Castor Oil in HP

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gbtreasures

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Hello everyone, I have recently begun to make HP soap again and have a few questions. Upon saponification, does the soap retain any of the base oil’s properties such as lather, moisturizing benefits, etc., or do they disappear? If you want to add castor oil for lather benefits, is it best to add as a base oil which would be saponified, or as a superfatting oil after the cook? I apologize if this question has been addressed, but I could not find posts on this subject. Thank you for your brilliance!
 
Castor needs to be saponified for it to boost lather so add it to your base oils. Oils base properties change upon saponification so if you want a certain oil benefits to remain, add it as a SF. I personally like a little shea butter for SF.
 
Welcome back!

Hello everyone, I have recently begun to make HP soap again and have a few questions. Upon saponification, does the soap retain any of the base oil’s properties such as lather, moisturizing benefits, etc., or do they disappear? If you want to add castor oil for lather benefits, is it best to add as a base oil which would be saponified, or as a superfatting oil after the cook? I apologize if this question has been addressed, but I could not find posts on this subject. Thank you for your brilliance!

The basic principle of soap is that the oils and fats get pulled apart into their 3 fatty acids and 1 glycerin molecules by the hydroxide, and the whole lot is reformed into 3 bits of soap, 1 bit of glycerin and the left over water and glycerin.

So, the oil itself is destroyed and remade. Each of the original fatty acids bring their own properties to soap (which is why the calculators describe the different qualities of the fatty acids).

There are also unsaponifiables in the oils and fats (bits that can't be pulled apart and converted into soap), that may also carry through the process to have an effect on your final soap.

As Obsidian said, castor oil needs to be saponified, to convert it's fatty acid into the soap that acts as the bubble booster.
 
THank you Obsidian and Saltyfig for your explanations! I will need to mull over your responses in order to absorb what you have said. I realize now more than ever how important it is to do my homework first and experiment making soap. I appreciate your time and expertise!
 
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