Replacing oils

[FraGlav]

Hi , could someone tell me if I can replace advocate oil for another one, it is difficult to get it in my country and it is very expensive, thanks in advance

 

[DeeAnna]

Of course you can! But only if you run the new recipe through a soap recipe calculator -- your new oil may need more or less lye than the old oil. Be safe and make sure!

If you want to see what we would recommend as a substitute for the oil you cannot get, please tell us the recipe and what oil you want to replace.

 

[FraGlav]

RECIPE: Olive Oil - 30% Coconut Oil - 25% Shea Butter - 20% Cocoa Butter - 8% Avocado Oil - 6% Castor Oil - 6% Sunflower Oil - High Oleic - 5% Superfat - 6%
This is the recipe .Thanks for your help

 

[DeeAnna]

I see the word "advocate" in your first post, but I think you might mean avocado oil. Am I right?

If so -- Avocado, olive oil, and high oleic sunflower oil are fairly similar to each other.

1. You could remove the 6% avocado and increase the high oleic sunflower oil by 6% --

Olive oil 30%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Shea Butter - 20%
Cocoa Butter - 8%
Castor Oil - 6%
Sunflower Oil - High Oleic - 11%
Superfat - 6%

2. Another option would be to add the 6% to the olive oil rather than to the sunflower --

Olive oil 38%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Shea Butter - 20%
Cocoa Butter - 8%
Castor Oil - 6%
Sunflower Oil - High Oleic - 5%
Superfat - 6%

3. You could simplify the recipe further by removing the avocado AND the high oleic sunflower. Add the percentages for those oils to the olive.

4. Or remove the olive AND the avocado. Add those percentages to the high oleic sunflower.

Whatever recipe you decide to make -- be sure to calculate the NaOH weight using a soap recipe calculator. It might be a little different for the new recipe.

 

[Saltwater Scented]

Timing is impeccable, I was just coming on to do a search for trade off oils, then just look at general soapcalc numbers, and then ask the same if I didn't have a solid answer.

Would RBO work? The Oleic and Linoleic are a lot different, but roughly close otherwise.

Maybe Grapeseed? Lose the creaminess but bumps the conditioning?

 

[FraGlav]

I see the word "advocate" in your first post, but I think you might mean avocado oil. Am I right?

If so -- Avocado, olive oil, and high oleic sunflower oil are fairly similar to each other.

1. You could remove the 6% avocado and increase the high oleic sunflower oil by 6% --

Olive oil 30%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Shea Butter - 20%
Cocoa Butter - 8%
Castor Oil - 6%
Sunflower Oil - High Oleic - 11%
Superfat - 6%

2. Another option would be to add the 6% to the olive oil rather than to the sunflower --

Olive oil 38%
Coconut Oil - 25%
Shea Butter - 20%
Cocoa Butter - 8%
Castor Oil - 6%
Sunflower Oil - High Oleic - 5%
Superfat - 6%

3. You could simplify the recipe further by removing the avocado AND the high oleic sunflower. Add the percentages for those oils to the olive.

4. Or remove the olive AND the avocado. Add those percentages to the high oleic sunflower.

Whatever recipe you decide to make -- be sure to calculate the NaOH weight using a soap recipe calculator. It might be a little different for the new recipe.

Thanks very much , very useful.That´s right avocado .

 

[shunt2011]

Timing is impeccable, I was just coming on to do a search for trade off oils, then just look at general soapcalc numbers, and then ask the same if I didn't have a solid answer.

Would RBO work? The Oleic and Linoleic are a lot different, but roughly close otherwise.

Maybe Grapeseed? Lose the creaminess but bumps the conditioning?

Yes, many use RBO as an olive oil replacement. Technically you can substitute any oils or butters out. Just need to run it through a calculator. Grapeseed can be used but it has a short shelf life. I wouldn't use more than 10-15%.

 

[DeeAnna]

...Would RBO work?... Maybe Grapeseed?

I'd say rice bran oil is an acceptable alternative for a high oleic oil, although it's only moderate in oleic acid and much higher in linoleic than the others. I used to use it in my soap, however, and it works fine.

I find it very hard to think grapeseed is a close substitute for avocado, HO sunflower, olive, or other high oleic oil. My rule of thumb is to keep the combined linoleic and linolenic content below 15%. Use grapeseed if you like, but I wouldn't recommend it to the OP as answer to their question.

Don't get too hung up on tweaking the "conditioning" and "creaminess" numbers. Neither are especially helpful measures of soap quality in my opinion.

For the majority of general-purpose bath soaps, this approach works well for me -- Set the myristic + lauric percentage (cleansing) within an acceptable range for your skin type (coconut, palm kernel, babassu, etc.) Keep the stearic + palmitic percentage (hardness - cleansing) sufficiently high for good longevity and mildness (palm, lard, tallow, the butters.) Decide whether you want to use castor oil or not (ricinoleic acid) and add that to the recipe if you want to use it. Fill out the rest of the 100% with mostly or all high oleic oils that are interesting to you and are reasonably inexpensive in your area (olive, avocado, HO sunflower, HO safflower, HO canola, RBO, etc.). Maybe include a few percent of a high linoleic oil or an exotic fat if using these ingredients appeal to you. Done. Only two of the "numbers" are used -- cleansing and hardness.

 

[FraGlav]

Thanks all of you!!

 

[Saltwater Scented]

Also thanks y'all for the replies. Very informative both for immediate application and long term education as well!