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Soap-making oils, which ones to choose?

Ann Torrence

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posted 3 years ago

I've had The Soapmaker's Companion book for years and finally have a spare moment to consider making soap for the homestead and maybe to peddle at our farmer's market if I like the craft.

I'm looking at the recipes with their lists of oils that soap-makers use and I'm a bit daunted by the idea of making wise choices in terms of sustainably grown and acquired. It hardly makes sense to use canola oil, what's the likelihood that's a GMO? Etc. Sunflower oil sounds like something that didn't come half-way around the world. Coconuts? On the surface, that sounds better than palm oil, but how would I know? My great-uncle was a jojoba ranching pioneer when I was a kid, that might be an eco-warrior choice.

Any resources or thoughts or experience?

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R Scott

Posts: 3366

Location: Kansas Zone 6a

posted 3 years ago

My wife wrestled with this for her soap business, plus vegan vs. tallow/lard (which are more sustainable and make a better soap than many oils but have a stigma).

There isn't one easy answer. She crossed off the " no, never" oils for us and then formulated the best soap based on performance with what was left. Once she got that where she wanted it, we sourced the best of each oil we could find. A few revisions based on experience and I think we have a really good product that is as sustainable as we know how to make it. We crossed off the list any GMO's and sourced things like palm oil from certified sustainable sources. We could easily cut our raw materials cost in half or less if we went with the normal oils, but we can charge a premium that more than makes up for the input cost.

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Ann Torrence

steward

Posts: 1191

Location: Torrey, UT; 6,840'/2085m; 7.5" precip; 125 frost-free days

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posted 3 years ago

R Scott wrote:She crossed off the " no, never" oils for us.

Can you ask her what the worst of the worst are, in her opinion?

Blogging about homesteading, photography and living in a small Utah town | Growing mostly cider apples at Stray Arrow Ranch

Troy Rhodes

Posts: 632

posted 3 years ago

She should experiment some. Nothing is chiseled in stone yet, and the type of oil has a noticeable effect on the qualities of the soap.

My personal favorite was 50% soybean oil, 30% lard and 20% coconut oil. Freaking amazing soap. I'll never use that crap from the store again.

Too much coconut oil make the soap drying. The coconut component makes for a lot of lather, and performs well in hard water, but too much is too much, and it's expensive.

Straight lard makes great soap and pigs -can be- very sustainable.

I look at it like, anything made in my kitchen is better than anything from the big industrial soap complex.

Lina Joana

Posts: 106

posted 1 month ago

I have just started making soap once a year. My family has a tradition of deep frying on Fat Tuesday, (aka mardi gras). I wanted to use the leftover fry oil, so last year I used a soap calculator and gave it a go with an old pot, thermometer and whisk. 3 hours later, it finally traced, and made a soft soap that left a film on your hands.
This year, my recipe was 70% used deep fry oil, 24% coconut oil (the cheaper refined stuff) and 5% olive oil. The final bar lathers nicely, feels pretty good, but gets soft on the bottom easily from the drips of water on the sink. Still, a massive improvement.
When looking for recipes, I found an article about a woman who uses restaurant cooking oil, and sells all the soap she can make. No recipe, of course. Still, with a bit more experimentation I think you could get a really nice bar with a lot of used oil. Now, as far as chemical reaidues, I don’t know - I am not so worried that I don’t get drive through fries once in a while, so I’m clearly not that concerned. From a waste reduction standpoint, it is great, especially in areas where biofuel folks haven’t cornered rhat market.
Just another source to consider.

Tereza Okava

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Posts: 299

Location: South of Capricorn

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posted 1 month ago

following this thread! I make soap with used fry oils, but since we no longer fry at home i`m reduced to either begging used oil (it works) or maybe lard, which I only make when I need but could easily make more often.
We don`t have a lot of affordable options for oil, quite honestly.

Xisca Nicolas

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posted 1 month ago

Fatty acids seem to enter the skin as well as through the guts... So I would avoid any of the high omega 6 oils! And would favor saturated and mono-insaturated fats.
Thus lard, tropical fats and olive oil.
Also think about laurel oil as in the Allep soap.

