Teach Soap

I'm a big fan of just a basic olive oil (castile) soap. I really like the way it cleans, how straight-forward it is to make, and how reliable it is for me when adding scents and extras. My soaping-partner has recently convinced me that adding Shea is okay, so our recipe is basically an olive oil / shea recipe. I'm new to soaping, however, and I notice that most others use Coconut, Palm, etc. in their soaps. Is there anything wrong with using just olive oil? What are the benefits of coconut and palm, or other oils? Is their a better or "best" oil? Is there somewhere I can go to read up on the different oils?

I'm clueless. Any feedback is appreciated.

I use these two websites for a quick oil reference:

http://www.soapnuts.com/indexoils.html
http://www.colebrothers.com/soap/oils.html

I don't see anything wrong with using 100% Olive but for me, I think all the fun in soaping is in the experimenting. Last year I expanded from my usual Olive, Palm and Palm Kernal and started creating various recipes using all types of oils from grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, avocado oil.... coconut milk, silk threads, increased coconut oil with Himalayan sea salt...charcoal...all sort of natural colorants. I love shea butter and a new oil that I was against using for a while but I totally love now is Castor Oil. You never know until you try...you might create a new favorite bar

Thanks, Carrie! I need to start being more adventurous. Will check out the links.

The first link is great! So what I get is that soapers use Coconut and Palm because it helps to create a hard bar with good lather? Those appear to be 2 of the 3 oils that create good lather.

Sometimes we change our oils just because we can! Every oil, and each of the combinations will bring something to that bar of soap, that is the joy of it. There are lots of different skin types out there, so maybe that is why we need those different soaps????
But as you talked about initally, there is nothing wrong with a castille soap, although I will add some cocoa butter and castor oil to mine - not much just a touch.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

The second link is great too!

Nothing wrong with castile. I find it too slimey for me though. Experiment with some oils/butters and see how you like them. Don't forget to recalculate your recipe if you make any changes.

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

Thanks, Susie! I'm new to this. I think I just need to get brave and start experimenting so I can see the benefits of each oil. This seems to be how you have all discovered their many benefits and why recipes have formed the way they have.

Soapbuddy - I've discovered that too. It doesn't bother me a whole lot, but I think it bothers customers. Extra curing time seems to help. I'll experiment with some of the oils that help with hardening in our next couple batches.

Olive oil makes a nice hard bar. I would try a batch with some castor oil to up the bubblage factor.

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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!

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

If I use the milk instead of water, should I use extra to account for the fat and proteins in the milk?

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