Teach Soap

I noticed vegetable oil is not included on brambleberry lye calculator, but instead there's vegetable shortening. Is vegetable oil not recommended?
Thx~Pamela

It depends what is the actual vegetable oil. They have different SAP values. The shortening is already calculated in there, as that's what some people use. You can use any vegetable oil that you like, but not all are good for soapmaking.

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

Also if you buy the generically named "vegetable oil" you should look on the list of ingredients. It will tell you which oil(s) are used. Some are single oils while some are a blend. You get into sticky situations if the list doesn't say what percentage of each is in there, so if that's what you're up against, I'd say keep that one for cooking. Better safe than zapped in the shower.

So if I use vegetable shortening (which I have no experience with because I will never ever cook with it) would Crisco be a good choice? I noticed someone said walmart had their own brand but it has strange additives in it.

The additives are just there to help keep the product fresh. I think even Crisco has them added.
If I use vegetable oil in a recipe, I make sure it's 100% soybean oil.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I use Crisco brand a lot in my soap, and the SoapCcalc lye calculator has SAP values for old Crisco and new Crisco - the new being a blended version of soybean and palm oils. I have looked into the store brand versions of this stuff, but I am having a hard time getting a hold of the manufacturers so they can tell me what the SAP values are. In the meantime, I just use the new Crisco.

Though, I have found that even though it works great in my soap, it is much higher in cost than a lot of my other oils. $.23 for an ounce of Crisco versus $.18 for olive oil. I am hesitant to use so much palm oil, so next year I will be looking for alternatives.

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Kristen D. Vineyard
visit my blog http://washwithvegetables.blogspot.com

Crisco and other shortenings do have chemical additives to give them a long shelf life and keep them soft. I think your entire recipe determines whether or not shortening will work for you. In my recipe the soap stays soft and sticky for weeks!

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I looked at the store today for shortening to see what's in it. Did you know that it has a defoaming agent? I wonder if that hinders bubbles.

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

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

The defoaming agent is the same compound that can make soap soft.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist