Any Ideas for soap with these oils?

[donna75126]

I am clearing out my oils because I am taking a break from soapmaking (I have some classes I need to take for work) these are the oils I have
6 oz of Oilve
8 oz of hazelnut
16 oz Fractionated Coconut oil (I have never used this in soaps)
4 oz safflower
5 oz Apricot
9 oz Avocado
9 oz Sunflower
4 oz Virgin Coconut
8 oz Cocoa butter
8 oz Shea Butter

Also what is a good sub for Palm Oil

Thanks for any help
Donna

 

[newbie]

A good sub for Palm is Tallow or Lard (you'd be able to pick up lard at your grocery store) or Crisco.

I haven't used some of those oils so can't comment but if you have some coconut, butters, and softer oils, I would think as long as they're balanced, you would have a nice batch of soap.

SOmeone with more experience with the oils you list could probably give more specifics. I work mainly with my chosen 5 oils so...

And monkey'ing around with these in SOapCalc or similar could give you an idea of what might work well, always taking SoapCalc with a grain of salt.

 

[lhaase0217]

Donna,

Firstly, how long of a break are you taking? Do you really have to give up soaping all together? Some of these will have a longer shelf life than you might think. You can probably find a friend or co-worker who would enjoy the butters and a couple of the oils are used for massage which means they are great as a non-greasy moisturizer. I like to use sweet almond oil right after I get out of the bath. I just put a bit in my hands, rub them together and quickly rub my body down.

I would put a post on Craigs list or up at the office. Soaping is becoming such a fast growing hobby that someone local might want/need them to start practicing with. They can't be used for sellable soaps since the packages have already been opened but they would be great for someone to practice with.

 

[judymoody]

Fractionated coconut oil is not optimal for soap making.

A combination of avocado and cocoa butter makes a very good substitute for palm oil. As mentioned earlier, lard is the closest single oil substitute for palm.

I messed around in soapcalc a bit to come up with a 2 lb batch but with such a small amount of coconut oil, the cleansing numbers weren't encouraging.

Instead I worked with a 1.5 lb batch and came up with this?

6 oz of Olive
4 oz Virgin Coconut
2 oz Avocado
8 oz Cocoa butter
4 oz Shea Butter

Hardness 47, Cleansing 11, Conditioning 50, not so great on bubbly (11) because of low coconut oil but decent on creamy lather (36)

 

[donna75126]

thank you all for helping me out. I was just kinda concerned that my oils may go bad before I got to use them and I was going to start fresh after I was finished with school. I know the oils cost me a bit of money so I want to use them up.

Donna