Two Single Oil Soap Tests

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Today I tested making 2 different single oil batches of soap. The first batch was 100% Almond oil soap using vinegar 50% with a 40% lye concentration and the second batch was 100% RBO also with 50% vinegar and a 40% lye concentration. It was not surprising that the Almond oil batch took quite a while to trace but the RBO went pretty quick since the Palmitic Acid is 22% and the Palmitic for Almond Oil is only 7%.

I cannot say I have a lot of hopes of the RBO making the year mark with no DOS with a Linoleic value of 34% but time will tell. I am still on my mission to find a single oil replacement for OO. Both batches came out a pretty creamy color.
 
I have tried both Sunflower HO and Canola HO and they must not have stood out as great since I did not make them again, although I like both in soap at 20%. How did you find them? It has been a couple of years since I tried them and have not gone back through my notes if I can even find my notes. But I bet I posted the results in the forum. Safflower I have not tried, but will one of these days, what is your opinion of Safflower as a single oil soap? Avocado is useless as a single oil and waste of money giving no lather at all. It does make a rock hard soap like 100% OO.
 
I haven't tried sunflower or saff yet, was only thinking about it. Will skip the sunflower since you weren't impressed. I'll make the safflower tomorrow and report back.

I agree on the avocado, it was terrible as a single oil. Took days to set up and no lather, the canola went rancid in just a few weeks.

I remember trying peanut oil once too. It took forever to trace and set up. If I remember right, it was ok soap and worked good for teeth as it had zero flavor. I should try it again, I used louann which is refined so shouldn't trigget allergies.
 
Tag me when you update, I'll probably loose this thread.

I went ahead and made the saff soap. It reminded me of the peanut, very slow tracing. I was impatient and poured at emulsion after 5 minutes.
Trying to force gel in cavity molds.
 
All my years on the forum, and I have to ask how do I tag you?
I am quite impressed with the Almond Oil soap already. I just cut it and tried the end piece. It already lathers and feels decent, so it should be a nice soap and affordable with Costco carrying Almond Oil.

ETA: The RBO soap is also lathering fresh out of the mold. I am guessing it may be the Sorbitol. Both already have a nice feel.
 
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If I remember right, they only implemented tagging a couple years ago. Its as easy as putting a @ before someones name. @cmzaha

The saff soap is still pretty soft. I was able to unmold it but it needs a few days before I can start testing it.
 
RBO- rice bran oil
DOSSY- dreaded orange spotty

dreaded orange spots (DOS) is a sign of rancidity.
 
I found a one year old bar of an almost castile soap I made with 75% OO and 25% SAO - it was fantastic. Lathered like crazy and no slime. So I made it again about a month ago and it is already a great bar, but needs more time to hit the sweet spot. I used a 40% lye concentration. Even at 25% the almond oil really made a difference. I'm a huge fan of almond oil and use it at 10%-15% in most recipes and am thinking of going even higher. If I can afford it lol.
 
Not sure if it's of any help, but I did some experiments with several liquid oils at 75% (the rest being 20% coconut and 5% castor). I compared OO, SAO, RBO and HO sunflower. (This is the thread in case anyone is interested)

The OO had the best lather, but was also the most drying, though it seems to be getting better with cure (the soaps are between 9.5-11 months now)
RBO was the opposite, not great lather and rather slimy, though it left my skin more moisturized after washing than before (something I didn't think was possible). Lather and slimyness are getting better with cure as well.
SAO was a bit in between. The lather was ok and it didn't dry my skin too much, but I wasn't blown away in any aspect.
HO sunflower felt quite similar to SAO, so I've been using more of it lately (it's 1/4 of the price of SAO, slows trace and makes really white soap)

I'm curious what your experiences are! Every skin is different..
 

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