Internet spam and (separate issue) canola oil

Boy, I hate spammers. I wish there was some way I could make it *less* profitable for them to post. I have no desire to learn about black magic and internet marriages.

Canola oil: I bought a couple of gallons of this when I first started doing CP several months ago b/c I had a recipe that used it that I liked (but not in huge proportions, 20% or so) and it was so easy to get it locally. Now I do not want to use it so much b/c I don't want to add preservatives, etc., to avoid potential DOS problems.

So what I would like to do is make a few large (for me) batches to take to the folks at the local homeless and dog shelters (for the people that work/use them, not the dogs). Does anyone have a recipe they can recommend for something that is largely canola? Have not seen one, really. Am good w/adding other oils, FO's, etc, but would like to use up this oil for a productive reason rather than having it sit and having to throw it out in 6 mos.

You might look for recipes that use safflower, sunflower, or soybean oils. At first blush they seem to have a similar profile and those are a little more commonly used.

Ally, I'm with you on the spammers - I almost PM'd this last one but not worth it.

The higher amt of canola will probably just increase your DOS risk, and probably quicker as well. Maybe you could go as high as 20% with a CO soap and use as your SF. Maybe let the folks at the shelter know the canola is very conditioning and to use the soap immediately. I also put a tsp of vitamin e in all my gallon bottles to prolong lifespan as well.

Maybe HP?

Thanks, Lee. Having a bit of a problem b/c canola (and maybe the others) does not seem to be one of the oils that people use in large proportions except for single oil tests. I wanted to make a nice soap w/it that might be kind of a treat for folks that otherwise would not use handmade soap - y'all know, it is expensive to buy on the open market - but maybe I will just bite the bullet and do the regular recipe with the regular stuff, even if it costs a bit more. Those shelter people are pretty awesome and do not make much money, they are worth it!

Cindy, would def. let folks know to use it fast, just b/c of the DOS thing. I think it would get used fast, though, a lot of people and not that much soap (relatively speaking.) I did not think about putting the Vit. E *in* the oil before soaping, I have some around and will try that.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Sure, I get it. All ya gotta do is hydrogenate it and you can do a single oil batch I think.

I wouldn't see any reason you couldn't use up to 25% canola as a replacement for other moisturizing oils. The levels of linoleic and linolenic acid are completely reasonable if the other oils have low levels of them, so the risk of DOS is minor (I checked it against a balance of CO, which is very low in both).

For inexpensive, 25% canola, 60% lard and 15% coconut oil (for the bubbles) would be a very nice soap. Or drop the canola a bit and also use castor oil for the sustained lather.

You don't need a preservative in your soap. In fact, a preservative would not keep DOS at bay. You need an antioxidant like vitamin e or ROE to fight DOS because DOS is actually the oxidation of the oils - hence the antioxidant.

Morpheus, I am going to take your advice and use your suggestion re canola, lard (of which I also have a huge amt for a hobbyist b/c here in LA you can only locally buy either 4 lbs or 50 lbs, guess which way I went), and coconut. Thank you for talking me through/doing the sciency-bit, I tend to be pretty hit or miss with that part. I really appreciate it.

Another question, for those who have the patience: I just make soaps for myself, my family and friends. So if I am doing it to give away to a larger group like this, most of whom I do not know, what scents? I would like to do a simple swirl so that it looks pretty (ie; not "shelter soap") and do maybe 6 large-ish batches. Would like to pick maybe 6 of the most commonly liked fragrances so that hopefully most people can choose something they like. Or maybe 5 w/one unscented batch for those who don't like them scented. I don't really know about this stuff b/c I don't sell, my user base is pretty small. I have enough FO's/EO's to cover the spectrum, I am a FO ho and have a lot from doing mp before and CP now. This is not really a "what kind of scent do you like" as a "what kind of scent do most people like".

I would suggest covering a spectrum of scents; lavender is always a favorite, you can't go wrong with a citrus - they have a tendency to be a milder scent; a soft floral blend for "girly girls", nag champa or bay rum, a "green" fragrance like clover and aloe, and maybe a food scent; coffee, apple jack and cinnamon, etc.

