Can I get these oils locally?

[GinnyRit]

I'm finally revving up to make my first CP soap (yay!). I'm using a recipe that calls for olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil and soybean oil. I found the coconut oil and olive oil at Wal-Mart yesterday, but they didn't have palm or soybean (at least I couldn't find it). I asked a boy stocking the shelves and he looked at me like I was a moron.

I'll check Kroger today, but am I being unrealistic in thinking these are carried in stores? My husband suggested the international and mexican food stores... maybe the health food stores?

I also couldn't find lye at Wal-Mart. I looked all through the cleaners department. I'll check with some hardware stores too... any ideas?

I'm so excited to try CP this weekend and was bummed that I didn't find what I needed. In the long run I'll end up ordering supplies, I was just hoping to get enough locally for a test run.

[TeriM]

I never could find Palm ... I used lard instead - read that on here I believe...

[diamondk]

Ginny, I get my lye at Krogers. HTH

[Rebecca_IA]

Soybean oil - read the ingredients label on the container of "vegetable" oils, many of them are 100% soybean oil, but only labeled vegetable oils.

Palm - never found or heard of it being available locally, unless you live close to a supplier that sells it. I'd use lard instead also.

Lye - grocery stores or mom and pop hardware type stores. If the hardware stores don't have it on their shelves, ask them. Sometimes it's kept in back and sometimes they can order it for you. Once you need larger quantites there are different places to look also.

If you sub out an oil or butter for something else, make sure you run your recipe through a lye calculator before making it to make sure the amount of lye didn't change.

[Jooniper]

I found Palm for my first batches of soap at a Wholefoods market. Luckily, there was also dollar off coupons for the stuff because it was about 7 dollars for a tub.....I forgot the actual size maybe the size of a crisco container? anyway, it is by Spectrum and it is a natural non hydrogenated alternative to shortening. It was in the oil section. If you don't have a Wholefoods, maybe a healthfood store.

[Purple Lilac]

Here is a supplier list by state maybe you can find one close by

http://www.candleandsoapstuff.com/Suppliers_by_State.html

[RobinInOR]

Sometimes you can find palm "shortening" in a health food store - Spectrum brand I believe is the one our health food store carries. If you look at the label it's 100% palm. Expensive though.

[GinnyRit]

Wow, thanks for all the advice! I'll check again for the soybean oil and lye at Kroger.

So should I just forget about the palm oil? I'm not partial to it... it's just a recipe I got from the Miller's soap site that sounded like a good first-timer. Is there anything else I can sub with rather than lard?

Sounds expensive even if I do find it

[Aileen]

I think Crisco is 100% Soybean oil. HTH

[mysticglow]

You can get lye at Lowe's too.

Not all Crisco is 100% soybean. The can I have also contains cottonseed.

[GinnyRit]

Well I just found soybean oil LOL! I looked at my Kroger brand 100% vegetable oil and it says "Ingredient: Soybean Oil." Guess that's it!

I'm headed back out tomorrow to find the palm and lye. Could cocoa butter be substituted for palm oil? And where would one find cocoa butter in the store? Is it in the food department or beauty products?

Boy, I haven't felt this clueless in a while!!!

[DonnaGA]

Check for lye at Ace hardware or a chemical supply store.

I hate Kroger's. They charge too much.

Donna

[Jeana]

If you check with oilsbynature.com or soaperschoice.com a 10lb pail is only $13.00 or you can use palm kernel oil from the same places and price. They are worth spending the money on. Palm kernel really makes your soap bubbly.