One of the best parts of soapmaking is being able to customize your recipe down to the very last ingredient. There are an infinite number of oil, fragrance, color, and technique combinations.
One of the most important aspects of any recipe is the oils and butters you choose. They affect moisturizing properties, how well the bars lather, and the designs you’re able to create. To help, we’ve assembled our most comprehensive resource on fixed oils to date. It includes information on usage rates and shelf lives. It also has an FAQ section and a quick guide at the bottom.
This post was updated in September 2018. Some of the shelf lives/usage rates changed based on more up-to-date information from our vendors.
Apricot Kernel Oil – 1 year
Apricot kernel oil is lightweight and high in linoleic and oleic acids. It’s conditioning and easily absorbed into the skin. It produces small bubbles. We recommend using at 15% or less in your recipe. That way the bars aren’t too soft and they last longer in the shower.
Recipes: Agate Spin Swirl Soap, Creamy Goat Milk Soap, Berry Rhubarb Crumble Soap
Argan Oil – 2 years
You’ll love argan oil in DIY skin and hair care products. It feels silky and moisturizing, and it’s packed with vitamins E and A. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.
Avocado Oil – 1 year
Avocado oil makes a soft bar of soap and is generally used at 20% or less in cold process recipes. It’s rich in vitamins A, B, D, and E. The high levels of fatty acids make it great for lotion, body butter, and conditioner as well.
Recipes: Avocado Soap, Avocado + Spearmint Soap, Cucumber and Aloe Circling Taiwan Swirl Soap
Avocado Butter – 3 years
Avocado butter is solid at room temperature. It’s derived from the fruit of the avocado tree and hydrogenated. It has a creamy consistency that makes skin feel smooth and moisturized. You can use this butter up to 12% in your cold process recipes. It also works well in lotion and body butter.
Recipes: Avocado Soap, Avocado + Spearmint Soap
Babassu Oil – 2 years
Babassu, which comes from a native Brazilian palm tree, can be used in place of coconut or palm in cold process soap. It adds the same firming and cleansing properties, and it can be added up to 33%. However, babassu does have a lighter feeling on the skin and it absorbs quickly. We recommend giving all three oils a try in small test batches to see what you think.
Recipes: Safflower and Ginger Soap, Beet Soap
Beeswax (White & Yellow) – 3 years
Yellow beeswax is refined and not bleached, while white beeswax is refined and bleached naturally by exposing it in thin layers to air, sunlight, and moisture. It can be used up to 8% in cold process recipes to harden the bars. Your lye and oils need to be at 150°F or higher so the beeswax stays melted. It will speed up trace.
Recipes: Busy Beeswax Soap, Valentine Soap
Borage Oil – 3 years
This oil is one of the richest sources of essential fatty acids. One of those fatty acids is gamma-linolenic acid, which helps nourish and hydrate the skin. It works well especially for those with sensitive or mature skin. Try it in cold process up to 33%.
Recipes: French Green Clay and Milk Soap, Jade Soap
Canola Oil – 1 year
Canola oil is an affordable option for soap. It produces a balanced bar with creamy lather. It’s also a great substitute for olive oil. You can use canola at 15-40% in cold process.
Recipes: Baby’s Breath Soap, Blue Rimmed Soap, Clover and Aloe Spin Swirl Soap
Carrot Seed Oil – 2 years
This oil has a silky texture that’s hard to beat. It’s lightweight and absorbs quickly, and it’s especially suited for those with sensitive skin. It can be used in cold process soap at 5-15%.
Recipes: Carrot Soap, Tomato Garden Soap
Castor Oil – 2 years
This thick liquid is extracted from the castor bean plant. It draws moisture to the skin and creates amazing lather in soap. We recommend using it at 2-5%. You can use it up to 25%, although more than 10% can make the bars soft and sticky.
Recipes: Siren Soap, Carrot Soap, Blueberry Thyme Soap
Chia Seed Oil – 1 year
Chia seed oil is the perfect addition to handmade soap, body butter, conditioner, and cuticle oil. You’ll love how lightweight and moisturizing it feels. The oil is also packed with fatty acids, protein, and vitamins. It can be used in cold process around 10%.
Recipes: Annatto-Yarrow Soap, Dragon’s Breath Soap, Infinity Swirl Soap
Cocoa Butter Pastilles, Organic Cocoa Butter Wafers, Deodorized Cocoa Butter – 2 years
This butter is solid and hard at room temperature. It adds a luxurious and moisturizing feeling to cold process soap. We recommend tempering it for the best results, learn how here. Use cocoa butter at 15% or less in cold process soaps – any higher can cause cracking in your final bars.
Recipes: Tomato Garden Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Lavender and Charcoal Soap
Coconut Oil – 18 months
This is one of the most common raw materials used in the soap and cosmetic industry. It comes in several versions, including 76 and 92°F melting point oils – ours is 76°F. Both have the same SAP value. Coconut oil is super cleansing and produces large bubbles in cold process. It’s so cleansing that it can be drying. It can be used up to 33%, but we recommend using it around 15% if you have sensitive or dry skin.
Recipes: Jade Soap, Safflower and Ginger Soap, Wild Rose Soap
Coffee Butter – 2 years
This luscious and rich butter is perfect for lotion, body butter, and soap. It’s a blend of hydrogenated vegetable oil and coffee seed oil, and it contains around 1% natural caffeine. It has a natural coffee scent and a creamy feeling. The butter can be used up to 6% in cold process.
Recipes: Simple Coffee Soap, Espresso Shot Soap
Coffee Seed Oil – 2 years
This thick and luxurious oil is extracted from freshly-roasted coffee beans. Try it in handmade soap, lotion, balm, and bath bombs. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.
Recipes: Simple Coffee Soap
Cucumber Seed Oil – 2 years
Those with dry or mature skin will love this oil. It has excellent moisturizing properties, and when it’s applied it feels lightweight and absorbs quickly. Try it in cold process up to 15%.
Recipes: Circling Taiwan Swirl Soap, Sea Sponge Soap
Emu Oil – 1 year
This is a medium-weight oil that helps keep the skin hydrated. Use it in cold process soap up to 13%.
Evening Primrose Oil – 1 year
This oil has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.
Flaxseed Oil – 6 months
Flaxseed oil is lightweight and a rich source of fatty acids. We love it in balm, body butter, and lotion. You can also use it in cold process up to 5%.
Fractionated Coconut Oil – 3 years
Fractionated coconut oil contains only the medium triglycerides, which means it stays liquid. Compared to coconut oil, it has a more lightweight feeling and it makes softer bars. It doesn’t have the same cleansing or lathering properties. We love it in scrub, lotion, and body butter. You can use it up to 30% in cold process.
Grapeseed Oil – 1 year
This oil leaves your skin feeling silky smooth. It has a lightweight and thin texture, and it’s high in lineoleic acid and antioxidants. Try it in DIY lotion, massage oil, and body butter. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.
Green Tea Seed Oil – 2 years
Pick up green tea seed oil today and try it in DIY soap, lotion, and conditioner. You’ll love the lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It’s also rich in nutrients like vitamins A and B. Add it to cold process up to 6%.
Recipes: Exfoliating Green Tea Bars, Rose Quartz Soap, Emerald Soap
Hazelnut Fixed Oil – 3 months
This oil is low in fatty acids, so it slows down trace. That makes it great for intricate cold process designs. It has a lightweight texture and it creates conditioning and small lather. Hazelnut oil is used at 20% or less.
Recipes: Busy Beeswax Soap, Leopard Print Soap
Hemp Seed Oil – 1 year
Hemp seed oil is an amazing source of fatty acids. They help keep the skin hydrated all day long. It also creates excellent lather. Use up to 15% in cold process.
Recipes: Hawaiian Shirt Soap
Jojoba Oil – 2 years
This product is actually a liquid wax that will contribute to a very stable and long-lasting bar of soap. We recommend it at 10% or less in cold process. More than that can weigh down the lather.
Recipes: Loofah Soap, Moisturizing Soap
Kokum Butter – 2 years
Pick up kokum butter today and add it to handmade soap and body butter. It has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly. We recommend tempering it using the same method as cocoa butter, learn how here. It can be used in cold process at 10% or less.
Recipes: Kokum Butter Soap
Kukui Nut Oil – 2 years
This luxurious oil is a must-have for your collection. Kukui (koo-koo-ee) comes from Hawaii. It has a lightweight and silky consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. Try it in cold process up to 20%.
Lingonberry Seed Oil – 2 years
You’ll love the way this oil feels on the skin – it has a silky and lightweight texture. It’s also packed with essential fatty acids and antioxidants. Try lingonberry seed oil in cold process at 5-15%.
Mango Butter – 2 years
This butter is extracted from the fruit kernels of the mango tree. It’s solid at room temperature but melts on contact with the skin. We recommend tempering it for best results, learn how here. It can be used up to 15% in cold process.
