Coconut Oil Woes

[chunsaaegi]

Greetings!

I am fairly new to the world of home made soap so I may sound silly. I thought it would be a lovely idea to get some home made Guinness stoat soap as part of the gifts for my fiance's groomsmen for our September wedding. I did not realize that coconut oil is such a prominent ingredient in soap. Our best man and maid of honor are a couple. She has a horrible allergy to all things coconut. Is there someone out there that substitutes for coconut oil? I'd like to keep the gifts the way they are.

 

[Genny]

Welcome to the forum.

Babassu oil and palm kernel oil have similar properties to coconut oil

 

[lizflowers42]

I just made my first soap with PKO recently that didn't have CO in it, so I am excited to see how that works out! Also, if you post your recipe, there are plenty of knowledgeable soapers on here who can help make suggestions! This is a great place, welcome!

 

[CaliChan]

I mainly use coconut oil cause it makes bubbles. Non cleansing soaps still get you clean. So I just use castor oil to make my soaps more bubbly when I'm not using coconut

 

[sistrum]

I very rarely use coconut oil in my soaps, I use palm kernel oil instead, it's a tad bit more conditioning and doesen't seem to bother as many people as coconut oil. ( plus I can't stand the way coconut oil smells in soap). Give it a try and see what you think.

 

[judymoody]

Coconut oil is not necessary.

However, as babassu and palm kernel are quite similar in chemical composition to coconut, you might want to do a skin test with your friend to make sure they don't have a sensitivity. You could rub a small amount of the oil on the skin as a patch test.

Olive oil, avocado oil, palm (or lard), and cocoa butter makes a very nice soap that lathers well.