Emu Oil

[cg_lem]

Has anyone used emu oil in your soaps? How have you liked it/not liked it? What can I expect from it if I put it in my next batch?

I've just found several small sample bottles I was given a while ago. LOVE this stuff, but have never used it in my soaps. . . . .

Thanks!

- Cathy

 

[AngelMomma]

I haven't ever used it......but I have been wondering if it was smelly. In a bad way, LOL.

 

[ClaraSuds]

It smells slightly waxy if anything. Its a nice oil but very pricey and when I did use it on my skin I often wondered if it wasn't just nicely packaged chicken fat... having rendered a fair amount of animal fat now I'll be honest and say most AO's feel pretty similar to emu oil. I wouldn't waste that super expensive oil in soap when lard will give you pretty similar results.

 

[new12soap]

I'm with clara here, I know others have used it, but I think the super expensive luxury oils are really more suitable for a leave-on product like lotion or face cream. JM2C

 

[cg_lem]

Well, thanks for this input! The oil doesn't smell at all as it is, and it does feel wonderful when I put it on my skin.

But I think I will take your advice here, and simply keep it separate from my soap. (Maybe at some point I'll try it on a single bar for myself-- just to say I did. . . . . . ) ;-)

Thanks again!

- Cathy

 

[cg_lem]

Well, I just wanted to let you know here that I decided to just go ahead and do it. I've made a batch of soap and used just .2 oz of emu oil from one of my sample bottles in it. (It's an app. 4 lb batch.)

Already, while cleaning up my pans, etc., I got some on my hands, and I think I like what I'm already feeling.

We'll see what happens, of course, as this soap cures. Maybe this'll be my first "luxury" soap batch. Don't have many of these samples, and I won't be going out of my way to get more-- unless people like it!

I'm still so new with soap making. This has already proven a fun experiment! ;-)

- Cathy

 

[Maythorn]

It does remind me of chicken fat and is nice topically but I wouldn't say better than extra virgin olive oil is. I'm all for lard and I wish the handmade soapmaking business could somehow get that across to customers for better label appeal. If people can use emu oil straight from the bottle, like it and not be appalled why not lard in soap?

I bet if it wasn't so cheap people would be all over it. A high price can be very persuasive. Look at that Bag Balm craze or Cabbage Patch Kids back in the eighties.

 

[cg_lem]

You have used emu oil in soap before, then, Maythorn? Have you used chicken fat and lard in soap as well, too? See, I've not used any animal products in my soaps until now. I really like, like I said, what I'm feeling already in this soap. You're saying I'll get this same feeling with these other animal oils? It's quite a more smoother feel than just the olive oil-- which I've used in every batch I've made so far. My first batch I made with extra virgin OO-- but it didn't turn out at all. I only use the "regular" OO now. Do you use the extra virgin OO as your primary oil, or do you used it as a special "additional" oil to your soaps?

Do you use much lard in your soaps then? Do you use tallow? If so, how do you like that? I have a potential source for tallow and am curious about it.

I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions. I'm still so new to all of this.

Are you saying that, with emu oil in this batch I've just made, I can not feel bad about asking a more "premium" price? I really don't have much emu oil at all on hand. But if people like it and are willing to pay for it, I will certainly get more.

 

[Lindy]

I've only used it in lotions because of its amazing healing properties. At the price it sells for I think it is wasted in soap, at least in my opinion... great label appeal though.... :wink:

 

[Maythorn]

No, I never used emu oil in soap just on face. I also like wheat germ but there's that little bit of a harsh wheat smell to it and I read rice bran oil is very popular in Asia to moisturize the face. Chicken fat it seems has been used in soap and on one chart it has a saponification value of .1389. And lard is the only animal fat I've used except that shortening from Walmart with tallow and lard + soybean and cottonseed which is very good but that worked out to actually be more expensive than lard. I wanted to keep it cheap because I bombed at several recipes at first (still can if the scent or color throws me). I agree with anyone that says lard is conditioning and mild.

I'm no expert but my lard recipe I figured out by much trial and error (this won't work for palm subbed, it would add too much hardness):

39-40% lard
25% olive oil
25-26% palm kernel and coconut or just coconut
5% castor oil (I found that 6% with milk and all that lard it was just a little too creamy of a lather for me and that was after long cure)
5% almond, corn, liquid soybean or safflower (all have the same SAP value of .136 according to chart).

It's a hard bar with buttermilk, coconut milk, or goats' milk added and not gellling if you don't want to do that step, which I read makes your bars softer than gelling. This chart also has cod liver oil on it and someone asked about using fish oil capsules in soap recently, .1326.

Definitely, if you feel a difference from other soaps you've tried, emu oil soap would seem like a premium, luxury sort of soap.

 

[Relle]

I hope you don't mind me asking all these questions. I'm still so new to all of this.

Are you saying that, with emu oil in this batch I've just made, I can not feel bad about asking a more "premium" price? I really don't have much emu oil at all on hand. But if people like it and are willing to pay for it, I will certainly get more.

As you said you are new to soap making, you might consider reading this before selling and worrying about a premium price -
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=17621

 

[judymoody]

Call me skeptical, but .2 ounces of emu oil in a four pound batch of soap is unlikely to be detectable in the finished product. I think that the power of suggestion may be at work here. To see a difference, I'd try it at least 5% of your oils and then compare it to a control bar that doesn't have the emu but has similar proportions of remaining oils.

That said, as others have mentioned, I'd not waste it on a wash-off product. Better used in a serum or lotion.