Recipes: Watermelon Soap, Sea Sponge Soap, Crescent Moon Soap
Meadowfoam Oil – 1 year
This oil has a moisturizing and conditioning feel that’s similar to jojoba oil. It contributes to a creamy and silky lather in soap. Originally developed as an alternative to sperm whale oil, this earth-friendly product is generally used at 20% or less in cold process. We like using it around 10%.
Recipes: Siren Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Cedar and Amber Soap
Moringa Seed Oil – 2 years
Pick up moringa seed oil today and add it to cold process up to 15%. You’ll love how moisturizing it feels on the skin. It has a lightweight and non-greasy consistency.
Recipes: Lemongrass Mojito Soap
Neem Oil – 2 years
If you’ve ever worked with neem oil, there’s a good chance you remember the scent. Its distinct odor is often described as musky or garlicky. Don’t let that scare you away though – there’s a reason neem has been used on the skin for centuries. People love it because it’s incredibly moisturizing and full of antioxidants. It can be used at 3-6% in cold process.
Oat Oil – 1 year
This oil absorbs quickly and leaves your skin feeling hydrated all day long. It’s rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin E. You’ll love oat oil’s lightweight and non-greasy texture in cold process soap. It can be used at 5-15%.
Olive Oil (Pomace & Pure) – 2 years
This is a staple in cold process recipes. It’s a thick oil that moisturizes the skin and creates creamy lather. Compared to pomace, pure olive oil creates softer bars and takes longer to trace. It can be used up to 100% in cold process.
Recipes: Simple Castile Soap, French Green Clay and Milk Soap, Eggnog Soap
Palm Oil – 1 year
Palm oil adds a unique feeling to cold process soap. It helps harden the bars and it creates lather when paired with coconut oil. In cold process soap, the oil can be used up to 33%. Don’t forget to fully melt and mix the palm oil before use, that way the fatty acids will distribute evenly. Our supplier is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil – learn more about the organization here.
Recipes: Daisy Soap, Creamy Goat Milk Soap, Rose Quartz Soap
Palm Kernel Flakes – 1 year
This is a mixture of partially-hydrogenated palm kernel oil and soy lecithin, and it comes in flake form. We only recommend it up to 15% in cold process soap – a higher percentage can make the bars too hard. It will speed up trace, so be prepared to work fast. These flakes are also from an RSPO supplier.
Recipes: Christmas Tree Swirl Soap, Smoky Bay Soap
Peach Kernel Oil – 1 year
This skin-loving pale yellow oil adds moisturizing properties and creates a stable lather in cold process soap. We recommend it up to 25%. It’s a great substitute for sweet almond or grapeseed oil.
Peanut Oil – 1 year
This pale yellow oil is typically used as a substitute for olive or canola oil in cold process recipes. It can be used up to 25%.
Raspberry Seed Oil – 2 years
Keep your skin feeling smooth with this oil. It’s packed with essential fatty acids. When applied, it feels lightweight and absorbs quickly. Use it in cold process soap at 5-15%.
Recipes: Blueberry Thyme Soap
Red Palm Oil – 2 years
Add this oil to your cold process soap to create firm bars. It also adds a beautiful orange color. This palm oil comes from a supplier that’s part of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. It can be used up to 33%, but we recommend it around 15% because it can stain molds and the skin.
Recipes: Tomato Garden Soap
Rice Bran Oil – 2 years
You’ll love the way this oil feels in handmade soap. It’s rich in vitamin E and antioxidants, and it has a thick and moisturizing consistency that’s similar to olive oil. It can be used up to 100% in cold process soap, but the bar will be soft and have small lather. We recommend using rice bran oil around 20%.
Recipes: Sushi Soap, Pink Salt and Gold Soap, Pumpkin Pie Soap
Rosehip Seed Oil – 2 years
Those with dry or mature skin will love rosehip seed oil. It’s rich in vitamins A and C, and it feels hydrating on the skin. It has a lightweight and non-greasy consistency. Try it in cold process around 10%.
Safflower Oil – 1 year
This mild and skin-loving oil is similar to canola or sunflower oil. It can be used up to 20% in cold process soap.
Sesame Oil – 1 year
This light golden oil is high in antioxidants and fatty acids, which add moisturizing properties to soap. It’s not the same as toasted sesame oil that’s typically used in Asian cuisine. It can be used up to 10% in cold process recipes.
Shea Butter – 2 years
Shea butter feels luxurious and moisturizing on the skin. It helps harden cold process soap and it can be used up to 15%. We recommend tempering it for the best results, learn how here.
Recipes: Oatmeal Baby Soap, Honeycrisp Apple Soap, Safflower and Ginger Soap
Soybean Oil – 3 months if refrigerated
Soybean oil has a creamy, stable, and conditioning lather. It produces a hard bar of soap when paired with palm or coconut oil. It’s typically used at 50% or less in cold process recipes. We recommend a usage rate of up to 15%.
Sunflower Oil – 6 months
Sunflower oil is rich in essential fatty acids and vitamin E, making it it one of the more cost-effective oils. It produces a lather that is incredibly conditioning on the skin. It does have a slower absorption rate, so it can feel slightly oily on the skin in leave-on recipes like balms and lotions. To help increase the shelf life of this oil, be sure to keep it refrigerated. It can be used in cold process recipes up to 100%, but we recommend 20% or less.
Recipes: Wild Rose Soap
Sweet Almond Oil – 1 year
You need sweet almond oil in your collection. It’s full of fatty acids and it has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency. You’ll love the way it feels in DIY soap, lotion, and scrub. It can be used up to 20% in cold process.
Recipes: Wild Rose Soap, Siren Soap, Baby’s Breath Soap
Tamanu Oil – 2 years
Tamanu oil has a lightweight and moisturizing consistency that absorbs quickly into the skin. It’s also packed with essential fatty acids. It can be used up to 5% in cold process.
Recipes: Charcoal Facial Soap
Walnut Oil – 3 months
This antioxidant-rich oil conditions and moisturizes the skin. It can be used up to 15% in cold process soap.
Wheat Germ Oil – 1 year
When it comes to skincare, wheat germ oil has a lot to offer. It’s jam-packed with nutrients like vitamins A, B, D, and E. Even though the oil is fairly heavy, it has a light and almost powdery feeling on the skin. It can be used in cold process up to 10%.
Recipes: Nourishing Soap
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need to heat up my entire container of palm oil before I use it in my cold process recipe?
A: Yes, otherwise the fatty acids won’t distribute properly. That creates white bits or inconsistent results in soap. Fully melt and mix well before each use.
Q: Do I need to heat up my entire container of coconut oil before I use it in my cold process recipe?
A: No, you can scoop it right into a container at room temperature.
Q: I’m out of palm oil – can I use palm kernel flakes instead?
A: No, palm oil and palm kernel flakes have different SAP values and they feel different in soap. Palm oil hardens soap and creates lather with coconut oil. It can be used up to 33%. Palm kernel oil creates a hard bar and is recommend up to 15%.
Q: How can I tell if my oil or butter is rancid?
A: There is a noticeable change in either the color, consistency, or odor of the oils and your butters may start to develop mold or dark spots. We recommend writing down the date you receive the oil, that way you know when it’s expired.
Q: What happens if I used rancid oil or butter in soap?
A: It can develop dreaded orange spots. They cause discoloration and the bars may develop an unpleasant scent.
Q: What happens if I used a large amount of olive oil in my recipe?
A: A 100% olive oil soap, also known as Castile soap, creates gentle and luxurious bars, but it requires some patience. It will take longer to harden than other recipes – up to 6 months. Some makers developed a taste for “Bastile bars,” which are made with a high percentage of olive oil and harder oils to help speed up the hardening process. You can also add sodium lactate or use a water discount.
Q: Help! I’m out of sweet almond oil, can I just put in avocado oil?
A: Yes, but you’ll need to run your recipe through the Lye Calculator again. Learn more in the How to Substitute Oils in Cold Process Soap post.
Q: What is a SAP Value?
