federalist
Well-Known Member
Today I made an extra bit of cash and decided to treat myself to Bulk Apothecary! Staring at the list of bulk oils and wondering what to get, one thing lend to another and... well, I ended up with a worksheet of different oils and their fatty acid profiles in a feeble attempt to understand what I'm buying...
I'm still as confused as I was before, but here are some hypotheses. Would love feedback from soapers to see if it matches with your experience.
1. Harder soap is made with a higher % of saturated fat (and/or trans fat)?
Here are some oils with % saturated fat given.
(hardest -> softest)
coconut 93
beef tallow 59
lard 44
rice bran 26
olive 17
avocado 14
sweet almond 9
meadowfoam 0
2. Shorter chains make more bubbles?
Here are the oils with average chain length given (in # of C atoms).
(most bubbly -> least bubbly)
coconut 12.7
beef tallow 17.0
lard 17.3
rice bran 17.5
avocado 17.6
olive 17.7
sweet almond 17.9
meadowfoam 20.7
3. Creamy lather comes from fat made up of chains that are about the same length?
Here are the oils with chain length variance given.
(creamiest -> least creamy)
sweet almond 0.2
olive 0.5
avocado 0.6
rice bran 0.8
meadowfoam 0.9
lard 1.0
beef tallow 2.0
coconut 6.2
I wish that I had information on the unsaponifiable components, which likely contribute to how the soap conditions and washes off.
These are only hypotheses. I am not a chemist and very new to soaping.
I'm still as confused as I was before, but here are some hypotheses. Would love feedback from soapers to see if it matches with your experience.
1. Harder soap is made with a higher % of saturated fat (and/or trans fat)?
Here are some oils with % saturated fat given.
(hardest -> softest)
coconut 93
beef tallow 59
lard 44
rice bran 26
olive 17
avocado 14
sweet almond 9
meadowfoam 0
2. Shorter chains make more bubbles?
Here are the oils with average chain length given (in # of C atoms).
(most bubbly -> least bubbly)
coconut 12.7
beef tallow 17.0
lard 17.3
rice bran 17.5
avocado 17.6
olive 17.7
sweet almond 17.9
meadowfoam 20.7
3. Creamy lather comes from fat made up of chains that are about the same length?
Here are the oils with chain length variance given.
(creamiest -> least creamy)
sweet almond 0.2
olive 0.5
avocado 0.6
rice bran 0.8
meadowfoam 0.9
lard 1.0
beef tallow 2.0
coconut 6.2
I wish that I had information on the unsaponifiable components, which likely contribute to how the soap conditions and washes off.
These are only hypotheses. I am not a chemist and very new to soaping.