On the most basic level there are three types of oil.
1)Vegitable based-Olive, Soybean, Shea Butter etc. Any oil or butter derived from a plant. Can be used in soap making
2)Animal based-Lard (rendered pig fat…yummy *gag* )Tallow, which is rendered fat from beef. Can be used in soap making
3)Mineral Oil-This oil will not saponify, it will not turn into soap.
Without getting into the bazillion types of oils out there, there are a couple that are most often used in soap making. At least as a beginner. My first batches were made with lard, coconut oil, olive oil and palm oil. I bought the palm oil with my mould but have not used it since. I wasnt sold on it, it wasnt anything super special. After I got the hang of making soap I dropped the lard and went to an all vegitable based recipe that I created myself. Lots of soap makers swear by tallow and lard, I just prefer not to work with the animal based fats, it just creeps me out a little to think Im washing with rendered pig fat. Yummy! (blech!)
You should be able to find all the oils you need for a decent batch of soap at your local grocerie store- you may have to go to one of the ’super stores’ but even in my small town I can find enough oils for a nice soap.You can make a decent soap with just olive oil, coconut oil, and lard. Just make sure the oils you are buying are 100%. Check the ingredients. If there is anything listed besides the oil, move on to the next brand.

Posted by admin in Uncategorized on March 7th, 2007 | No Comments