Logically, it seems we should avoid oxydized fats, but this is just a guess, and maybe they are ok? For eating they are NOT, that is why I doubt...
Maybe ok to recycle fats for loundry? ....and not for body use?

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Jay Angler

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Location: Pacific Wet Coast

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posted 1 month ago

I'm using soap mostly for hand washing as I semi-follow the "no poo" shower system, using a minimal amount on really dirty spots. I've made chicken fat soap in the past which my spouse liked and at least I'd grown it myself, but some people complain it's drying.
I was wondering if anyone had tried making soap out of Native Bayberries (https://www.heirloomgardener.com/plant-profiles/medicinal/how-to-grow-bayberry-zm0z17wzcwil), rather than candles? It's described as a "wax" rather than an oil. It would be nice to find a perennial oil source that can be grown in temperate climates for soap making. I don't know if M. californica will grow as far north as I am but I also rarely use candles so it hasn't been on my urgent list to investigate.

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Dustin Rhodes

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Location: San Diego, California

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posted 1 month ago

I have a giant jar of saved bacon grease, and we are not cooking with it enough to justify it; any chance I can use this for my soap? Any extra processing to do before starting the soap-making?

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Carla Burke

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posted 1 month ago

Dustin Rhodes wrote:I have a giant jar of saved bacon grease, and we are not cooking with it enough to justify it; any chance I can use this for my soap? Any extra processing to do before starting the soap-making?

Not only do I see this as a great big 'YES!', but imho, it is not only amazing for your skin, but makes for a great smelling soap. That bacon scent mellows, in use, so you don't walk around smelling like you just finished cooking 10lbs of bacon. And, what could be more 'permie'/sustainable, than something you already have as a byproduct of something you've just eaten, and will eat, again? Using it this way means no waste. It makes great gifts, too - especially for bacon lovers.

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Lina Joana

Posts: 106

posted 1 month ago

Personally, I’m not worried about omega 6 in my soap. It occurs in food, and we are talking about something that gets rinsed off quite quickly, not a lotion. If the soap smells nice, and my skin feels fine, I feel like I’m probably fine. Naturally, everyone needs to make their own determination on this.

Xisca Nicolas

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Location: La Palma (Canary island) Zone 11

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posted 1 month ago

Lina Joana wrote:Personally, I’m not worried about omega 6 in my soap. It occurs in food, and we are talking about something that gets rinsed off quite quickly, not a lotion. If the soap smells nice, and my skin feels fine, I feel like I’m probably fine. Naturally, everyone needs to make their own determination on this.

Oh I think you are right for soap!
I would be more careful about massage oil for example.

I still wonder about using oxidized fats that are no more ok for eating.... Maybe no problemm either, for the same reason?

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However loud I tell it, this is never a truth, only my experience...

Hans Quistorff

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Location: Longbranch, WA

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posted 1 month ago

I don't use any fat or oil I just use
soap berries a.k.a. Soap Nuts. For hand and body washing I make an extract with boiling water and fill my pump dispenser.

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Anne Miller

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Location: USDA Zone 8a

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posted 1 month ago

I have always wanted to make soap. I am just afraid of the lye though maybe I just don't need to be. Here is a helpful article about lye and the oils for soap making:

https://wellnessmama.com/60992/how-to-make-soap/

Here are the oils she uses:

Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Shea Butter
Cocoa Butter
Castor Oil
Avocado Oil
Mango Butter

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Xisca Nicolas

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Location: La Palma (Canary island) Zone 11

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posted 1 month ago

Thanks for being on track with the title!
Just to say that cacao butter is sooo expensive, that I keep it for eating!

And I notice that none of these oils are polyinsaturated!
Avocado and olive are both monoinsturated...

I wonder about the price of castor oil, and also its medicinal use.... I would like to make some oil for local use on the liver, warm with a cloth....

So I wanted to say that there is another CRITERIA to choose the oil:
good for soap,
...but not "much better for another use"!

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Soap-making oils, which ones to choose?

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