(Not....)replacing coconut oil in soap

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(Not....)replacing coconut oil in soap

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James

Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 8:37 am Post subject: (Not....)replacing coconut oil in soap
our local superdrug has stopped selling coconut oil, & I can't find it anywhere else in York. I'd preffere not to buy over the internet for something so small if there's an alternative. So can anyone suggest a soap recipe from easily available oils/ fats that doesnt include coconut oil? Last edited by James on Sun Dec 14, 08 1:01 pm; edited 1 time in total

mochyn

Joined: 21 Dec 2004
Posts: 24585
Location: mid-Wales

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 8:42 am Post subject:
I know Sally has plenty of recipes, but I use pork fat in my soap.

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 9:01 am Post subject:
if you don't already use a similar soap recipe calculator, having a play with this one might give you some ideas www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc.html Just plug in amounts of fats you have to hand and it will work out the lye and water amounts for you, the list of possible oils is interesting as it might suggest soapmaking fats you hadnt thought about yet

James

Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 9:13 am Post subject:

thanks Sally. I'd found a similar spreadsheet which I've been playing with.

How do I know if the soap will turn out OK? for example, how do I know if a 50/50 lard/vegetable oil will give a reasonable bar? (even if I get the lye quantity correct..)

We've previously used an olive oil, rape seed oil, coconut oil recipe. Its soft, and doesn't give a thick creamy lather, but its very nice to use, easy to make & easy to get the ingredients (until now).

sally_in_wales
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 20809
Location: sunny wales

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 9:39 am Post subject:

rough rule of thumb, fats that are hard at room temperature give a hard soap, fats that are soft at room temp give a softer soap, liquid oils give a very soft soap. Fats with a lot of stearin give very hard soaps. There should somewhere online be a list of fat properties for soapmaking, I often use just olive oil which gives a softish soap but which gets quite hard as it ages.

You can also harden soap further by adding a tiny amount of salt to the mixture, sugar is believed by many to make the bubbles bigger- we're talking a pinch per batch-dissolved in some of the liquid, its really interesting how slight additions can make a difference

lard makes really nice soap

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 9:42 am Post subject:
James, have you got an Indian/Chinese store up in York somewhere? If you have, thats where I'd look for coconut oil. Usually cheap in those places.

James

Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York

Posted: Tue Dec 09, 08 10:39 am Post subject:

thanks for the advice from Sally & Cab. Yes, we have an oriental supermarket. I'll check there.

Sally_in_Wales wrote:

There should somewhere online be a list of fat properties for soapmaking

I found This list which seems quite good.

Rosemary Judy

Joined: 08 Aug 2005
Posts: 1215
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Dec 10, 08 9:17 pm Post subject:
asian supermarkets are good too......

James

Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York

Posted: Thu Dec 11, 08 10:09 am Post subject:
No luck on the oriental supermarket search. Anyway, a bit more research. I've formulated the following. Its a castile with lard to harden it up a little and castor oil to moisten & add bubble. Superfatted at 5% EV olive oil 60% (270g) lard 30% (135g) castor oil 10% (50g) water 150g NaOH 58g

James

Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 2866
Location: York

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 08 12:48 pm Post subject:

well after yet more reading and research, it appears that coconut oil is more important than I thought, and cannot easily be left out without unbalancing a soap.
It has two properties that are hard to find elsewhere: it makes a good open-bubbly lather, and it breaks down oils during the cleansing process.
Using this soap calculator and the associated help page, it becomes apparent that its very hard to form a well balanced, cleansing soap without using coconut oil. This is because coconut oil contains a fatty acid called myristic acid, which, when saponified, has a much greater cleansing capacity that other fatty acids. Myrisitc acid is not found in many other oils (and no cheap, readily available oils).

So to cut a long story short, to make a good balanced soap, you need coconut oil.

Luckily, I found some in Holland & Barret.

So after reading lots of good stuff about lard as well as coconut oil, I've formulated & made the following soap (formulated using the above calculator):

450g lard (60%)
150g coconut oil (20%)
150g light olive oil (20%)
106g Caustic Soda
250ml water

blended at 60c with stick blender till trace, then flavoured with:

1 tsp olbas oil
1tsp peppermint oil
0.5 tsp eucalyptus oil

I made it about an hour ago, and its already hardened. Its got a good light creamy white colour. It should make a hard white soap, with a very creamy bubbly lather and good moisturizing potential.

update:This soap was indeed hard, with a decent bubbly lather, and was quite gentle on the skin. However, the lather doesn't have a huge amount of staying power, becoming quite creamy instead of bubbly. The essential oils were hardly noticeable at all- a very light fragrance indeed. The large volume of lard gave the soap a slight 'lardy' smell. I think the smell problem and creamyness problem are both associated with an imbalance of lard. Next time, I will use 45% lard, 20% olive oil, 25% coconut oil and 10% castor oil, with 5% superfat and more essential oils. The castor oil is supposed to improve the staying power of the bubbles.

Last edited by James on Sat Jul 25, 09 9:44 am; edited 2 times in total

Bulgarianlily

Joined: 01 Jun 2008
Posts: 1667
Location: South West Mountains of Bulgaria

Posted: Sun Dec 14, 08 5:26 pm Post subject:
This is also a good list for looking at what to use https://www.soapnuts.com/indexoils.html

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