Your thoughts, please

[7 Pawz]

Hi guys, I'm running these numbers through soap calc at 5% sf:

 

6 oz coconut oil

9oz sunflower oil

 

all the numbers except the iodine seem within acceptable range that soapcalc has listed for soap bar quality.  I know the soap will be softer because of the sunflower, I wondered if this would be worth a try.  I guess it would take the soap longer to harden also?  In my ongoing research, I read that sunflower oil can be used as a substitute for olive oil as a cost cutting measure and at 100%, so I guess it would act the same as OO does?

[Jcandleattic]

Personally, I love both CO and sunflower in soaps and my main recipe is high in CO and Sunflower, so go ahead and give it a try. Couldn't hurt and then you'll know either way.  

[7 Pawz]

Personally, I love both CO and sunflower in soaps and my main recipe is high in CO and Sunflower, so go ahead and give it a try. Couldn't hurt and then you'll know either way.

I fiddled with the numbers all morning to get them to a point that the only one off a little was the iodine, so I think since I'm trying to make a small batch, I'll go ahead and see what happens, particularly with color and swirling I think, who knows whats gonna happen with it

[Candybee]

I love sunflower oil in my soap and have a special recipe using it.

There are 2 kinds of sunflower oil. Regular sunflower oil which is high in linoleic acid. It is also high in iodine so you will want to watch the numbers in soapcalc. The other sunflower oil is High Oleic Sunflower oil which is high in oleic acid (like olive oil) but has a lower iodine level.

I love using regular suflower because I like how the linoleic acid helps soften my skin and makes the soap so mild and gentle. I do not use more than 20-25% and combine it with olive oil to help keep the iodine level down. Also, linoleic acid is a naturally skin softening and at that amount I can really feel the difference on my skin with it in the soap.

If its for personal use go ahead and give it a try but be warned it will probably develop DOS over time.

To keep DOS away you want to keep your linoleic and linolenic at around 15 or under and iodine at 70 or under. Although my recipe the iodine is about 74-75 but the linoleic and linolenic combo is 15.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Candybee

[7 Pawz]

I love sunflower oil in my soap and have a special recipe using it.

There are 2 kinds of sunflower oil. Regular sunflower oil which is high in linoleic acid. It is also high in iodine so you will want to watch the numbers in soapcalc. The other sunflower oil is High Oleic Sunflower oil which is high in oleic acid (like olive oil) but has a lower iodine level.

I love using regular suflower because I like how the linoleic acid helps soften my skin and makes the soap so mild and gentle. I do not use more than 20-25% and combine it with olive oil to help keep the iodine level down. Also, linoleic acid is a naturally skin softening and at that amount I can really feel the difference on my skin with it in the soap.

If its for personal use go ahead and give it a try but be warned it will probably develop DOS over time.

To keep DOS away you want to keep your linoleic and linolenic at around 15 or under and iodine at 70 or under. Although my recipe the iodine is about 74-75 but the linoleic and linolenic combo is 15.

The sunflower oil that I'd use is whats at Walmart, would that be considered regular? The High Oleic Sunflower oil may have been what was used in the recipe I found, but they didn't specify, which isn't helpful I can see when dealing with DOS issue.

[Candybee]

I buy my sunflower oil at Walmart too. They carry the regular sunflower oil. I think you pretty much have to buy high oleic sunflower oil from a soap oil supplier like Columbus Foods/Soapers choice. They were the only one I could remember offhand that carries it but I know some other suppliers carry the high oleic as well. By the way, the high oleic sunflower has the oleic but no linoleic. Thats why I prefer regular sunflower.

[7 Pawz]

I buy my sunflower oil at Walmart too. They carry the regular sunflower oil. I think you pretty much have to buy high oleic sunflower oil from a soap oil supplier like Columbus Foods/Soapers choice. They were the only one I could remember offhand that carries it but I know some other suppliers carry the high oleic as well. By the way, the high oleic sunflower has the oleic but no linoleic. Thats why I prefer regular sunflower.

Oh, I see---I've fiddled with numbers again and added cocoa butter to the mix , it comes back a little more uniform and closer to results I wanted, not perfect, but I think they'll do to start.

[Faerywren]

I love sunflower oil in soap. It makes such a nice white bar. I've heard people say high percentages of SO give them DOS (dreaded orange spots) over time, but I've never gotten them. Try it and see. You won't know until you give it a whirl.

[7 Pawz]

I love sunflower oil in soap. It makes such a nice white bar. I've heard people say high percentages of SO give them DOS (dreaded orange spots) over time, but I've never gotten them. Try it and see. You won't know until you give it a whirl.

You're right, I'll just have to try it, thats on my to do list for the weekend.  Although I'll have to warm the room up a notch---

[Gsmakinsoap]

On 11/11/2014 at 11:25 AM, Candybee said:

I love sunflower oil in my soap and have a special recipe using it.

There are 2 kinds of sunflower oil. Regular sunflower oil which is high in linoleic acid. It is also high in iodine so you will want to watch the numbers in soapcalc. The other sunflower oil is High Oleic Sunflower oil which is high in oleic acid (like olive oil) but has a lower iodine level.

I love using regular suflower because I like how the linoleic acid helps soften my skin and makes the soap so mild and gentle. I do not use more than 20-25% and combine it with olive oil to help keep the iodine level down. Also, linoleic acid is a naturally skin softening and at that amount I can really feel the difference on my skin with it in the soap.

If its for personal use go ahead and give it a try but be warned it will probably develop DOS over time.

To keep DOS away you want to keep your linoleic and linolenic at around 15 or under and iodine at 70 or under. Although my recipe the iodine is about 74-75 but the linoleic and linolenic combo is 15.

I can't seem to get the linoleic and linolenic down to 15 if I plug in 20 or 25% regular sunflower oil. I try lots of olive with it, and various oils, keeping coconut around 20 to 25% and it's not working.  This is my puppy dog eyes.

[chuck_35550]

I use high oleic sunflower and safflower as carrier oils. I'll mix fragrance or essential oil and add at the end. Typically, I use 5% and not more than 10% of those oils in my formulations. I really like to sub rice bran oil with olive. You can split the amount and get great results in the final product. Soapcalc is not the end all of formulation. There's a really great formulation on this board that has wonky numbers but makes a really nice bar of soap with loads of bubbles. Calculators are great guidelines but they don't always lead you to the perfect bar of soap. The real deal is being able to compensate a high cleansing number by offsetting with a high emollient and hoping that you get a bar that cleanses the pore and then fills it with nurturing oils. Some customers ask me for a "facial" bar but another customer may say that they use a regular bar as their facial bar. I can only conclude that there are the different skin/age types that have soft or hard water. You could also try canola but that's not one of my favorites. So, the holy trinity being coconut, palm and olive can be tweaked with similar oils with a specific result in mind. I like a firm bar that lasts a reasonable period of time and leaves skin relatively clean, soft and mildly fragranced. Complaints about drying this time of year are a result of people who stand under a very hot shower or take a really not bath. Hot water not good for Tarzan and Jane's skin.