A: A saponfication (SAP) value is the amount of lye needed to completely saponify 1 gram of an oil or butter (see the Beginner’s Guide to Cold Process Soapmaking for an explanation of saponification). For example, the SAP value of canola oil is .132, which means it takes .132 grams of lye to turn 1 gram of canola oil into soap. The Lye Calculator automatically calculates the SAP value for you.
| Oil | Shelf Life | SAP Value | Usage Rate in Cold Process |
| Apricot Kernel Oil | 1 year | .135 | up to 15% |
| Argan Oil | 2 years | .136 | up to 10% |
| Avocado Oil | 1 year | .133 | up to 20% |
| Avocado Butter | 3 years | .133 | up to 12% |
| Babassu Oil | 2 years | .175 | up to 33% |
| Beeswax (White & Yellow) | 3 years | .069 | up to 8% |
| Borage Oil | 3 years | .135 | up to 33% |
| Canola Oil | 1 year | .132 | up to 40% |
| Carrot Seed Oil | 2 years | .137 | up to 15% |
| Castor Oil | 2 years | .135 | up to 25%, recommend 2-5% |
| Chia Seed Oil | 1 year | .158 | up to 10% |
| Cocoa Butter | 2 years | .137 | up to 15% |
| Coconut Oil | 18 months | .178 | up to 33% |
| Coffee Butter | 2 years | .133 | up to 6% |
| Coffee Seed Oil | 2 years | .139 | up to 10% |
| Emu Oil | 1 year | .192 | up to 13% |
| Evening Primrose Oil | 1 year | .133 | up to 15% |
| Flaxseed Oil | 6 months | .19 | up to 5% |
| Fractionated Coconut Oil | 3 years | .232 | up to 30% |
| Grapeseed Oil | 1 year | .133 | up to 15% |
| Green Tea Seed Oil | 2 years | .136 | up to 6% |
| Hazelnut Oil | 3 months | .136 | up to 20% |
| Hemp Seed Oil | 1 year | .135 | up to 15% |
| Jojoba Oil | 2 years | .069 | up to 10% |
| Kokum Butter | 2 years | .135 | up to 10% |
| Kukui Nut Oil | 2 years | .135 | up to 20% |
| Lingonberry Seed Oil | 2 years | .135 | up to 15% |
| Mango Butter | 2 years | .137 | up to 15% |
| Meadowfoam Oil | 1 year | .12 | up to 20% |
| Moringa Seed Oil | 2 years | .139 | up to 15% |
| Neem Oil | 2 years | .136 | up to 6% |
| Oat Oil | 1 year | .138 | up to 15% |
| Olive Oil | 2 years | .134 | up to 100% |
| Palm Oil | 1 year | .144 | up to 33% |
| Palm Kernel Flakes | 1 year | .178 | up to 15% |
| Peach Kernel Oil | 1 year | .178 | up to 25% |
| Peanut Oil | 1 year | .19 | up to 25% |
| Raspberry Seed Oil | 2 years | .135 | up to 15% |
| Red Palm Oil | 2 years | .144 | up to 33%, recommend around 15% |
| Rice Bran Oil | 2 years | .129 | up to 100%, recommend around 20% |
| Rosehip Seed Oil | 2 years | .135 | up to 10% |
| Safflower Oil | 1 year | .19 | up to 20% |
| Sesame Oil | 1 year | .19 | up to 10% |
| Shea Butter | 2 years | .133 | up to 15% |
| Soybean oil | 3 months | .135 | up to 50%, recommend around 15% |
| Sunflower Oil | 6 months | .134 | up to 100%, recommend around 20% |
| Sweet Almond Oil | 1 year | .136 | up to 20% |
| Tamanu Oil | 2 years | .148 | up to 5% |
| Walnut Oil | 3 months | .192 | up to 15% |
| Wheat Germ Oil | 1 year | .131 | up to 10% |
Hi!
Thanks for this useful article!
I’ve seen somewhere on your website tho now I can’t find it….
My question is; There are oils that I would like to use but not on your lye calculation oil list(nor on SoapCalc), how can I calculate for the lye solution for specific oil that are not on the oil list? Is there any way I can still use the calculation page (SoapCalc too)??
Thank you so much!
Found it! thanks!!
Thanks for letting us know Angelina! I’m glad you found it
Thank you so much for this list!
It would be so great if you could add “what if you use over Usage Rate”, will it be too harder/softer? too much cleansing level? fast/slow trace?
Thank you so much!
That’s a great idea, it would depend on the specific oil. I will pass along your suggestion to our development team.
I believed this is great. It reminded me of this.
I make melt and pour soaps here in Brazil and I always add some glycolic extract (usually aloe vera or goat milk) to it to get an extra selling point. Can I add it in the cold process too? How do I measure it in the recipe? Love your website!
You can definitely add extracts to cold process soap. We normally add them in at trace at 1-3% depending on the extract.
Extracts: https://www.brambleberry.com/shop-by-product/ingredients/additives-and-lye/extracts
I thanks so much for this great information. My question is how to know the shelf life the final product (soap) made from different oils, say olive oil, coconut oil and palm oil.
Cold process soap normally lasts about a yea. It can have a shorter shelf life if you use a large superfat amount or a large amount of an oil with a super short shelf life like Soybean Oil. The shelf life of your soap can also depend on how you store the soap, constant temperature fluctuation can cause DOS early.
Dreaded Orange Spots (DOS): https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/
Hello.
When selling handmade soaps, bath bombs and other body products do we need to add an expiration date or recommendation of usage before.. on the label or website and if so do i just base that on which oil has the lowest shelf life,
thank you for all your information , very much appreciated
You don’t need an expiration but you do need to make sure the weight of each bar is accurate or over what you list on the label!
Do essential oils account for the liquid added into the recipe, needing a water discount? Or is it not included in a recipe? Thank you for your help.
Essential and Fragrance Oils are considered additive and would not be worked into the Liquid amount of your Cold Process Soap recipe.
What would soap making base look like for someone who is allergic to Soy bean, allergic to Olive Oil, and possible others that I have never been exposed to.
You would want to check with them on the full list of items they are allergic to for sure, as a lot of things used in soap making are tree nuts and there are many people who are allergic to those types of products.
hi!
first i would like to thank you for all the tips and info you share! it’s very helpfull!
my q: i recieved a lot of pomegranate seed oil which have been sitting at a friends basement for a couple of years. the oil is at least 2 years old, very thick and dark rich orange color. what is the approximate amount to use in cp soap making? what other oils can pomegranate seed oil replace?
We have not worked with Pomegranate Seed Oil so I’m not 100% sure. When researching the oil I did find that its shelf life is 2 years at most so it is most likely expired.
Hi
What is the shelf life of Macadamia nut oil? How much maximum we can add it to a recipe and what qualities will it give to the final soap bar?
We don’t carry Macadamia Nut Oil so I’m not super familiar with it. It looks like it has about a 2 year shelf life.
I am interested in oils and additives that make a LOT of substained creamy lather. I use a mix of Olive Oil, Grapeseed, your Palm oil, castor oil, coconut and your sweet almond oil. I also add the liquid salt you carry to
My cooked lye. Any other oils, additives or combinations that will give me more big creamy lather? Thanks!
Typo: cooled lye water mix.
Hey Kaye, something you can do to increase lather is to add some sugars to the recipe. Either in the form of a food product like honey or a puree or a liquid like wine or beer. Just be aware that sugars heat up the batch and can cause acceleration and a full gel in your soaps.
Thanks! I have Manuka honey. I will try it in my next batch.
Thanks for this wonderful blog. I made a batch with my recipe and added the melted manuka honey I love at end before adding fragrance. I usually cover for at least 12 hours but I remembered what you said about over heating and checked about 3 hours in and it was so hot and extremely soft to the touch so I kept it uncovered and it did not crack. Thanks for the tip about overheating! It saved my lovely batch with the amazing Sugar Plum Fairy scent. I cannot wait to test the lather.
Hi, I am interested in making soap made with goat milk and lard. What other oils would you recommend. Also, what is the recommended percentage for lard?
We have not made a recipe quite like that. Find out about how to formulate your own recipes in this blog post:
https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
Normally lard is used at about the same amount as you would Palm Oil, up to 33%.
Hi! I’ve been seeing muru muru oil in some recipes, and wondered if you could tell me anything about it. What are some oils that I could replace it with, namely? Thanks!
Hi,
Can we use normal cooking oils like Canola, Ricebran, Sunflower oil from the kitchen to make soap or do we need to get the cold pressed or exclusively made oils for soap making? Thanks!
They should work fine in most soaps! You cannot use them exclusively, but otherwise go for it.
You can safely use cooking oils in your soap. Though they often have different consistency standards which can affect your soap, like causing DOS early.
Find out more in this post: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/olive-oils-created-equally/
I’m not 100% sure, we don’t carry muru muru oil and have never worked with it before. When I did a search it looks like it is often in butter form and is similar to Shea Butter.
Okay, thank you!
Hi! Is using vegetable shortening like this one https://m.costcobusinesscentre.ca/Canolina™-Deep-Fry-Vegetable-Shortening%2c-20-kg.product.100283330.html
Ok for use in the place of palm oil I would get from my supplier? It is apparently just rbd palm oil, so would I just select palm oil on the brambleberry soap calculator for my recipe? Or is it not the same thing? Thank you so much in advanced.
We don’t normally recommend using Vegetable Shortening for soap since it is a mix of oils and will not be consistent in your soap depending on the batch. If you do want to give it a try you would use the “Shortening (Vegetable)” category on the Lye Calculator.
https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
Oh ok, even if the only ingredient listed on the packaging and label is RBD Palm Oil?
Thank you Terah 🙂
Usually vegetable shortenings do not list their full ingredients because the blend is proprietary and changes based on the market. If the ingredient is truly only Palm Oil then the product would be Palm Oil, not shortening, and you would use the Palm Oil setting on the Lye Calculator.
My hands are, unfortunately, sensitive to anything coconut, but I don’t want to eliminate it altogether. Thank you for including the information about reducing the percentage. After I read this, I changed my formula and my hands have been much better. Between 18% & 22% seems to be great for me.
