The best website for puchasing oils and butters for CP soap,

[Fire and Ice]

I know I can puchase the basics like Olive Oil and Sunflower oils at WalMart

What are the basic oils and butters I will need for making my soap.? I've got WSP in my state and looked on their site. They have oils and butters but how long they've been sitting around it anyones guess. That's one of the reasons I won't use a local place for their butters. I know they've been sitting around for months and months and are not fresh.

Also can someone explain the pros and cons of lard in soap. I need to decide if I will be using it or making soap that is lard free.

So many people have asked me if I'm suing lard and I haven't fully decided until I see pros and cons of it's use in soap. But I think the public is steering away from lard in their own minds.

Thank you again,

Fire

[jbren]

Columbus Foods (Soapers Choice) is a very well-known supplier, and I'm sure their turnaround is such that you won't find anything has been sitting around for a long time.

Lard makes a beautiful, creamy, hard and conditioning bar of soap. The reason some of the public steers away from it is because it is an animal fat. I love lard and/or tallow in my soap, but mostly lard.

[eugenia]

I second Columbus and their CS is excellent!

Lard is a personal choice. I have soaped with it and have no aversion to lard soap. It's extremely conditioning. I don't sell it. From a marketing perspective, it's easier for me to sell "all vegetable." I don't use animal milks either for the same reason, although I love milk soaps.

I suppose I could have both animal and only vegetable products and separate them, but for now I am sticking to vegetable (I use palm).

e

[Fire and Ice]

Okay. I'll google Columbus foods.

What are the oils that I need? Olive Oil, Castrol oil, palm Kernel oil? Coconut Oil 76,

Sweet Almond Oil,

What are the butters and hard oils I need? I like the sounds of Mango Butter, ultra refined shea butter, what else?

I think I will start by using NO lard so I will need butters and oils that sub out for lard.

Thanks for the advice

Fire

[eugenia]

Okay. I'll google Columbus foods.

What are the oils that I need? Olive Oil, Castrol oil, palm Kernel oil? Coconut Oil 76,

Sweet Almond Oil,

What are the butters and hard oils I need? I like the sounds of Mango Butter, ultra refined shea butter, what else?

I think I will start by using NO lard so I will need butters and oils that sub out for lard.

Thanks for the advice

Fire

I don't soap with sweet almond oil. Coconut and PKO are hard oils. I use mango, shea or cocoa butters as well as babassu. Palm oil is a good sub for lard and a hard oil also.

[Fire and Ice]

Thank you, Euginia.

Wow, Columbus Foods has some great oils and butters. Still studying the soap oils site there. Hope the shipping isn't too bad. I will definiately get some of my oils there.

Making up the list now! will order after my shows are done! Candles have taken over my time because my wax was 10 days late in coming in! But at least I got it!

Fire:wink2:

[Scent Cellar]

I have ordered the refined cocoa butter & refined shea butter from WSP and they were very good. They have such a wide base of customers I am sure they don't have their butters sitting around for a long time.

I buy my no stir palm, coconut and palm kernal flakes in 50 lb boxes from Columbus Foods but until you find out if you like CP soaping you might want to order in lesser amounts from WSP.

[MichelleOH]

I agree, Columbus Foods(soapers choice) is the best. I get all my oils there. Good luck Fire!

[Soapmaker Man]

Another vote for Mike and his bunch at Columbus Foods! Great products, fast shippers! Can't say enough good for Mike and Co.

Paul....

[eugenia]

Fire,

I really must commend you for your totally thorough research. I'm sure when you get to soaping it will be fun and not so scary, LOL.

e

[Barbara AL]

Yea I just purchased 6 one gallons of oils for about 100 dollars great price. I bought

Avocado oil, Rice Bran oil, Palm Oil, Olive Oil Palm Kernal oil, and Babassu Oil.

Barbara

[Fire and Ice]

Okay Gang, I will buy my oils in one gallon jugs from Columbus foods! Eugenia suggested another site for my butters. I checked it out and will be ordering five pound pails of the butters. If I buy ten pound boxes of Mango Butter, CoCoca Butter and Shea Butter, wouldn't they all have to be cut up and tranferred into a five gallon bucket fpr each butter? How long do the butters last if you don't refidgerate?

Thanks again and believe me, I'm paying close attention because you guys know everything I don't about soap making.

Fire

[mystical_angel1219]

I get most of my oils and all butters from Oils By Nature.

I get Babussu from Columbus foods, they have the best price on it, and it really adds to the bubble factor with CP soapmaking.

A~ you really don't need a whole lot of butters to soap.

The standard superfat is 5%~ that isn't a lot of butter in a recipe.

Plus some of them don't have a tremendously long shelf life.

[eugenia]

I get most of my oils and all butters from Oils By Nature.

I sent her to OBN for her butters. I buy oils from them too and wish they would carry Babassu! We'd all like to do one stop shopping but it rarely happens.

e

[Kymber]

I buy most of my oils from Columbus. As far as the lard/tallow issue....I have a line of Veggie that I make using Soy Milk for the liquid and I have a line of Tallow (buffalo) and my Tallow line outsells my veggie line by far!! There are some people that won't use anything with animal fats and that is why I keep the veggie line also. We had our tallow lotion custom made and the soy lotion just doesn't even come close to it!

[Fire and Ice]

I get most of my oils and all butters from Oils By Nature.

I get Babussu from Columbus foods, they have the best price on it, and it really adds to the bubble factor with CP soapmaking.

A~ you really don't need a whole lot of butters to soap.

The standard superfat is 5%~ that isn't a lot of butter in a recipe.

Plus some of them don't have a tremendously long shelf life.

Yes Eugenia sent me to OBN for the butters because I don't need ten pounds of butters. But may I also say that I DO plan to make a great deal of soap. This will not be just a hobby but the mate to my candles.

I'm sure I will make lots of mistakes and crudy batches of soap in the beginning but that will not stop me from moving forward.

As I have very little food in my fridge, I can place the 5 pound pails in there if need be.

Fire

[Fire and Ice]

I buy most of my oils from Columbus. As far as the lard/tallow issue....I have a line of Veggie that I make using Soy Milk for the liquid and I have a line of Tallow (buffalo) and my Tallow line outsells my veggie line by far!! There are some people that won't use anything with animal fats and that is why I keep the veggie line also. We had our tallow lotion custom made and the soy lotion just doesn't even come close to it!

Maybe the thing for me to do is to ask the cutomers this weekend at my two day show what THEY would like! The soap is not for me but for my customers.

The soy milk sounds interesting but I won't be doing the milk until I have the lye water and basic full understanding of the soap calculator down fully. Maybe by mid summer, I can sub out real goat's milk. I have a very close friend who has a goat farm and can get fresh goats milk!

But that's 6+ months down the road. I really don't want to get ahead of myself as far subing out GM for water and the like. When I have the basics down firmly, I will explore other options! But the GM option has me excited too.

Fire