I have these oils available - what percentages should I use?

[robosqu1d]

Hello!
I have the following oils available to me and have been plugging various combinations into soapcalc to try to get a soap that looks decent, but something is always out of the 'recommended' range. Usually the creaminess = too low and the iodine = too high (does that matter??)

Can anyone offer advice? I live in England (Nottingham) and cannot find shea butter or palm oil which so many recipes seem to rely upon. Anyway, here goes:

olive oil
sweet almond oil
sunflower oil
coconut oil (the 76 type I think, it seems to melt pretty easily)
rice bran oil
walnut oil
rapeseed oil

These are what I have at home, although Tesco's also sell grapeseed, hemp and corn oils. Sunflower is our 'default' cooking oil and is cheap and plentiful, but I understand it makes for soft bars.

Any help appreciated. This is a new hobby for me - been making soap for about 2 weeks now with mixed success , lots to learn.

 

[Obsidian]

Are you against using lard? Its a perfect substitute for palm and will really improve your soap. I would stay away from corn/grapeseed or any other oil that has a short shelf life, it can contribute to rancidity.

You could make a 75% olive oil, 25% coconut oil bar but being that high in OO, you will need a nice long cure. If you are ok with lard, try 50% olive oil, 30% lard and 20% coconut.

 

[AcornSky]

Hi
You can get shea butter and palm oil - and all sorts of lovely things - from any number of places on the internet.

I'm fairly new to this too (and in the UK), but my favourite online shops for all things soapy are Gracefruit, The Soap Kitchen and Plush Folly. Oh, and Naturally Thinking for essential oils and flower waters.

 

[robosqu1d]

Thanks Obsidian
I'll give lard a try for personal use and see how that goes.

I do have a mum, sister and several friends who are all strict vegetarians so will avoid it for the 'Christmas present' stock.

 

[robosqu1d]

Hi
You can get shea butter and palm oil - and all sorts of lovely things - from any number of places on the internet.

I'm fairly new to this too (and in the UK), but my favourite online shops for all things soapy are Gracefruit, The Soap Kitchen and Plush Folly. Oh, and Naturally Thinking for essential oils and flower waters.

Thanks AcornSky - I've used ebay and gracefruit but not seen the others yet so will check them out. I did find 'unrefined palm oil' in Asda a few weeks ago - it made bright orange soap and I almost threw it out. I've just read (on this forum) that if you use only 5% it makes a pleasing yellow, so I might dig it out of the cupboard again, and perhaps add a citrus scent next time. This new hobby is becoming quite absorbing!

 

[nframe]

Hi
You can get shea butter and palm oil - and all sorts of lovely things - from any number of places on the internet.

I'm fairly new to this too (and in the UK), but my favourite online shops for all things soapy are Gracefruit, The Soap Kitchen and Plush Folly. Oh, and Naturally Thinking for essential oils and flower waters.

I am in the UK too and a very good supplier of essential oils is Fresh Skin (http://www.freshskin.co.uk/). Postage is free in the UK.

 

[Susie]

"This new hobby is becoming quite absorbing!"

Welcome to the addiction!

 

[AcornSky]

I am in the UK too and a very good supplier of essential oils is Fresh Skin (http://www.freshskin.co.uk/). Postage is free in the UK.

Thanks for that nframe - I know of Fresh Skin, but have had trouble displaying their website. I'll have a good look in a different browser. Free postage is too good to pass by - I always seem to have one or two small things I need, and paying £6 postage makes it unviable, so I end up getting them on Amazon, often from an unknown source.

 

[Seawolfe]

Im going to be the outlier and tell you of my love for my first bars of 75% OO and 25% CO - hubby loved them at 5% superfat, but I like the superfat a bit higher at 8%. I like them even better with 5% castor oil and 20% CO, but either way it makes nice soap. And they were nice in the shower after 4 weeks cure, but even better with 8 weeks on them. If you use a little clay that helps with the hardness as well and makes for a silky wash.

I adore sweet almond oil in soap - when you try hot process try it as the superfat - SO nice. My first HP was basic OO and CO with almond oil as the superfat and it was lovely.

I do have to agree that lard DOES make a fabulous soap. Our veggie friends wrinkle their nose but we already plan to make more.

 

[littlehands]

Lard is divine in soap. The first recipe I threw together was a lard one, and it's one of my favorites.

 

[Rowan]

Thanks for that too nframe. Having just started out making soap myself, I find that the postage is quite high for the other companies mentioned. You have to do a large order to make it worthwhile ordering and I can't always afford that! Freshskin looks great on pricing too.

Another company that could be tried for soap supplies in the UK, is soapmakers store. Unfortunately I can't do a link, but if you do a search on the name it will come up. They don't have as large a stock as soap kitchen, but they are cheaper on most products. It's still expensive for shipping though.

 

[AcornSky]

I'm going to go and start a thread for recommended suppliers in the UK, so that we can find it when we need it, and maybe even stop coveting Brambleberry...

(Edited to add that I did, and the thread is here.)