My mango butter arrived solid…would there be a difference in my soap if I tempered my mango butter before I soaped or just skipped tempering. It seems inefficient to melt, cool, and melt again…
Unless you plan on using the entire amount of Mango Butter we do recommend tempering to make sure the mango butter is consistent throughout and the good fatty acids haven’t separated.
So then can I temper the whole amount one time, and then just use the needed amount each time, or do I need to temper every time?
Yes you can temper the whole amount at one time and just use what you need as you go. It would only need t be tempered again if its temperature fluctuates like it does in transit. When the butter cools slowly it can become grainy.
I was wondering if the Bramble Berry Lye Calculator is also accurate for Hot Process Soap. I only see info about Cold Process.
Yes, our Lye Calculator also works for Hot Process!
Hello! great tips! thanks for sharing.
I couldnt find Palm Stearing, have you guys try it out?
what is the recommended % usage?
Thank you!
Find our Stearic Acid here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Stearic-Acid-P4210.aspx
The recommended usage is 0.5%
Hello thank you!
I meant palm stearin =) Im thinking on replacing palm oil with it on my cp recipes, do you have any recomendations about it?
Can you please help me with the % usage?
Stearic Acid is typically made with Palm Oil or Coconut Oil so you are looking to use Stearic Acid which is not a straight substitute for Palm Oil. The usage rate for Stearic Acid in CP soaps is 0.5%
hello to anyone who can answer my question. I’m new at soap making and my question is how does one determine how much oil or fat one should use when making soaps. What or is there a method or is it trial and error?
Our ‘Formulating Cold Process Recipes’ post has all the answers you’re looking for: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
Hello! I make body products like bath melts, lotions, and sugar scrubs. This is such a handy article for me to refer back to when creating or tweaking recipes, but it would be really awesome to include notes about recommended usage rates for body products and any notes about how they perform in body products, not just soap. Just a thought. 🙂
Oh my, love this post… it’s a wealth of useful information and tips. Thank you especially for the usage rate details in CP, was looking just for that info!
I posted this question a while back, but never saw a response, so I’m trying again:
What is it exactly that can cause soap to crack if butters are used above 15%? For example, does it have something to do with its unsaponifiables, or with a particular fatty acid in the butter?
Hi Jane!
Looks like I missed your question, I’m so sorry about that!
The composition of the fatty acids in certain butters will cause that cracking above 15%! The same fatty acids that make the butters solid at room temperature can contribute to a more brittle bar of soap.
Hope that helps. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
When you say the soap can crack, do you mean that small fissures are visible here and there in the bar, or that the soap is brittle and the bar might snap in half?
Thanks for all that you guys do!
Hi Jane!
The top of the soap can form cracks, and the inside can be crumbly or brittle. Overall, the more tends to be more dry. Hope that helps! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m trying to make a recipe out of ingredients I already have.
Olive Oil 62%
Coconut Oil 30%
Shea Butter 4%
Sweet Almond Oil 4%
What kind or characteristics do you think this will have?
Hi Natasha!
That looks like an amazing recipe! The olive oil, shea butter and sweet almond oil will add some great moisturizing properties to the soap. The coconut oil will add firmness and cleansing properties, as well as lather. 🙂
Because the recipe is mostly soft oils, the soap will be on the softer side. To help it release faster from your mold and add some firmness, you can add 1 tsp. of sodium lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water. Read more in the Sunday Night Spotlight: Sodium Lactate: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi! I am new to soap making and I see a lot of recipies that I would like to try. I prefer not to use palm oil. Which oil could I use instead? Thanks!
Hi Digna!
Palm oil adds some great firmness to your soap, and there is no direct replacement for it. You can leave it out of your recipe though! We have a lot of great palm free recipes you may like. I’ll include links below. 🙂
Palm Free Vertical Twist: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/palm-free-vertical-twist-tutorial/
Palm Free In The Pot Swirl: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/a-palm-free-in-the-pot-swirl/
Formulating Cold Process Recipes: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
Because palm oil adds firmness, recipes without it can take longer to unmold and cure. To speed this process up, you can add 1 tsp. of sodium lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water. Read more in the Sunday Night Spotlight: Sodium Lactate: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi, is there any difference between palm kernel oil and palm fruit oil. If so what is the SAP value for Palm fruit oil . How much percentage we can add to the recipe and what properties will it add to the soap?
Palm Fruit Oil is the same as our regular Palm oil. In cold process soap, Palm oil can be used up to 33%. It helps harden the bars and it creates lather when paired with coconut oil.
I’m a newbie soaper and keeping it simple – my recipe is olive and palm and smaller amounts of coconut and shea butter. I am pretty happy with the results. I prefer plain soap and am not too interested in fooling around with coloring, scents, inclusions etc. However, my soap turned out bright orange when I used red palm oil (kind of cool but not what I was going for!) and white when I used regular palm oil. I would like to know what oils will make the end result a tan or brownish color. Many thanks for all the great information.
Hi Carol!
It is definitely interesting to see how different oils can affect the color of your soap! For a tan/brown tint in your soap, you can use pumpkin seed oil at 5-10%. It has a dark color that does affect the final bar slightly: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pumpkin-Seed-Oil-P5894.aspx
You can see that color before colorant was added in the Pumpkin Spice Latte Cold Process Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/pumpkin-spice-latte-cold-process/
Keep in mind, the color will get lighter as it saponifies. You may have to do a little testing to get the color you’re looking for. 🙂
You could also add walnut shells! They add gentle exfoliation and slight color. We recommend starting with about 1 tsp. per pound of soap.
Walnut shells: https://www.brambleberry.com/Walnut-Shells-P4531.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi! I am new to soaking and have been working on formulating my own recipie. Does this look like it will work?
16 oz Olive oil
14 oz Coconut oil
5 oz Rice Bran oil
5 oz Avocado oil
5 oz Shea Butter
8 oz Palm oil
17 oz goats milk
7 oz lye
This is at 5% superfat. Also, do you have any suggestions to tweak it so it works out better?
Hi Lindsey!
That recipe looks awesome! It has a lot of luxurious soft oils that will feel amazing on your skin. The goat milk will also add a silky, creamy feeling. 🙂
Learn more about soaping with milk here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/how-to-add-lye-to-milk-for-cold-process-soap/
There are a majority of soft oils in your bar. The coconut, palm and shea will add some firmness. If you’re looking for a softer, skin-loving bar, your recipe is just perfect! If you want your bar a little firmer or extra bubbly, let me know. Everyone’s perfect recipe is a little bit different. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m make cold process soap which i use only palm oil & NaOH. when cut the bar then after some hours it’s release some oil or the soap may oily..how can i solve it .please tell me
Hi there!
Hmm, that’s strange! I’d love to help you figure out what’s going on. I’m wondering if that soap is separating. That can sometimes happen if it’s not completely emulsified.
Can you tell me how much palm oil, lye and water you use in your soap? Also, how long are you stick blending the soap for? Thanks!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
Is there any rule of thumb for the quantity of oils used in your soap recipe? Can there be too many? I was thinking of trying something like this below, thoughts?
32% Coconut Oil
16% Olive Oil
16% Sunflower Oil
10% Rice Bran Oil
16% Mango Butter
10% Avocado Oil
Thanks!
Hi Craig!
There are general recommendations for the amount of oils you use in this blog post. However, it’s definitely personal preference!
I think your recipe looks great. The coconut oil and mango butter will add some firmness, and the other oils will add moisturizing properties. 🙂
Typically, we use butters at 15% or less in the recipe. More than that can cause the soap to crack. However, I think 16% should be just fine!
This Formulating Cold Process Recipes post may be helpful for you as well: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks for your feedback 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂
I don’t know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing problems with your site.
It appears as if some of the text on your content are running off the screen. Can somebody else please provide feedback and let me know if this is happening to them as well?
This may be a problem with my web browser because I’ve had this happen previously.
Cheers
Hi Joven Skin!
We have been having some technical difficulties with the blog, but our IT department has been working on it. I checked this morning and it appears to be working just fine! If you’re still having difficulties, let me know and I’ll contact our IT department. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I am sorry if this is a silly question, but I want to use hazelnut oil in a cold process soap for oily skin. I realise that Hazelnut oil has a short shelf life of three months, so does this mean that if I used 10% of it in my recipe my soap will have a very short shelf life? Thanks so much Amanda
Hi Amanda!
That’s a great question! Also, that is correct. Because hazelnut oil has a shorter shelf life, adding it to your soap will shorten its shelf life as well. It may cause your soap to form dreaded orange spots (DOS). You can read more about those here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/
That being said, we use hazelnut oil often in our soap. We have bars made about 6 months ago with hazelnut oil that are still going strong. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks again for all of BBs wonderful resources and especially your quick replies to questions.
