Teach Soap

So I've been wanting to try a little sunflower oil in my soap recipes, say at about 10%. I've read it adds a nice quality to the soap b/c it's high in Vitamin E and also slows trace which could be useful! I bought some today that just says it's pure sunflower oil but I noticed another brand that claims to be "mid-oleic" (not high oleic). What the??

But when I read the back of the bottles I did notice that the plain/pure sunflower oil had more omega fatty acids than the "mid oleic" bottle.

I also see that SoapCalc has an entry for EACH of "Sunflower Oil" and "Sunflower Oil - high oleic."

I am assuming what I bought was the "high oleic" kind even though it doesn't really claim this on the bottle??

Thoughts?

Karri

PS: Does sunflower oil truly have a preservative effect in soap due to the high vitamin E content? Not sure I believe this but curious...I'd think "yes" if you keep the percentage down and "no" if you use too much b/c that would cause the soap to go rancid more quickly regardless...

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I soap therefore I am.

I don't care for the feel of sunflower oil in soap. There is not enough Vit E. in it to make any difference in soaps' rancidity. I believe any Vit E added to soap in any form gets eaten up by the lye. Mid-oleic is not the same as high oleic, but it's similar.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

What does it do to the feel of the soap? If it's just filler oil or negates the end experience with the cured soap then I won't bother and it can be used to fry the boys' pancakes on Saturday. LOL!

There's definitely a lot of conflicting info out there, eh?

Example:

I've been wanting to share and get thoughts on: one of the first recipes I tried (and have used a few times in variation) has 50+ % palm oil, which, if you read lots of soap "literature" and recipes, should theoretically be way way too much. Well, those PO soaps are fabulous! Hard bars that lather well and have a creamy feel on the skin. Great "slippery" feel in water. Lasts forever too. Yet lots of articles say too much palm makes a bar drying ... not my experience at all.

Karri

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I soap therefore I am.

The texture and feel of soap made with sunflower oil is just....different. It reminds me of soap that I made with crisco. I didn't care for the feel in that soap either. Use it for frying. or make a small batch with it and give it a long cure time. See if you like it.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.