Beautiful pure white...from?

[luluzapcat]

I made Zany's no-slime castile with an "unrefined olive oil"--the cheapest olive oil I could purchase in bulk from an organic grocery store around here.

It came out a gorgeous pure white.

Was this likely from the oil? From the "faux seawater" that is used in Zany's recipe? A combination?

I'm particularly curious because I'm experimenting with rice bran oil, which has very a very similar fatty acid profile to olive oil. Bars I've made with that so far have been much darker, but they haven't been single oil soaps. I've added soy wax to those.

I'll get to experimenting on single oil rice bran soon, but maybe some of you can save me a few steps...

thanks!

 

[penelopejane]

The white is from the olive oil. Pure olive oil soap gets whiter as it ages.

 

[luluzapcat]

Thanks penelopejane!

Do we know what it IS about olive oil that gets so white? I'm curious about the chemistry of that...

 

[RogueRose]

I made Zany's no-slime castile with an "unrefined olive oil"--the cheapest olive oil I could purchase in bulk from an organic grocery store around here.

It came out a gorgeous pure white.

Was this likely from the oil? From the "faux seawater" that is used in Zany's recipe? A combination?

I'm particularly curious because I'm experimenting with rice bran oil, which has very a very similar fatty acid profile to olive oil. Bars I've made with that so far have been much darker, but they haven't been single oil soaps. I've added soy wax to those.

I'll get to experimenting on single oil rice bran soon, but maybe some of you can save me a few steps...

thanks!

Do you have a link to this recipe? I'd like to check it out.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Do you have a link to this recipe? I'd like to check it out.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/zanys-no-slime-castile.72620/

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Just this past weekend I made a recipe that produced snow white soap. That’s the whitest soap I’ve made since I started making soap about a year ago. It’s whiter than my OO soaps. The recipe is only lard/tallow shortening, lard and coconut oil. A recipe with those same ingredients plus RBO turns out yellowish cream. I’m thinking the discoloration from RBO is due to the relatively high concentration of linoleic fatty acid.

 

[luluzapcat]

Oh thanks--I had been thinking RBO and Olive oil had very similar fatty acid profiles, but I see now that Olive is 12% linoleic vs. RBO at 34%.

 

[lenarenee]

Its quite possible the oo you got is cut with cheaper oils like canola or sunflower. Adulterated olive oil is the norm, 100% pure olive oil is more rare.
Those oils make a white bar.

 

[luluzapcat]

Its quite possible the oo you got is cut with cheaper oils like canola or sunflower. Adulterated olive oil is the norm, 100% pure olive oil is more rare.
Those oils make a white bar.

That is interesting. I would say that despite the "no-slime" moniker I'm getting lots of slime after many months of cure, so seems like olive oil...unless canola and sunflower do that too. I'll research that one!

 

[cmzaha]

That is interesting. I would say that despite the "no-slime" moniker I'm getting lots of slime after many months of cure, so seems like olive oil...unless canola and sunflower do that too. I'll research that one!

When I do make OO soap I use the pure OO from Costco and it comes out pretty white. I just do not think all that much OO is adulterated without being labeled. I found the "No Slime" recipe to be just as slimy and no I do not get slime with Canola or Sunflower which I use one or the other in all my soaps, and mine ended up with DOS. So needless to say I was not impressed with the recipe. Sorry Zany.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Oh thanks--I had been thinking RBO and Olive oil had very similar fatty acid profiles, but I see now that Olive is 12% linoleic vs. RBO at 34%.

I also think that soy wax might darken soaps, but I haven’t had a chance to try my soy wax recipe without RBO.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use Soy wax and RBO both at 20% in my recipe - and coupled with the CO, and Shea butter I can get a reasonably white bar providing I don't use Aloe juice or a discolouring FO. I did make a pure white bar about a year ago, but I notice I only used 10% RBO in that one. This photo was taken outside with sun low on the horizon, which caused the shading:

 

[luluzapcat]

I just made a batch yesterday with 20% RBO, 40% olive, 20% coconut, and 20% soy wax. I'll see what I get...the soy wax may also darken it, though.

 

[penelopejane]

Different brands and different batches of RB oil vary in colour too.

FOs that give you pure white are difficult to find. A lot of reviews say “no discolouration” and it turns out that can refer to anything from white to fawn. FOs take days or longer to reach their final colour.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Different brands and different batches of RB oil vary in colour too.

FOs that give you pure white are difficult to find. A lot of reviews say “no discolouration” and it turns out that can refer to anything from white to fawn. FOs take days or longer to reach their final colour.

Yes I always choose the lightest colour RBO and OO from the supermarket shelves.

 

[blueginkgo]

FOs that give you pure white are difficult to find. A lot of reviews say “no discolouration” and it turns out that can refer to anything from white to fawn.

Truer words were never spoken. No discoloration = white to fawn. Discolors to light tan = light tan to milk chocolate, almost always the latter for me.

The best FO I use for making a white bar is Vetyver from Brambleberry. For me it actually makes soap that is whiter than the same recipe with no FO.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Yes I always choose the lightest colour RBO and OO from the supermarket shelves.

My RBO comes from Riceland, a major RBO producer in the US. It is almost cloudy at room temperature and has a fraction that settles out to the bottom. The fraction I see at the bottom melts clear. Do you see those qualities in the RBO you buy? I will take some pics this weekend.

 

[KiwiMoose]

My RBO comes from Riceland, a major RBO producer in the US. It is almost cloudy at room temperature and has a fraction that settles out to the bottom. The fraction I see at the bottom melts clear. Do you see those qualities in the RBO you buy? I will take some pics this weekend.

Interesting - I only see that cloudiness in Olive Oil. Our RBO is pretty golden in colour, but clear.

 

[lenarenee]

That is interesting. I would say that despite the "no-slime" moniker I'm getting lots of slime after many months of cure, so seems like olive oil...unless canola and sunflower do that too. I'll research that one!

If I remember from reading others' experience with other high oleic oils aside from olive, yes, they also have some issues with slime. I hope someone who knows for a fact can tell us for sure.

 

[penelopejane]

My RBO comes from Riceland, a major RBO producer in the US. It is almost cloudy at room temperature and has a fraction that settles out to the bottom. The fraction I see at the bottom melts clear. Do you see those qualities in the RBO you buy? I will take some pics this weekend.

No our RBO from 2 manufacturers is perfectly clear. It can be yellow to almost orange (I try not to buy it when it is that dark) but always clear.