I LOVE researching and learning about new oils. I just discovered Laurel oil and am going to attempt an Aleppo soap soon. I want to make some luxury soaps to address specific issues (without making claims, of course!) What I can’t figure out is how much of the supposed benefit of the luxury oil will email in the soap? Say, if I use Evening Primrose and Hazelnut oils to benefit dry skin, is the saponofied oil really going to make a difference, or do I need to try to keep those oils to supperfat oils reap their benefits?
Also, since soap is only briefly on the skin and then washed off, is it really worth it? Or should I work on formulating a serum? I know that’s probably an opinionated question.
Thanks!
Hi Nic!
You’re welcome, we are happy to help!
The saponification process can be a hard environment, and it’s difficult to say what properties of oils remain in the final soap. I can tell you that adding different oils to your bars really makes a difference. For instance, I love adding avocado butter to my soap because it adds such a luxurious, silky feeling. I usually notice right away when I use the soap if it has a butter or luxurious oil!
Avocado butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/solid-Avocado-Butter-P3207.aspx
The best way to know what works for you is to try it out! I would recommend making a couple small batches and testing each one. If you find the oils aren’t coming through in the soap, you can definitely make a serum. That’s a great option too. 🙂
You may like this Gentle Gel Serum recipe: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/home-spa-gentle-gel-serum/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I’m fairly new to soap making but have become completely addicted to everything about it and would like to start selling. I thought I finally nailed down a recipe I liked however, there have been a few batches that have been a little wet/sticky when I unmolded them. I’m starting to wonder if I need to modify the recipe or if it’s due to the fragrance I’m using? I also wondered if the use of Avocado & Castor together were causing it. The last 2 batches were the same recipe, different fragrances, both poured in the same kind of silicone mold. One batch unmolded great but the other was very sticky. (This has happened in both the silicone and wood molds) Any suggestions on what to do? I’d appreciate any advice! My recipe is:
9.2% Avocado Oil
8% Castor Oil
29.3% Coconut Oil
24.1% Olive Oil
13.2% Shea Butter
16.2% Soybean Oil
Thank You So Much! I love your website and find I reference back to it OFTEN!
Angela
Hi Angela!
That’s so exciting! Selling your soap is a huge step, congratulations. 🙂
Your recipe looks great – it has a lot of skin-loving oils. I imagine it feels great. There are a lot of soft oils, or oils that are liquid at room temperature. These contribute to a softer bar that takes a little longer to unmold and cure.
That’s not a bad thing at all! Soft oils add a luxurious, silky feeling to your skin. And, after 4-6 weeks of curing, the bars will be firm to the touch.
If you want them a little harder, you can add more hard oils, like palm oil. Palm oil can be used up to 30% in your recipe.
You can also use sodium lactate. Adding 1 tsp. of sodium lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water allows the soap to pop out of the mold faster, and creates a firmer bar. Read more in the Sunday Night Spotlight: Sodium Lactate: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/
Also, the 5 Tips to Take Soaping From Hobby to Business blog may be helpful for you: http://www.soapqueen.com/business/5-tips-take-soaping-hobby-business-slideshare-presentation/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thanks so much for the advice! I’ve watched both links you sent and they have some great info. I’m trying to keep my recipes Palm free so I think I’m going to give the Sodium Lactate a try.
Thanks again!
You’re welcome Angela! Happy to help. Let us know how it goes. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Not sure if anyone will know the answer to this, but my dermatologist believes that handmade soaps are comedogenic. I tried googling for more information, and found very little. However, I did read somewhere that after oils go through the saponification process they are no longer comedogenic. Is this true? Or should oils and butters with a high comedogenic rating, such as coconut oil and cocoa butter, not be used in soaps intended for the face? Thank you so much!
Hi Jen!
I think it really depends a lot on your skin type! When oils and lye are emulsified, they go through a process called saponification. This transforms them into soap. That means you are not putting straight oils on your face. The soap, depending on which oils you use, can be cleansing and moisturizing. For instance, coconut oil is very cleansing and has great lather.
The superfat level also plays a role too. Superfat is the amount of free-floating oil in your soap that doesn’t react with the lye. The higher the superfat, the more oil in the bar. Superfat makes the soap feel moisturizing and luxurious, but may also feel heavy on your skin. You can find out more in the Superfatting Soap – An Explanation: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/superfatting-soap-an-explanation-2/
I have acne-prone skin and I use handmade soap all the time. I haven’t noticed an increase in blackheads! However, it really depends on your skin. If you feel that handmade soap is not working for your face, you can use a blackhead fighting cleanser instead.
I think the best way to find out is to try the soap on your face! It can also take some testing to find a recipe that works perfectly for your skin. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you Kelsey!
You’re welcome! 🙂
Did I just now come to realize that the amount of ingredients you use depends on the size of your mold? I’m so confused…my molds are all different sizes…maybe I am reading wrong when I”m reading different websites…I just want a recipe for a basic batch of soap, Oh I want to try CP so bad but everything I am reading has my head spinning 🙁 how DO I know how much to make without having to rely on what size my molds are…
Hey Tammy!
That is correct! Each batch of soap you make will be a little different depending on the size of your mold. For instance, if your mold is 2 pounds, you’ll want to make 32 ounces of soap. All of the molds on brambleberry.com say how much they hold: https://www.brambleberry.com/Molds-C184.aspx
Another way to determine mold size is to use water. Place your mold on a scale and hit “tare” to zero it out. Then, fill the mold up. That will help you estimate about how much it holds. Keep in mind the weight of your soap may be a little different, so it does help to make a little extra and pour that into a separate mold. 🙂
To find out how much oil, lye and water to use to get the weight you need, you can use our Lye Calculator! First, enter your oil weight. That is a bit of a guessing game. Enter the amount of oils you think your recipe may need, then click “Calculate.” If it’s too much or too little, you can enter new amounts in the “Resize” box!
Using the Bramble Berry Lye Calculator: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/using-the-bramble-berry-lye-calculator-2/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Thank you so much for the reply, I don’t think I could do the guessing game part lol, I would literally need a recipe put in front of me, I have no idea how I would pick what base oils I would want to use and then figure out how much of each oil I would need to use…I was just checking out you’re lye calculator, and I think so long as I had a recipe to work from I would be ok, however I would love to eventually learn to pick my oils, find out my mold size and figure out the amount of each oil I would need. This all seems very intimidating to me right now and I figured the more I read, the more I would learn and feel comfortable but it’s turning out, the more I read the more frazzled I get :D, again, thanks so much for taking the time to reply to my question.
Hi Tammy!
I understand! Cold process soaping is complicated, and can be intimidating at first. We have a lot of great resources if you’re just starting out though. 🙂
Our Beginning Soaper Resource Roundup has tons of resources, including how-to videos. You can check that out here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/beginning-soaper-resource-roundup/
You may also like our quick mixes. The quick mixes are already formulated and mixed. All you have to do is melt them, add your lye and liquid and make soap! You can find the quick mixes here: https://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=quick+mix
Also, we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I know your busy but I was wondering if you could make a post about suitable substitutes for more common oils in recipes. Many of my “guinea pigs” have allergies to nuts or avocado.
Hi Liz!
Great news, we are actually working on a blog post about common substitutions for cold process soap! That should be up in the future, so keep an eye on the blog. 🙂
Also, I’d be more than happy to answer any questions you may have! What oils are you wanting to substitute in your recipes?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
What are the recommended usage rate for pumpkin seed oil and argan oil?
If I want to add fruit puree (such as pumpkin) to the soap, how is that done and what is the recommended rate? Will I need to add a preservative?
Thanks!
Hi Hannah!
You can add pumpkin seed oil at 5-10% in your recipe, and argan oil up to 20%.
Pumpkin seed oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pumpkin-Seed-Oil-P5894.aspx
Argan oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Argan-Oil-P5574.aspx
With pumpkin or fruit puree, we typically use about an ounce of puree per pound of oils. However, you can add more or less depending on your preference. You can add that puree in with your oils right before adding the lye water and stick blending. 🙂
Keep in mind pumpkin does have natural sugar in it, which can cause the soap to overheat. To prevent overheating, pop it in the fridge or freezer after it’s in the mold.
Also, soap has a pH level that doesn’t allow mold to grow, so it doesn’t need a preservative. Yay! You can read more in the Talk It Out Tuesday: Preservatives post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi there! I am just starting my soap making journey. Thank you for making such a useful blog with plenty of free information. I haven’t even ventured into any other websites yet because yours is so comprehensive! I have one question — how do you clean up your container and spoon that you’ve used to make the lye water? Is it ok to rinse it with water and let pour down the drain? I believe the container and tools used to blend the lye water and oils together can be left overnight and cleaned the next day, as it’s essentially soap. Am I correct? Just wondering about the lye water stuff. Thank you!!!
Hi Michelle!
You’re welcome, so glad you like the blog!
You can definitely rinse your lye containers in the sink if you like. We do it all the time in the Soap Lab with no problems. Actually, most drain cleaners contain lye!
