Silly question??

[Steph in tx]

O.k. here's my wierd question of the day. I've only done one batch of CP Soap, I really like the recipe I used, but I want to do more soaps and Olive Oil is sooo expensive!! So I bought some Canola/Corn Oil to use in it's place. Is this o.k.? What is your experience with these oils and no Olive Oil? (o.k. that's more than one question, still have a few more.... )

Now this oil is a mixture of both oils, so how should I put in calc? I'm also going to use some PKO instead of Coconut to see how that feels. Just wanted some feed back. TIA!

Steph in tx

[sad72]

I can't be of great help but...not sure about the combo..but I've used plain ole' canola in place of olive before. Worked just fine for me.

[Sherie]

I'm really not sure how you'd enter it into the soap calc. Corn oil has a SAP value of 0.192 and Canola has a Sap value of 0.186. Your going to need more than PKO and corn/canola. You might consider lard, unless you have hydrogenated soybean. If it were me, I wouldn't use the combo oil (corn/canola). JMO

[cindym]

Might look into Rice Bran Oil.

[RobinInOR]

For the calc, I'd probably assume it was mostly canola and put it in there. With a 5% discount it should still be safe.

You could double check it's safety - put it all in the canola, and see how much lye you get. Then do another calc, put it all in the corn, and see how much lye it uses. Will give you an idea on the variation, and I'd use closer to the smaller amount of lye.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Or try using soy.

[Rob in tx]

Sorry I didn't respond earlier. Left to go visit my mom and grandbabies, and didn't have access to computer.

Thank you all for the advise. I plan on using Lard as well as the PKO and Canola/Corn Oil. First batch was Lard, Coconut Oil, and Olive. I used full water (of course ), and made sure I used a very well behaved FO (mountain lake), so I had time to even attempt a swirl. I did everything low temp, and light trace (probably should have gone a little more), but I finally used my soap today, and love the feel, look and so forth! No dryness for myself, but I know some people don't like Coconut Oil, so thought I'd try the PKO and with high prices of Olive Oil, decided to change oils to Canola/Corn Oil and see what happens.

Robin, I will do what you suggested and go with the lower amount of lye. Just wasn't sure how to plug in? I'll post as soon as I give it a whirl.

I plan on trying some Rice Bran Oil soon too, just have to order, so that's another time.

Thanks to all that replied!,

Steph in tx

[sudsnwicks]

Steph, a popular place to get rice bran oil is www.riceland.com in Arkansas. You have to get at least 5 gallons for it to be cheap (otherwise it is not that much less than olive oil) but it is something you can cook with too if you are not looking to make a lot of soap. I find that for cooking it is less oily and there is no oily smell. As for soap, you'll hardly be able to tell the difference between it and olive.

[Steph in tx]

Thanks for the info suds! I'm going to check out the site and see what I can do. I'm trying to use as much locally as possible. I have some Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Sweet Almond Oil...and some other things in my box of soaping stuff! I plan on trying all types of recipes as I go....find one I like and make it mine. I've just started, and thought I'd have to take Xanax after the first batch , I was soo nervous, but it all worked out o.k for my first time....I have to do some rearranging with kitty, but I just want to do this all the time...now, just still a little nervous about doing it right. First time was beginners luck.

Thanks again,

Steph in tx

[Grannyscandles]

Sunflower oil is a great cheap sub for olive oil. I believe the SAP value is the same and sunflower leaves you with a very white bar. I love it.