First CP batch

[Todd Ziegler]

Congratulations on your first batch.

Keep notes on your batches and eventually you will find what combination of oils you like best. (or in my case keep experimenting looking for your perfect recipe)

This is an expensive hobby and you may want to keep the more expensive oils for lotions etc. Using jojoba in soap can be a waste, but in whipped body butter it is the bomb.

What oils would you recommend using in place of expensive olive oil. Because I did a cost comparison of the 2 pounds of soap I made versus the M&P soap that I have bought. The M&P soap is $8.95 and the CP I made was $9.95. I know that homemade soap has a higher premium than M&P soap but I would like to create a CP soap for a similar cost of M&P. The $9.95 cost is ok but I want to use less olive oil in my recipes. Less olive oil will lower the cost and help with the curing time. I basically want to create a base soap that is affordable to go along with more exotic/expensive soaps.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

I buy in bulk so my cost for 6lbs of soap is around $12 depending on the oils I use. I buy Costco olive oil as it's the most cost effective size I can find without buying a drum of olive oil. Costco olive oil is around $25 for 6 liters. I use about 21 oz per batch of soap so my cost runs around $2.54 per batch which works out to $.46/lb

 

[SoapSisters]

What oils would you recommend using in place of expensive olive oil. Because I did a cost comparison of the 2 pounds of soap I made versus the M&P soap that I have bought. The M&P soap is $8.95 and the CP I made was $9.95. I know that homemade soap has a higher premium than M&P soap but I would like to create a CP soap for a similar cost of M&P. The $9.95 cost is ok but I want to use less olive oil in my recipes. Less olive oil will lower the cost and help with the curing time. I basically want to create a base soap that is affordable to go along with more exotic/expensive soaps.

I switch out some of my olive oil with high oleic sunflower oil. I like the feel of sunflower oil in soap, and it's about half the price of olive oil where I live.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I switch out some of my olive oil with high oleic sunflower oil. I like the feel of sunflower oil in soap, and it's about half the price of olive oil where I live.

Thanks for the reply. Sunflower was on my short list. Do you know if you can use Peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil in CP soap making? I have a gallon of it that I got for another product and didn't end up using it. I don't want it to go to waste but I can't find any information on it, in soap making.

 

[Deborah Long]

@Todd Ziegler - Here's more info on your castor oil - https://www.makeyourown.buzz/peg-40...3nYb8H8VTpHiEGufKQqoDxAvn77yGSUEaAkTcEALw_wcB

 

[Todd Ziegler]

@Todd Ziegler - Here's more info on your castor oil - https://www.makeyourown.buzz/peg-40...3nYb8H8VTpHiEGufKQqoDxAvn77yGSUEaAkTcEALw_wcB

Thanks. I really appreciate it. I love this forum.

 

[Dawni]

Where I am rice bran oil is pretty cheap - much cheaper than olive oil - and suits my skin better as well, and lathers better with a shorter cure time. I've replaced all the olive oil in my recipes with RBO.

Lard is my cheapest fat however and I love it in soap. Hits everything for me - hardness, longevity, lather, cost. I also use canola, which is pretty cheap as well. Regular sunflower is cheap but prone to DOS if you're using a lot of it so I'm not buying again until I find a high oleic version. These two lather great too in my opinion.

Sweet almond and avocado are the other two I use that aren't as expensive as jojoba for example, though they're not as cheap as the above mentioned ones.

What are those 30 something oils that you have?

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Here is a list of all my oils. Most of them I have at least 8 ounces of but due to being really expensive, some of them are 4 ounces or less. I make a lot of different lotions and body products besides soap, so I try to keep at least 4 ounces of everything. I am going to use lard on my next batch and incorporate canola and sunflower into more of my recipes.
1. Grape seed oil
2. Jojoba seed oil
3. Apricot kernel
4. Peach kernel oil
5. Cherry kernel oil
6. Sweet almond kernel oil
7. Murula kernel oil
8. Evening primrose oil
9. Safflower high oleic seed oil
10. Avacodo oil
11. Rosehip oil
12. Rose hip seed oil
13. Hazel nut oil
14. Black cumin seed oil
15. Black seed gooseberry oil
16. Emu oil
17. Neem oil
18. Tamanu oil
19. Camellia seed oil
20. Babassu virgin refined
22. Meadowfoam XPR seed oil
23. Turkey red (castor oil)
24. Hemp seed oil
25. Castor seed oil
26. Abyssinian seed oil
27. Sea buckthorn berry oil
28. MCT coconut oil
30. Carrot oil
31. Carrot seed oil
32. Pomegranate seed oil
33. Raspberry seed oil
34. Lipidthix (butter creator)
35. Moringa seed oil
36. Monoi de tahiti w/coconut oil
37. Camphor
38. Blueberry seed oil
39. Pumpkin seed oil
40. Kukui nut oil
41. Palm oil - no stir
42. Peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil
43. 76°melt coconut oil
44. 92°melt coconut oil
45. Shea nut oil (OS)
46. Daikon seed
47. Buriti nut oil
48. Aloe vera oil
49. Extra virgin olive oil
50. Rice bran oil
51. FSS Passion fruit plant oil
52. FSS phytocide elderberry
53. Sunflower seed oil
54. Soybean oil

 

[Dawni]

Oooh so many!

I also use grapeseed upto 15% in a couple of recipes - one, which I am making right now also has neem and blackseed oils - here it's in the same cost group as avocado and almond. Not so bad, but too much to be in all my regular soaps.

Some here use high oleic safflower instead of olive oil so that's another one to look into.

I know someone who regularly uses soybean. It costs slightly more than canola here. Apparently the lather is awesome, but it's another of those prone to DOS.

I'll leave the rest for the others who are nearer to you. My location isn't a reliable basis for cost, and a lot of those oils aren't even available hehehe

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Oooh so many!

I also use grapeseed upto 15% in a couple of recipes - one, which I am making right now also has neem and blackseed oils - here it's in the same cost group as avocado and almond. Not so bad, but too much to be in all my regular soaps.

Some here use high oleic safflower instead of olive oil so that's another one to look into.

I know someone who regularly uses soybean. It costs slightly more than canola here. Apparently the lather is awesome, but it's another of those prone to DOS.

I'll leave the rest for the others who are nearer to you. My location isn't a reliable basis for cost, and a lot of those oils aren't even available hehehe

I can't wait to try some of my oils. I am going to do a couple more CP batches and then I am going to do a hot process. The only thing I worry about is the heats effect on some of the oils. If they get to hot they lose some of their good properties. I love Phillipine mangos. The best in the world, if you ask me.