Also, you are correct – the fresh soap on your containers or utensils will turn into soap after a couple days. Then, you can scrape that soap off and clean your equipment. You can read more in the Soapy Session Clean Up Guide post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/clean-soapy-session/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi! I was wondering if it would be possible to make a useable bar of soap with only hempseed oil? Thanks!
Hi CCK!
We recommend using hemp seed oil at 20% or less in your recipe. Using it at 100% will make a softer bar of soap that will take longer to unmold and cure. Also, the soap may from Dreaded Orange Spots more quickly, as the hemp seed oil has a shorter shelf life. You can read more about that in the Dealing with Dreaded Orange Spots post: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/
I would recommend making a small test batch. That way you can give the soap a try and see if it works for you. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Would really like to see a list that includes oils like Neem, Beef Tallow, Babassu, Argan and others. This is a handy list though. 🙂 Thanks for making it!
Hi Dana!
Thanks so much for your suggestions! We will definitely keep that in mind. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is a fantastic guide on oils.
I’m a bit confused, though, as to why various sites advise using 15% or less cocoa butter and where that warning originated?
Mine are all made, without exception, (fragrance and colour free) with 40% raw organic cocoa butter, 40% organic castor oil and 20% extra virgin coconut oil, using either organic coconut milk or organic oat milk instead of water (I’ve never used water), with 7% superfat (the milk possibly brings the SF up to around 8%, if I had to guess).
When I remember to do so, I incorporate 2-3% sodium lactate. Despite usual recommendations, I’m a big lover of organic castor oil and not at all shy about using it on equal footing with cocoa butter in my formula.
In almost 5 years of cp soapmaking, I’ve never had a bar go brittle (with or without SL), nor have any of my batches ever developed ‘white streaks’ (some sites advise that white streaks will occur if cocoa butter is used at more than 15%).
Frankly, I’m at the stage now where I just can’t keep up with the demand (some of my soaps mysteriously found their way to Italy, so the demand has grown even more), but I’m most curious to know the origins behind the cocoa butter warnings, given that my experience is quite the opposite.
Hi Gabz!
Adding more than 15% cocoa butter to your recipe may cause the soap to crack or be brittle, that’s why we recommend that amount. However, every soaper is different! It sounds like you’ve found an awesome recipe that works great for you. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What is it exactly that can cause soap to crack if butters are used above 15%? For example, does it have something to do with its unsaponifiables, or with a particular fatty acid in the butter?
Gabz, I am intrigued by your recipe. How hard is your bar? How does it lather? I would love to try this recipe, it is so unique.
Hello, is Coconut oil the only oil that can cleanse? I’m having a difficult time finding information on that. Also I’ve heard about anchoring scents into soap. My scents are very faint. How can I enhance the scent and what is the amount that should be used? Thanks in Advance!
Hi Iesha!
Coconut oil has great cleansing properties, but there are several oils that do as well, including palm and castor oils. We have a great blog post on common soapmaking oils that has more information on that subject. 🙂
Free Beginner’s Guide to Soapmaking: Common Soapmaking Oils: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
Anchoring scents is a great way to help faint scents, like citrus essential oils, stick in your soap. You can blend your lighter scents with a deeper fragrance, like Almond Fragrance Oil, Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil or Patchouli Essential Oil. Those deep rich notes help boost the lighter scents, and add some nice complexity to your fragrance!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Almond Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Almond-Fragrance-Oil-P3936.aspx
Vanilla Select Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Vanilla-Select-Fragrance-Oil-P3888.aspx
Patchouli Essential Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Patchouli-Essential-Oil-P3420.aspx
I am in a pinch, I need palm oil. I cannot afford overnight shipping and I can’t wait the length of time for regular shipping. I was talking to my grandma who said vegetable shortening is palm oil. While at my local store shopping I found organic vegetable shortening, the ingredients list as “mechanically pressed organic Palm oil”
Do you think this product that I found Will work in my recipe as a substitute while I am waiting for Brambleberry’s palm oil and what it have the same SAP value?
If so do you think I still need to melt the container?
If not what makes it different?
Thanks for being such a great resource for all of us beginnner/intermediate/advanced soap makers.
Dj
Hi DJ!
Vegetable shortening isn’t the same as palm oil. While it may have similar ingredients, it is processed differently and can have additives in it.
We haven’t worked with vegetable shortening a lot, so I’m not exactly sure how it would act in your soap! It may help to make a small test batch.
You can also make soap without palm oil. We have a couple of great recipes I’ll include below.
Because palm oil adds some nice firmness to your bars, soap without it can take longer to unmold and cure. To speed this up, you can add 1 tsp. of sodium lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
A Palm Free In-The-Pot Swirl: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/a-palm-free-in-the-pot-swirl/
Palm Free Vertical Twist Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/palm-free-vertical-twist-tutorial/
Formulating Cold Process Recipes: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/formulating-cold-process-recipes/
Sunday Night Spotlight: Sodium Lactate: http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-sodium-lactate/
I
My question is: if I use sunflower oil (3 month shelf life) in my CP recipe, after 6 week cure, how longvwill my soap last or is usable? How can we sell a soap that has a short shelf life? What can be done to increase the shelf life if the sunflower oil? Or other short shelf life oils?
Sorry as there are a few questions in there. Hopefully, you can answer them all. Thanks in advance for interupting your busy schedule.
Hi Christine!
Absolutely, we are happy to help out. 🙂
How long your soap will last depends on a number of factors, including temperature, humidity and where it’s stored. It’s important to keep your soaps in a cool, dry place with lots of air flow. That will help extend the shelf life. I’ll include a blog with more tips!
However, there is nothing that can be done to extend the shelf life of sunflower oil. If you’re concerned about that, you may want to use a different oil instead. Sweet almond oil is a great lightweight oil like sunflower oil, and it lasts 6 months to a year.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Dealing with Dreaded Orange Spots: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/
Great website, I like it.
Just wondering if i cane use vaseline (pure petroleum jelly) instead of hard oils or fat.
Thanks .
Hi Abdulla!
I believe Petroleum Jelly is a wax-based product. This means it would not saponify, or turn into soap.
We have never used this in soap, so I’m not sure what would happen. You may want to make a small test batch to see how it reacts. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
This is great, thanks so much. You have a wonderful resource for newbies like me.
Hi Wendy!
So glad you like this post. 🙂
-Kelsry with Bramble Berry
Hi Soapqueen,
Please tell me the benefits and disadvantages of soaping with Palmolein Oil. Since this is widely and easily available in India, I would like to use it. If used at a 30% rate, would it make my soap too oily? I used this recipe but however my soap takes too long to dry and is extremely oily even after a week. I live in a very humid place.
Shea Butter 10%
Cocoa Butter 10%
Coconut Oil 76deg 25%
Olive Oil Pomace 20%
Castor Oil 5%
Palmolein Oil 30%
Distilled water 38% of base oils
Fragrance 4% of base oils
Please Help!!!
Thank you!
Hi Karishma!
We haven’t worked with Palmolein Oil, so I’m not exactly sure!
Does it come as a solid oil? If not, that may be why your soap is still soft. To make it a little harder, you can increase the Coconut Oil to 30%.
Also, cold process soap does take 4-6 weeks to cure, so those bars may dry out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Kelsey,
Thanks for your quick reply! Actually due to weather conditions, only shea and cocoa butter come in a solid state. Rest of the oils including coconut and palmolein come in a liquid state. Would it help to keep coconut at 25%, reduce palmolein to 25% and add 5% of something else to give hardness? What would you suggest for that 5%?
Thanks so much for your valuable reply! 🙂
Hi Karishma!
Because you have cocoa and shea butter in your recipe, those should help make a harder bar.
What you can do is add 1 tsp. of Sodium Lactate per pound of oils to your cooled lye water. That helps make a harder bar.
You can also reduce your water amount slightly. Keep in mind that will make your soap set up a little faster. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Sodium Lactate: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sodium-Lactate-P5127.aspx
Hi Kelsey,
Thank you so much for your valuable suggestions, really appreciate all the help. I reduced my water amount to 33% and it really did help the soap unmould must faster and easier, although it did set up rather quickly. So I think I will settle for 35% water. 🙂
Hi Karishma!
You are so welcome. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Does this guide apply to a Hot Process Method?
Hi Tonje!
Yes it does. Yay!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
When using a mix of hard oils would lowering the temperatures of the lye mix and oil mix help slow down the trace time?
Hi Elaine!
The best bars of soap have a combination of both hard and soft oils. The higher your temperature of oils and lye, the faster your soap will reach trace. Lowering the temperatures will help slow down trace. Even a difference of 10 degrees can make a difference! :).
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I try to avoid nut oils because of the allergy potential. Is Canola a viable sub for Almond? Soap calc rates canola as slightly more conditioning, but within 2 “points” of of sweet almond in hardness & creamy lather-ness; it has less palmitic and oleic acids (not an issue in a soap with olive and palm oils); slightly more linoleic and a bit of linoleic, too. It seems like it would be a quality substitute for sweet almond, not a budget substitute, with double the shelf life, to boot. Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Hi there!
