making soap - palm vs. olive oil?

[stepstephens2]

Hi! I have a recipe for cold-pressed soap that calls for lye, distilled water, canola oil, coconut oil, and palm oil... does anyone know if it will still work if I use olive oil instead of palm oil? I can't find palm oil anywhere, but I have all the other ingredients. Thanks for any help!

 

[glenolam]

I've never used canola oil in a soap batch before, but I don't think you could do that swap.

Have you ever used soapcalc before? If so, plug your recipe in there and see the values w/the palm. Then switch it out for olive.

If you aren't sure about that or have never used it you can always make a castile bar which is 100% olive oil. There's tons of simple recipes like that.

What's the recipe?

 

[freemotion]

I like to use some tallow as the soap sets up much faster...no more stirring forever hoping for trace! Lard works, too. I like the Summer Bee Meadow calculator, too. I got used to it and find the soapcalc one confusing....but if I'd started there, I'd probably find the SBM one confusing!

 

[calendula]

You can use olive oil instead, but you will have to adjust the amount of lye that you use. I have a chart that I photocopied out of a book a long time ago that allows you to figure out how much lye to fat you would need for different types of fats to properly saponify. I am searching for a similar one online...

I found this one:

http://www.millersoap.com/soapdesign.html#SAP Tables

The chart is down the page a bit. This site has a lot of other info about making soap too.

I have been making up my own recipes lately using the chart to figure out how much lye I should add. So far, they've all turned out great. It's fun experimenting!

ETA: You can order palm oil on the internet if you can't find it locally. I use Mountain Rose Herbs for all my soap-making fats and herbs.

 

[me&thegals]

Hi--Definitely find a lye calculator. Try MMS (Google it ) Canola and palm are completely different, so you will not be able to swap it AND keep the lye the same. Also, many soap makers believe that anything more than 10% of canola oil in a soap batch leads to DOS (dreaded orange spots). Good luck!

 

[BirdBrain]

Palm oil can occasionally be found at the grocery store (not walmart) on the baking isle. I found a house brand of shortening that said "no trans fats" or some other bragging point. When I carefully read the label I found that it was predominately palm oil. You can also find palm oil at some grocery stores than cater to orientals or pacific islanders. I recently saw palm and palm kernel oilbat the health food store.

Always, always, always run your recipe through a lye calculator before making it. While Soapcalc may seem complicated, what I really like about it is it's ability to show me what the characteristics of the soap is likely to be. If I want to size a recipe for a specific mold, is when I go to Summer Bee Meadow.

 

[stepstephens2]

Thanks everyone I thought I remembered seeing on one of the soap supply sites that palm for olive was more of a straight swap... I must have misread.

 

[glenolam]

PS -

 

[stepstephens2]

Thanks glenolam... oh and the recipe was one I got out of a book called Homesteading that called for 2 cups of each of the oils & distilled water and 6.9 ounces of lye. I was attracted to the simplicity. But nothing is ever really as simple as it seems!

 

[me&thegals]

Yes, welcome

I would add that I think it's a good idea to use recipes that call for WEIGHT and not VOLUME. Two cups is not very precise. In soapmaking, a teensy bit off in either direction (fats or lye) can make a pretty big difference in the harshness/gentleness of the soap.

I realize that old timers didn't have this luxury, but we do. And especially if you eventually plan to sell soap you want to be sure it won't burn skin. Good luck!