Rice Bran Oil Soap

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You can also find RBO in a "feed and seed" store that sells equine supplies. People use it as a supplement when feeding underweight or ill horses. I have no idea if this will be a HO type or regular type RBO however.
I found this at Tractor Supply. It's $36/gallon :O ... Is this what might be used?

Tractor Supply RBO
 
I buy my oils from SoapersChoice
Use the drop-down product menu to see all base oils listed.

In addition to RBO, they have 50/50 Olive/RBO which might work well for you. To spread out shipping costs, I order 4 gallons (7-8 lbs) at a time. Good company to do business with. They've been around since before I started soapmaking in 2003.

NOTE: I've never had DOS or soda ash. To extend shelf life, I add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ROE (33% in jojoba) and 1,000 IU Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols NOT acetate) capsule PPO to every batch.
 
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I get my RBO from my local Asian grocery store.

I poked around Japanese Google and it seems like rice bran soap is a fairly common beginner soap. From the videos and shop listings I saw, the oils involved very from fairly typical oil combos that experienced soapmakers use to 100% RBO soaps by beginners. I saw several mentions of people using ROE. My understanding is that the most important part of the soap is the rice bran itself, which is a beauty ingredient dating back to the Heian era of Japan and is therefore quite beloved.

One idea is to make a small batch using a recipe that's familiar with you (based on your comments it sounds like you have experience) that you already know is good for sensitive skin, but subbing RBO for all or some of the Olive, adding in rice bran at trace, and maybe using rice water. See how your niece likes it.

You should take a look at this thread for Ricey ideas. (I personally like to make rice soap with RBO, rice puree, sweet rice flour, and fermented rice water! People love it 😁)
 
I get my RBO from my local Asian grocery store.

I poked around Japanese Google and it seems like rice bran soap is a fairly common beginner soap. From the videos and shop listings I saw, the oils involved very from fairly typical oil combos that experienced soapmakers use to 100% RBO soaps by beginners. I saw several mentions of people using ROE. My understanding is that the most important part of the soap is the rice bran itself, which is a beauty ingredient dating back to the Heian era of Japan and is therefore quite beloved.

One idea is to make a small batch using a recipe that's familiar with you (based on your comments it sounds like you have experience) that you already know is good for sensitive skin, but subbing RBO for all or some of the Olive, adding in rice bran at trace, and maybe using rice water. See how your niece likes it.

You should take a look at this thread for Ricey ideas. (I personally like to make rice soap with RBO, rice puree, sweet rice flour, and fermented rice water! People love it 😁)
Thank you! There is an Asian Grocery Store about 40 minutes from me, I never even thought to look there for RBO and rice bran powder. And also thank you for the rest of your comments, they've been very helpful.
 
I buy my oils from SoapersChoice
Use the drop-down product menu to see all base oils listed.

In addition to RBO, they have 50/50 Olive/RBO which might work well for you. To spread out shipping costs, I order 4 gallons (7-8 lbs) at a time. Good company to do business with. They've been around since before I started soapmaking in 2003.

NOTE: I've never had DOS or soda ash. To extend shelf life, I add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ROE (33% in jojoba) and 1,000 IU Vitamin E (mixed tocopherols NOT acetate) capsule PPO to every batch.
Perfect! Thank you for letting me know how much ROE and Vit E to use.
 
I can tell you that I have made RBO soaps anywhere from 40% to 80% without any DOS. Usually make mine with lard, a butter and castor oil in various percentage. I love it for my old skin. I do live in the high desert region so very low humidity. I currently have some on my shelves that are 16 months old. I buy my RBO at a restaurant supply store. I do not have any on hand at the moment so I can't tell you if it was high oleic or not. I usually add ROE directly to the bottle when I first use it, but I did not the last time I made soaps. That means all of the soaps I have on my shelves have no ROE used. No DOS yet.
 
@basti, how do you ferment your rice water? I am imagining just cooking until it's mushy and letting it sit but not sure how long. Or if that is just me being dumb :)
Yep, not far off from what the lady in the video Isg shared does!
My major difference is I use short grain rice and leave the rice in the water while its fermenting. I don't have a specific ratio, I'll pour the distilled water amount needed for a soap and add in no more than 1-2 tbsp of rinsed rice grains. I leave it on my counter for 2 days and strain it right into my go-to lye solution container. And yes, it does get stinky 😆 I accidentally spilled some on my counter once and whew...

I don't know if fermented rice water vs normal rice water has a difference in the final soap beyond just label appeal, but there's something about the mindfulness of waiting a few days to make a soap that feels good. Plus, the strained stinky rice goes in my compost bin, which I'm sure is a nice treat for my bugs.
 
I can tell you that I have made RBO soaps anywhere from 40% to 80% without any DOS. Usually make mine with lard, a butter and castor oil in various percentage. I love it for my old skin. I do live in the high desert region so very low humidity. I currently have some on my shelves that are 16 months old. I buy my RBO at a restaurant supply store. I do not have any on hand at the moment so I can't tell you if it was high oleic or not. I usually add ROE directly to the bottle when I first use it, but I did not the last time I made soaps. That means all of the soaps I have on my shelves have no ROE used. No DOS yet.
Would you be so kind to share which restaurant supply store? I've searched locally and not been able to find it at any of those near me. Thank you!
 
North40 carries RBO, not sure if it is HO. BUT, it’s $58 a gallon. 😵‍💫
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Thank you, @lsg ! It looks like they don't sell from their website anymore. :(

If I look on Walmart dot com, their per-gallon price ranges from $40 to $65. o_O I found this 35 gallon option for a good price, with free shipping. Although I couldn't use all 35 gallons before it went bad, I'd be paying the same price as it would cost to buy just four gallons. Maybe I could find someone to share it with me! Is this similar to what you used?
I looked this up, and the package seems to be eight pounds, not gallons. If I'm calculating right, I think that's about 4.3 gallons, which would work out to about $29 US per gallon, which isn't bad, but Amazon has it for ~$28* and you only need to get one gallon at a time, so less risk of it going off while you're working through it. I'll admit being intrigued by the idea of using four and a half gallons of oil at one time for soap (guessing that's a LOT of lye, and I'd have to make more molds!).

-=-
*'Heavenly Chef' brand oil
 
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I'll admit being intrigued by the idea of using four and a half gallons of oil at one time for soap (guessing that's a LOT of lye, and I'd have to make more molds!)
@QuasiQuadrant is the only one I can think of here that MIGHT be making batches that large.

Out of curiosity, does RBO have a smell? And if so, does that smell remain after the lye monster? I've been intrigued by this oil since reading on here about Dawni's (I think that's her name) triple rice recipe. Having a totally olive free yet vegan friendly recipe on hand is very appealing, mostly because it's not the norm.
 
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I found this at Tractor Supply. It's $36/gallon :O ... Is this what might be used?

Tractor Supply RBO
Yes, TSC is what I was thinking of, but I'd expect to find it in other "feed and seed" stores with horse care sections.

Yes, it's expensive. A lot of horse stuff is. But, OTOH, it's a local purchase so no shipping cost.
 
I looked this up, and the package seems to be eight pounds, not gallons. If I'm calculating right, I think that's about 4.3 gallons, which would work out to about $29 US per gallon, which isn't bad, but Amazon has it for ~$28* and you only need to get one gallon at a time, so less risk of it going off while you're working through it. I'll admit being intrigued by the idea of using four and a half gallons of oil at one time for soap (guessing that's a LOT of lye, and I'd have to make more molds!).

-=-
*'Heavenly Chef' brand oil
Hah, you are correct, although I think you meant to say that it is 35 pounds (not eight pounds). 😆

I had misread it as 35 gallons. Definitely a more reasonable option now - thank you!! :)
 
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