If you’d like, you could certainly swap out Almond for Canola Oil. Canola can be used up to 40% in your total recipe, while Sweet Almond Oil is recommended to be used around 20%. Of course they have slightly different properties, and be sure to run your recipe through the lye calculator again! 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks for the reply. I wish I understood what sweet almond offers that canola doesn’t. Is there a nut-free oil that is a better sub for almond?
Hi there!
When substituting oils, there are so many great options, and the majority of times it comes down to a personal preference regarding which oils to use :). You could also use Apricot Kernel Oil, Peach Kernel Oil, or Grapeseed Oil. Truly, there is such a huge amount of possible oil combinations. You just want to make sure your bar has a good balance of both hard, and soft oils 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Can vitamin E or safflower oil be used without changing the consistency of the bar? And if so can beeswax help to solidify or harden bars that are softened due to oils? I apologize if this question has been asked multiple times. I just want to ensure that if I mess it up, I can find a way to fix it. Also, will using sweet almond oil, overpower any scent or fragrance in soaps? Ive noticed almond oil has a very overwhelming scent, but if it’s moisturizing properties are what Im looking for, I don’t want the scent to be offputting.
Hi Crystal!
Any oils you add to your recipe have the potential to change the consistency.
Vitamin E Oil makes a great additive to your soap, and can be added at 1 tsp per pound of oils. Safflower Oil is similar to Canola or Soybean Oil, and can be added up to 20%.
Each of those oils has different properties, so you’ll want to make sure to run it through a Lye Calculator again. 🙂
A great way to harden bars is by using Sodium Lactate. We recommend adding 1 tsp. per pound of oils to your cooled lye water.
Also, we use Sweet Almond Oil in some of our recipes and there isn’t a noticeable smell in the finished product. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Common Soapmaking Oils: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
Sodium Lactate: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sodium-Lactate-P5127.aspx
This design is steller! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog
(well, almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really loved what
you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it.
Too cool!
Hi there!
So glad you are enjoying the blog 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hi@ Can you tell us about uses of neem oil in soap? And shelf life? I know it is a stinky oil. But I think it is something I’d like to learn more about.
Hi Penny!
You’re right, Neem Oil does indeed have a distinctive, rather strong smell. Many soapers like to use a very strong fragrance oil to try to cover up the smell. In general, it has a shelf life of 1-2 years. It’s known for it’s anti-bacterial properties 🙂 I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hello , I am very new to soap making and thanks for the info you are providing thru this website.
I have couple of questions
How to calculate the shelf life of a soap? Is it the lowest of the oils I used?
Ex. If I use Olive Oil and sunflower oil , will the shelf life be 3 months?
Secondly,If I heat up the whole palm oil can I use 1/2 of it now and keep the rest for few weeks for the next batch ?
Thanks,
Paul
Hi Pam!
You don’t have to worry about soap going bad (ie: growing mold) because the pH level does not allow for bacteria to grow. That being said, over time soap will start to dry out and the scent can fade. Oils, before they are made into soap do have a shelf life. You can find a list of common oils and butters along with their shelf life here!
Common Soap making Oils:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
If you melt the entire batch, then split it into two, you could certainly use the two batches for two different soap batches 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Okay so I have been making soap for a while (using wooden molds), but have never found it necessary to use Stearic Acid to produce a harder bar of soap. I purchased a couple of Brambleberry’s 10″ silicone molds (love them!) and they were/are working great, but even after sitting 36-42 hrs there were chunks of soap left in the mold (my mind tells me this has occurred because the soap is not evaporating is water as easily having been in a silicone mold). After doing some reading, I found that it was recommended to use Stearic Acid with these molds to aid in a shorter mold time and to produce a harder loaf (presumably one that will not leave chunks behind during the unmolding process). So I went ahead and used my go to recipe (with Cambrian Blue Clay & Eucalyptus EO. I used 7g per pound (21g in all) and on day 3 the soap is about as hard as cold butter (I cant even un mold it..planning on waiting it out) What did I do wrong? I visually observed a complete gel phase within 5 hrs of pouring in case that’s relevant. Any thoughts?
Hi Christina!
I have actually never worked with Stearic Acid in my soap before, but have used it several times in lotion recipes to act as a thickening agent.
In order to produce a harder bar of soap, we like to use Sodium Lactate, which is a liquid salt. We add this to slightly cooled lye water at a rate of 1 tsp. per pound of oils.
I did a little research regarding stearic acid in soap, and it seems that it can be a little tricky to use! From my research, it seems that the amount you use depends on what kind of oils your recipe contains. You may want to check with fellow soapers on the Teach Soap Forum to see if they have any additional tips or tricks :).
Teach Soap: http://www.teachsoap.com/forum/
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Does this need preservative? How long would it last without and what is the best preservative to use as well as how much?
Thanks.
I was referring to the body butter BTW. 🙂
Hi Paula!
Body butters do not require a preservative unless the recipe contains water 🙂 To learn more about preservatives and when to use them, you may find these blog posts helpful!
Talk it Out Tuesday: Preservatives:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
Perfectly Preserved: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/perfectly-preserved/
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks Amanda, that’s what I figured, and I’m going for a hard bar. My last batch came out kinda soft, softer than I expected for some reason.
Hi Nic!
I’d love to hear what you think of your bar after it has been made! 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Question about palm oil and kernel: would using the full 30% palm oil and 15% kernel be too much? Would it somehow = 45% or are they different enough for it to be ok?
Hi Nic!
That would be okay, you will just end up with a hard bar of soap! I would make sure the rest of your recipe contains some softer oils to help “even” out your bar. Also keep in mind because you are using the full amount of Kernel Flakes, that it will speed up your trace 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Is the shelf life of the oils prolonged after they are made into soap that does not have any perservative added? For example hazelnut oil has a 3 month shelf life just sitting around but after I make a soap with it with no added ppreservatives, is the shelf life of the soap only 3 months. And is it safe to Freeze the oils?
Hi Kali!
It is safe to freeze your oils, and I would recommend wither placing them in the freezer or fridge if you do not plan on using them for a while. Once the oils have been made into soap, the shelf life no longer applies. When making soap, a preservative is not needed because the pH level does not allow mold or bacteria to grow 🙂
If you’d like to learn more about preservatives, you may find this blog post helpful!
Talk it Out Tuesday: Preservatives:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/lotion/talk-it-out-tuesday-preservatives/
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hi Amanda,
I’ve been playing around with several different lye calculators just out of curiosity. They all give slightly different values when the oils and superfat are the same.
Any thoughts on this?
Hi Nic!
Because all oils have a small range when it comes to SAP value, that may result in the slightly different values from the lye calculators. It could also be an issue of rounding. I know from experience that our lye calculator is incredibly reliable 🙂
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Hi Linda!
If you are wanting to substitute Mango Butter, you could use Shea Butter or Avocado Butter. In general the butters are fairly interchangeable, you just need to make sure and run your recipe through a lye calculator every time you substitute oils/butters in cold process recipes. I hope this helps!
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
What can I substitute for mango butter in a cold process soap?
Hi Linda!
Butters are fairly interchangeable when it comes to cold process, you just want to make sure to run your recipe through a lye calculator again! Some butters that we like soaping with are Shea Butter or Cocoa Butter 🙂
Lye Calculator:
https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
Shea Butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/Shea-Butter-P3220.aspx
Cocoa Butter: https://www.brambleberry.com/Cocoa-Butter-P3218.aspx
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
So, it is OK to freeze oils? And butters?
Hi Linda!
Yes, it’s just fine to freeze oils and butters :). I hope you found this post helpful to you!
Happy Soaping!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
What can I substitute for mango butter in a cold process soap?
Yes. Thank you! Is there a specified time on the freezing?
Hi Linda,
There is not really a specific time when it comes to freezing your oils. If you are going to freeze your oils, I would recommend not letting them sit in the freezer for more than a year or so 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Just wondering if you have any information about Corn Oil? I’m really interested in subbing out most of the Olive Oil in my soap recipe to make a more inexpensive bar. Would Corn Oil be a good substitute? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jessica!
Corn Oil is not a very good substitution for Olive Oil. I would recommend Canola Oil instead. We have found using Corn Oil results in a slimy, weak lather in your soap. Canola is a good economical oil for soap making. It gives a nice, low, creamy lather and is moisturizing.
Hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Is canola oil just rapeseed oil? I am new to soap making and I can buy rapeseed oil in my local supermarket is it the same?
I live in the UK and love reading all your posts thank you for a great website.
Thanks Amanda! I have been freezing the oik, and I added ROE to it. What I was wondering was if I could freeze the actual soap once it’s made.
Hi Nic!
Oooh, I see :). You can freeze your soap, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing it for a long period of time. Because there is water in the soap, freezing could result in some texture issues, possibly crumbling.
Once your oils are in soap, they will last longer than the shelf life listed above. The time period listed above (3-9 months for Hemp Seed Oil) refers to how long the oil lasts in the bottle, so most likely your soap will sell before it goes bad :).
I hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
Thanks Amanda!
I’d like to use Hemp oil in my soap but I’m afraid that it will go bad before I can sell it. I’m wondering if I could freeze some of it to keep it fresh longer. Would that dry it out? Or possibly some other problem. I looked around for the info, I was surprised no one else had asked this yet!
Hi Nic!
You can definitely freeze the Hemp Seed Oil to make it last longer, and it will be just fine :). Hope this helps!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I’m curious about the shelf life of sunflower oil; shouldn’t the high vitamin E content make the shelf life longer? I have seen it listed on other pages as up to 1 year, just wondered how you came to the 3 month conclusion.
Hi Nic!
I have looked into this and have found somewhat mixed information regarding the shelf life of Sunflower Oil. I did find a few sources that claimed (like you found) that Sunflower oil is good for up to 1 year. They did not indicate if this was unopened or opened, so I’m assuming unopened. I did find a few sources that claimed a shorter shelf life, so I’m assuming they are referring to opened oil.
We highly recommend either refrigerating or freezing what you will not use right away. The important thing is to keep the oil out of light, air and heat. This will help your oils last longer.
When an oil or butter starts going rancid, there is a noticeable change in either the color, consistency or odor of the oils (or any combination of the three) and your butters may start to develop mold or dark spots.
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
i am looking for emu oil based soap making process and different cosmetic lotions using this emu oil.
can you explore the opportunities you have in this regards .
prem
Hi Prem!
Emu Oil is a off white to yellow fat, and it may be liquid or semi-solid. In lotions and creams, you will want to use 1%-12% Emu Oil of your total volume. Unfortunately we do not carry Emu Oil on Brambeberry(dot)com. You may want to check the Teach Soap forum and see if anybody there has additional tips and info regarding Emu Oil!
Teach Soap Forum: http://www.teachsoap.com/forum/
You can read a little bit more about Emu Oil in this blog post:
Free Beginners Guide to Soapmaking: Common Soapmaking Oils: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/free-beginners-guide-to-soapmaking-common-soapmaking-oils/
You can also use our Lye Calculator to help formulate cold process soap recipes using Emu Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
I hope this helps Prem!
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I’ve noticed that the table in this post, as well as the PDF both show that palm oil shouldn’t be used over 30% in a recipe. But I know that the tried and true 33/33/33 recipe, as well as many others commonly have over that %.
Just wondering why this is! My current recipe is 35.5% palm and takes up to 8 days to harden (if not gelled, 3 days if gelled) and I now wonder if maybe I’ve been using too much palm? I’ve no idea why my soap takes so long to harden LOL A conundrum indeed!
Hi Heather,
Great observation! The reason the 33/33/33 works is because there are equal amounts of olive oil and coconut oil to balance out the palm. The no-more-than-30% is just a general rule of thumb to ensure you don’t have a recipe that is dominated by palm oil. Using too much palm oil can make for a very hard bar of soap! It’s interested then that your bar with 35% palm takes so long to harden — I would expect the opposite! You could try adding sodium lactate to your lye water at a rate of 1 tsp. per pound of oils in the recipe and that should drastically decrease the time you have to wait before unmolding 🙂
-Kirsten with Bramble Berry
I actually already add sodium lactate! I add it at 2-3% depending on the mold I’m using.
Hi Heather!
That’s great that you’re already using sodium lactate in your recipes, and we’re glad you found a formula that works for you! In case you want to experiment a bit, here are a few palm free recipes to try!
Palm Free Vertical Twist Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/palm-free-vertical-twist-tutorial/
Palm Free In-The-Pot Swirl: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/a-palm-free-in-the-pot-swirl/
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
This list is very helpful! There are several similar lists available on the internet and all seem to use different recommended percentages for each oil. It would be helpful to know what happens if you go over the recommended amount. For example, if you use too much coconut oil it will be too drying. I guess I’m just wondering how you came to your recommended amounts.
Good morning, Delinda!
We know that the mass amount of information can be confusing, but this actually comes from years of research and experimentation by Anne-Marie. Typically, if you go over the recommended amount, your lather isn’t going to be as stable and your soap may be too soft, too sticky or too hard. We highly encourage you to experiment with your recipes until you find the perfect one for you.
In the meantime, we’d love for you to take advantage of all our free cold process recipes on the blog. To view them, click the link below:
http://www.soapqueen.com/category/bath-and-body-tutorials/cold-process-soap/
I hope that this helps! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thanks for replying Becky, just so I am clear on this, a soap with walnut oil in it will have a shelf life of 3 months from the date of being made and a soap with wheat germ in it will have a shelf life of 6 months. Is that correct.
Tracey
Good morning, Tracey!
If you have created a soap with Walnut Oil in it, the shelf life will only be about three months, so you are correct! Sometimes the soaps do last longer, but we recommended a use by 3 months on Walnut Oil. This is the same on the Wheatgerm Oil as well.
To determine the shelf life of any bath & body product you will always want to go by the ingredients (typically oils or butters) that have the shortest shelf life.
I hope this helps! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Great resource, just wondering if the shelf life refers to the life before being made into soap or does it refer to the shelf life of the soap made with the oil.
Thanks tracey
Hi Tracey!
When looking at the shelf lives of these particular oils, we are referring to the oils themselves. If you use new oils, your shelf life of your oils and soaps should be just the same! In fact, we’ve found that most soaps even last a bit longer then their shelf lives (I have a few soaps that are 2 years old!).
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thanks for a great resource! I’ve printed it out for reference. Whenever you update or revise this chart, would you consider including some popular animal oils, like tallow and lard? Some of us soapers rarely make a batch of soap without one. 😉
Good morning!
We are so happy that you’ve found the chart and this blog post to be such a great reference. Thank you so much for your feedback and suggestion, I will pass it onto our team. 🙂
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thank you so much for this information. Now I don’t have to search through several resources to find usage rates. Will definitely be printing the PDF!
Hi Melissa!
We are so happy to hear that this is going to help you out so much. Thanks for your comment!
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thank you for pulling this information together, all in one place! I’d like to print the PDF, but am getting an error message when it gets to that page: “This XML file does not appear to have any style information associated with it. The document tree is shown below.”
Do you have any suggestions for how to access the chart? Thank you!
Disregard the above question, please. I came back to this site and tried again to access the downloadable chart and it worked just fine. Glad to have this resource!
Hi Carrie!
I am so glad you were able to get it downloaded! Let us know if there is anything else we can do for you. =)
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
What a really wonderful guide.
When I was reading all the info, I was shocked to read the cocoa butter only lasted 1 year – I had been told it was 5 years and just stocked up on some that would last me way over a year.
But then I saw on your handy chart that says Cocoa butter lasts up to a 5 years, so I really hope the chart gives the correct info.
Thank you for this great stuff!!!
Hi Sly!
Thanks for the eagle eye, we’ve actually changed it so it all reflects the same information. We appreciate your feedback and hope that you can share this chart and blog posts with all the soapers that you know. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thanks so much for this awesome primer on soapmkaing oils! The chart will come in handy. It’s great to have all of this info in one place!
Hi Jenny!
We’ve been working hard to get all this information all in one place for Soap Queen readers and are so happy to hear that it will be so useful to you! =)
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Great info. It is a great easy go to guide for oils. Love it!
Hi Silvia!
Thank you so much for the feedback! We hope you get a chance to download the PDF so you have all this information whenever you need it! =)
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This is great info! Thank you so much for taking the time to compile all this.
Hi Liz!
Thank you so much for your feedback! We hope you get a chance to download the free two page PDF on all the oils so that you can have this information wherever you go. 🙂
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
This is awesome! Bravo!
Thanks so much for this resource.
Hi Molly!
We are so glad that you will be able to use this oils post as a resource. Be sure to share it with your soapmaking friends, we’d love for everyone to be able to take advantage of it! 🙂
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Wow! Thank you so much! It’ll be awesome to have this handy chart when designing new recipes! You are the best! Thanks again…and for everything to put on your websites! 🙂
Good morning, Debbie!
I’ve found the printable PDF chart to be so helpful that I’ve already taped it up in my kitchen at home. Thank you so much for your feedback. 🙂
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Hi Becky.
Can you explain why different SAP value charts have different values for the same oil? Found this to be very confusing!
For example, Nature’s Garden quotes canola/rapeseed @ .133, From nature with Love quotes it @ .124, and Soap Queen’s is .132?
Is there a range which a given oil can work within?
Anyone with any knowledge about this please chime in so I can understand! Thanks for any help.
Hi Christine!
I can’t speak for the other companies, but we have done a lot of research to figure out those SAP values. We use this chart and our Lye Calculator over and over again with great results. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Lye Calculator: https://www.brambleberry.com/Pages/Lye-Calculator.aspx
Thanks so much for this list, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for.
Hi Marleny!
We are so excited this list is going to help you out in your soapmaking! I’ve already referred to it several times today and will definitely be using it when I’m soaping this weekend. 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry