Curious about some recipes

[Pizzaface]

I'm still pretty new, and i've been playing around with and experimenting trying new stuff.

All i've got is:
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Grapeseed Oil
Vegetable Shortening (Crisco)

I've been doing usually an 80/20 OO/Coconut.. Superfatting with a bit of grapeseed.. it's a moisturizer right?

The crisco is okay to use right? Will it make my bars firmer since it's more of a solid oil?
Are there any other oils I should really get focused on picking up? Should i go heavier than I have been going on the coconut oil? I put one into SoapCalc and came up with
50% Olive Oil
30% Coconut Oil
20% Crisco

It comes out with some pretty good numbers.. 36 Hardness, 20 Cleansing, 59 Conditioning, 20 Bubbles, 16 Creamy, 63 Iodine

All of the numbers seem to be within a decent range.. but i'm not really 100% sure what i'm doing until I actually do it and see what comes out

Thanks for any tips/help

 

[tincanac]

Grapeseed apparently goes rancid faster - I bought a lot cos it was so cheap - and now I only use it as a carrier oil for massages and the like. Olive Oil takes forever to cure and trace (IMO). Coconut will give you a nice hard bar. There are some great Crisco soap recipes on the net - my favourites are the crisco soap in a blender recipes.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[Pizzaface]

Ah good. I'll definately stop using that stuff then.
I ordered a bunch of fragrance oils and some pigments i'm really excited for them.

 

[Dixie]

Pizzaface, please don't rule out grapeseed oil all together! It has great qualities. Just cut back on it and use it in small amts.

Grape seed oil is a preferred cosmetic ingredient for damaged and stressed tissues, possessing regenerative and restructuring qualities which allow a better control of skin moisturization. It can help skin retain the normal structure of epithelium cells and nerve cells via supporting the cell membranes.

 

[honor435]

try some palm or palm kernel it makes the soap SO nice, you can get palm in health stores(disguised as shortening). Castor is also a great way to make bubbles, i use 2-3 oz per 2 lbs.