 

[cg_lem]

Lindy – I hear you. But I figured I’d go ahead and try this little bit that I’ve got. ;-)

Judy – Please know I, too, am skeptical. I fully agree that .2 oz is miniscule in a 4 lb batch! The recipe, though, is one I’ve already used for a couple other batches—a simple shea butter/oatmeal one (with olive oil, coconut oil, and a small bit of sweet almond and castor oils as well). I eagerly await this soap curing so that I can find out how it’s “really” going to feel. But, like I said, the feeling I and the rest of those in my little family here had when touching and rubbing the soap “residue” after I poured the soap into the molds was strikingly similar to what I know emu oil alone feels like. So, who knows? I’ve just cut my log today, and the soap, while holding shape, is quite soft. I’m looking forward to what I’m going to find out. That’s a good idea—I will try this against a “control bar” that I made without it. That should be interesting.

Maythorn – Thanks for the recipe and further info on lards, etc.! We have dairy goats on our farm, and their milk is what I have been using primarily for the liquid in my soaps. Yikes, though, using the capsules for cod liver oil in soaps?!! That would get very expensive, I would think!

Relle9 – Thanks a TON for the great link! That is exactly what I’ve been wanting to find, more details on running a soaping business (running a home-based business in general)! Right now I’m only selling/giving to family and friends. I’m definitely not ready to go “big time” with anything—yet, if ever! We’re on a small farm (kinda new in this state/area) in a county that has a lot of farms and home based businesses, and in a state that has few but sometimes rather confusing business laws, so we’ve been working to familiarize ourselves with as much as we can, step by step. This gives me a great place to begin, as far as a soaping business. (I only asked what I did about the emu oil in soaps because it intrigued me—I hadn’t really thought about something “premium” with them!) ;-)

All this being said, the emu oil is in the soap. I’m liking things so far. But I’m preparing myself for things to go one way or the other—as this is an experiment.

Thanks to everyone! I'm so glad to have found this forum!!

- Cathy

 

[ClaraSuds]

Cathy,

I use both lard and tallow in soap and it makes an amazing soap, far better (to my mind in terms of lather, lasting ability and overall feel) than the all vege batch I made. Unfortunately AO's are just not 'pc' to use these days and a lot of people will claim an aversion to it either on ethical, vegetarian or just 'eww!' factor grounds. As has already been said tallow and lard doesn't have the same label appeal as other oils. I used emu oil extensively in my lotions for quite some time but to be honest it wasn't anything more special and a lot more expensive than any other animal fat. If you want to try bird fat in your soap I'd encourage you to use duck fat, very similar and you can at least eat the duck as well. :wink: A single duck will yield you about 1/2 cup of fat, enough for a personal batch of luxury soap.

 

[Maythorn]

I rarely meet vegetarians and rarer than that is a vegan. And some are only concerned with meat in their diets. Never hardly meet males who are label-readers of soap. They just might like pumice or Fullers' earth for a good hand cleanser. But I know of lots of guys who belong to the Humane Society and palm deforestation info is beginning to circulate and reach people more. Worst of all to me is animal testing on live animals and any person who buys cosmetics needs to think about that, not just avoid lard and tallow soaps and it's all cool.

I'm somewhat reassured by the fact that pigs are killed for pork not lard and the lard doesn't go to waste, you can cook with it or make soap. (Lard in biscuits beats shortening hands down). I can never imagine a time when humans don't eat meat but I don't think emus are meat, that's strictly for their oil? Unless the feathers are used, too, in some way.

 

[Relle]

I can never imagine a time when humans don't eat meat but I don't think emus are meat, that's strictly for their oil? Unless the feathers are used, too, in some way.

Of course emus are used for their meat and the feathers are used in millinery and my dh uses them for making fishing flys. Here is a link for more info on emus
http://www.emuheaven.com.au/

 

[Maythorn]

Well, that's good they don't go to any waste then but I never heard of emu meat until today.

 

[cg_lem]

Clara – Thanks for the info! We’ve got connections with a meat processing plant nearby (we’re on a farm/ranch ourselves), and they’ve told me they often have tallow available for “pretty cheap”. I really may try this. I’m curious about the duck fat. Our daughter’s just started raising ducks. She’s got three so far. I’ll have to think about this idea. . . . . ;-)

Maythorn – Maybe just an “FYI” ;-) – when we process our own meats or take them to be processed we use every bit we can. I hate to throw anything away! (If I knew how to tan a hide, I’d probably be doing that too!) The reason I’ve got the little bits of emu oil is because we were at one time considering taking on emus ourselves. Their meat is wonderful! It tastes just like beef, and it’s got absolutely no fat (almost like buffalo, one of my favorites!). It’s quite expensive meat too. We still may try emus some time. When we do, if these soaps turn out the way they might, I’ll be making more using their oil. In the meantime, we’re happy with the animals we’ve got!

 

[cg_lem]

Emu eggs are absolutely beautiful too-- the shells are a stunning deep green!

- Cathy

 

[Lindy]

I have a full line of tallow soaps and they sell really, really well. Also my shampoo bars are tallow and also sell incredibly well. There is a significant "whole animal" movement and I am finding there are less and less vegetarians let alone true vegans anymore and trust me - I live in granola country.

If we approach these products apologizing for being uncouth enough to make them then they will never sell. But when we take pride in what amazing soaps they are they sell very well. I have a goat milk line which I am always trying to keep up on, plus a vegetable oil line as well. Remember, your customers see you as the expert and if you can explain what amazing properties these soaps have then they will sell. I was talking to a customer today and we were discussing the tallow. I let them know that the only vegetable alternative is palm oil which I won't use because of all the issues surrounding it - deforestation, killing of orangutans through loss of habitat; killing of small farmers who won't sell to the big guys, etc., etc.

Learn what each oil brings to the finished product and be the expert. You'll do far better than if you are bowing to public pressure, or perceived public pressure...