets from EVOO.

Yes! That one works great as well, it’s less expensive than the virgin and yes you’re right about the colour as well.

 

[AliOop]

If you are looking for a less expensive alternative to OO, some folks use rice bran oil, HO safflower oil, HO sunflower oil, HO canola oil, or a combination thereof. You just have to watch your linolenic/linoleic FA totals, and perhaps add an antioxidant such as ROE to your oils immediately after purchase, to avoid potential rancidity in the oils or the soaps over time. You may know that already but I don't want to assume.

I don't have a good inexpensive source of any of those oils close to me, so with shipping costs added, it is more economical for me to buy light (refined) OO at my local Costco. We have quite a few soapmakers from India on SMF, so you can search some of the Shopping Recommendations threads, or post in that forum to ask what oils are available near you at a reasonable cost. Good luck!

 

[Arimara]

I found olive pomace to feel nicer on my skin in soap than regular or light olive oils. I haven't paid enough attention to virgin olive oil to know if there is a difference (I also cook with it so there's that). I might do a small comparison some time to see. Olive pomace is not cheap for me to get, however. Stores don't carry it.

 

[girlwhoseeks]

If you are looking for a less expensive alternative to OO, some folks use rice bran oil, HO safflower oil, HO sunflower oil, HO canola oil, or a combination thereof. You just have to watch your linolenic/linoleic FA totals, and perhaps add an antioxidant such as ROE to your oils immediately after purchase, to avoid potential rancidity in the oils or the soaps over time. You may know that already but I don't want to assume.

I don't have a good inexpensive source of any of those oils close to me, so with shipping costs added, it is more economical for me to buy light (refined) OO at my local Costco. We have quite a few soapmakers from India on SMF, so you can search some of the Shopping Recommendations threads, or post in that forum to ask what oils are available near you at a reasonable cost. Good luck!

Thank you so much for the help! I will certainly give ROE a try as well. light OO seems to be the most valuable option in India as well but I will check out more threads regarding this.

 

[lenarenee]

The cold pressed olive oil you've used sounds wonderful for food purposes. I think any olive oil you can afford that is fresh will do just fine in soap. The average person is not going to notice the difference between pomace olive, light - I think only a soap maker pays attention to those subtle differences.

 

[soapbar]

I personally use the inexpensive "light" OO. The quality and lather is the same as virgin OO, but the color is much lighter and doesn't give the green tint that one gets from EVOO.

I was really hesitant to use light OO but after I saw your replay I certainly going to use it as it is lighter than virgin one.

 

[Bubble Agent]

For me the standard oil to add is the regular olive oil we get in the regular stores here. Nothing virgin about that one. The price has gone up though, we now have to pay $4.1 for one liter of olive oil. How much do you guys have to pay over there? (over there as in anywhere else in the world)

I have tried virgin olive oil once though, in a small batch of Castile I made for testing. But that cost me $11 for 300ml oil. So yeah, that was one expensive soap.

There is a limitation of available oils here in Norway, compared to what you guys get over there, so if I want almond oil, avocado oil or castor oil, shea butter cocoa butter etc. I have to order it all from England. Unless I of course want to pay $20 for a measly 80 ml of almond oil from the health food store where i live...

 

[Obsidian]

When I still used OO, it was either pomace which I can get in gallon jars fairly inexpensive or regular OO from costco.
I've never used a high quality OO in soap, seems like a waste.

Anymore, I use mostly safflower as its so much cheaper and makes a nicer soap. I also like sunflower but its pricey in my area.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I use what's called Refined Olive Oil, which is basically light olive oil. Here, I can get it in a 3 liter can in the grocery store for a reasonable price. Based on reading I did here on the Soap Forum, I chose this version of OO. I liked the results, so never tried anything else.

 

[earlene]

When I make Castile soap, I use half pomace OO and half the cheapest regular (NOT EVOO) OO. The reason I do this is to speed trace (pomace traces fast for me) AND cost savings.

When making other soap recipes that include OO, I use whichever OO I have on hand, which is usually the cheaper (less expensive) type available to me.

Extra Virgin OO is only for dietary use, never for soap where I live because it is too expensive. If I lived where EVOO was the least expensive OO, I would use it in soap. I cannot say I ever tested it in soap, so cannot know if there is a difference in skin feel.

 

[Cat&Oak]

I've used all kinds of olive oil over the years. Interestingly I've never noticed a difference between any of them as far as how a bar feels. I personally use Costco olive oil.

 

[winusuren]

Hi! Basically I want your perspective on which OO you use in your soap and how it works best for you. Ive been using cold pressed olive oil in most of my recipes and the quality of soaps is great, the only problem is it’s a bit too expensive imo. Ive also tried pomace which is cost friendly but the quality and lather does degrade as per my experience. I know there are many other oils out there but this is specifically just for olive oil and it’s various kinds for soap making.

Hi..Are you from India?? If so what brand of olive oil do you use?? I want to make some soaps for my kids but it's really confusing to choose a trusted olive oil brand.

 

[Candybee]

I find my favorite is regular olive oil or what is sometimes referred to sauteing or cooking olive oil. Its a light golden olive color and feels good on my skin in the finished soap. I also like that it does not impart any off white or dark color in the soap batter like of the EVOO's or pomace oils do. Also, I find pomace speeds up my trace and makes it problematic to swirling and coloring my soap.