Like Cindy said if you cover most groups of fragrances they will find something they will like.
My two (six) cents (scents) worth -
1) - Floral (frangipani, gardenia)
2)- Fruity ( passionfruit, papaya, pear)
3)- Fresh ( lemongrass)
4)- Food ( crème broulee)
5)- Man (oakmoss/amber, beer)
6) - Hippy ( patchouli )

For scent, when giving to a wide and unknown audience, I'd either do a mix as suggested, or do a single scent that's unisex and generally liked.

If it were me? There would be a lot of vanilla (mind the browning), Clean Laundry, and mint batches being made (single scent, not mixed together). Few dislike those scents and both men and women enjoy them.

Granted, if I were homeless and somebody gave me a bar of Lavender and Plumeria scented soap, my response would be "thank you!" Gift horse and all that. So I'd say make whatever you want, people will be very grateful.

My wife really likes a "spa" scent. Sort of a beachy clean air sort of thing. I think something like that would be fairly universally appreciated. For what it's worth this is Soapalooza Mineral Salt Spa.

I am one of few I suppose that happens to like canola oil in soap. Aside from that if you check out Miller Soap she has some recipes for canolive soaps that I have never had acquire dos. Have kept some over a year and used periodically, just so they would get wet, and never had dos. http://www.millersoap.com/soapallveg.html#CanoliveII

Carolyn, I like canola in soaps too. Tried a bar from the early days, it is *really* nice. I am just concerned b/c of all the DOS talk. Plus I have pretty much migrated over to large percentages of lard/tallow so I want to get rid of the additional oils that I do not use customarily with the basic recipe I use w/ lard and tallow.

Another shout out for lard: I actually used my kitchen for actual cooking, rather than soap, last night. Made chicken nuggets from the recipe of a neighbor who dropped some off the other day (nice neighbor). That stuff is *GREAT* to fry in, I have so much of it (bought for soap) and wanted to check it out in food.

Appears to have a high, stable non-burn point, so that you can get the temps high enough to cook in, but also keep the food in for long enough to cook and brown.

I told my mom about this and she was kind of horrified b/c of what she perceives as health issues, but the Paleo folks love it.

Also, wanted to say thank you to all for your suggestions on scent. Have sort of consolidated them and I think the result will be a nice, acceptable to all, group of fragrances.

It would be hard for me to sell, I think, I like certain scents so much (green/unisex/water), that others often don't. I would hate to make a really sugary, fruity, teen spirit scent over and over again b/c it is a good seller.

Hard enough to make my mom's favorite soap ("MORE JASMINE. I WANT IT TO BE STRONG!!!") Sorry for the caps, but that is really how she sounds, despite my telling her I don't want to burn her skin off. I used to kind of like jasmine, but it makes me feel a bit sick now

I have the same reaction to lavender and musk. A friend of mine won't use anything else, and she keeps telling me to make it strong.

The stuff practically gasses me out of the kitchen when I make it, and results in a headache and considerable nausea. I hate lavender. I'm neutral on musk, leaning toward mild dislike.

I tend to make large batches so I don't have to do this often. But if I sold? Lavender is usually a hot seller.

I always have a lavender in the works, I adore lavender/ anise mix, and my friends either love it or hate it, which is fine. Rosemary mint is nice, so is patchouli alone or with citrus. I like unisex scents, so I have lots of mixes with eucalyptus, Rosemary, citrus (grapefruit/ tangerine / litsea). Hubby loves tea tree, but I'm kind of off it for now.

And I'm getting the urge to try canola and sunflower oils... I'll probably use some ROE just for fun.

Seawolfe and Morpheus, Lavendar is definitely on. I didn't like it that much before I made soap, but I do now (however, do not have to make huge strong batches for anyone else I hate tea tree oil, though, that must be one of those binary scents that you either love or hate, like cilantro.