Hi all. I am brand new at soapmaing and have a lot of questions. Is it ok to use olive oil or coconut oil from the grocery store in soap recipes?
Can oils from the grocers be used in soaps
- Thread starter amsharron
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Yes - that's what I do : )
Hi and welcome! Yes, many of us here use grocery store oils, including olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, palm shortening, lard, canola oil, castor oil, and more. Just check the expiration date to be sure you will use it by then. 
Keep it simple to start. And small scale too. You'll be less frustrated, waste less, have more FUN. Welcome.
Thanks. That really helps. So if I am wanting oliv oil, which should I get. Thre are differnt types and processed differently.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I use only Dr. Bronner's coconut oil! It's fabulous.
Welcome!
Pomace olive oil will typically accelerate your soap batter, so I'd stay away from that as a beginner. Extra virgin olive oil tastes great, but is typically more expensive than "light" olive oil. I typically buy light olive oil at Costco; it's the best price in my area.
Grocery store, Costco. Big Lots, Amazon…. Agree with AliOop, check the dates and be sure it’s not a blend with a misleading label, and happy soaping! Welcome to the forum 
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I saw that 8 lbs of lard is $20 at Walmart. The regular great value olive oil is $16.16 for 101 ozs.
I get my EVOO at Costco too. I also buy things like sunflower oil at my local Haggen's.
I buy lard from grocery store.
Yes, you just want to double-check the label to make sure that it contains 100% of that oil and is not a 'blend'. I buy my Olive, Avocado and Coconut Oils from Costco and Lard from Wal-Mart.
Garden Gives Me Joy
Well-Known Member
I actually used to soap with almost only oils that I know I would cook with so that, if I no longer wanted to use that oil, it won't go to waste. Coconut, avocado and olive oils are classic examples for me. That way, I was happy to buy in larger volumes to save.
Look for high oleic sunflower or safflower oil and substitute it for the olive oil. Both are great to create a white soap, especially the safflower. I haven’t had the opportunity to check into high oleic canola oil yet. My previous experience two decades ago was so disastrous with DOS that I never wanted to use canola again. The high oleic safflower and sunflower may not be labeled as such, so look for the number 11 on the mono unsaturated fats.
Not quite the same, but soap making ingredients are how I choose what other products to sell.
Making soap led to making lotion bars as I could use existing butters and scents...just add bees wax.
Making soap led to making salt soap, goat milk soap and mechanic's soap...just add salt, goat milk and powdered pumice.
Making salt soap led to bath salts and salt scrubs. And if I'm making salt scrubs, I can make sugar scrubs because it's something I already have in the house.
Making lotion bars had led to making lip balm...just need tubes.
Of course, now I'm going off the rails because I'm getting into lotions, but I'm testing bases right now as opposed to making it completely from scratch...partly because I'm lazy and partly because I would need more storage.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
You may want to check out Essentials by Catalina - Since they provide products for the hospitality industry, they reach a broad spectrum of society, Over the years, I've tried several different samples and liked each and everyone.
I'm drawn to their A, C & E Lotion Base. $49/Gallon
You can buy a sample size for $5.50 Take a look around for samples of products for personal use to add to your cart to spread the shipping over several items. The ALL NATURAL SAMPLE PACK would by my choice.
Also, check out their SURPLUS section for bargains.
Their Bottles and Containers are worth a look as well.
They have been in business for years. Good company to do business with.
At the bottom of the Lotion Base Ingredients page, you can click to copy ingredients to your clipboard. What I like about that is I recognize all the ingredients and the purpose they serve. If you've made lotion from scratch you probably wiil too!
Deionized Water,
Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil,
Isopropyl Myristate,
Glycerin,
Stearic Acid,
Cetyl Alcohol,
Glyceryl Stearate,
Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter,
Dimethicone,
Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Acetate),
Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate),
Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (Vitamin C),
Organic Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract,
Organic Calendula Officinalis (Marigold) Flower Extract,
Organic Chamomilla Recutita (Chamomile) Flower Extract,
Symphytum Officinale (Comfrey) Root Extract,
Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract,
Carbomer,
Xanthan Gum,
Triethanolamine,
Phenoxyethanol, <<< Preservative
Hexylene Glycol,
Caprylyl Glycol,
Ethylhexylglycerin
Their Back to Basics Hand & Body Lotion is a good one too. $40/Gallon plus FREE shipping.
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Good to know-thank you!
