Oil Choices for Us Are Limited

My daughter has many sensitivites so I was wondering just how much can I alter the oils. Not allergies, but sensitivities so using as little of the other oils would be important for us.


Safe oils for her are:

canola
safflower
sunflower
soy
rice bran

Is it possible to make a soap with only these oils? Seems like coconut, almond and olive oils are used in most of your recipes.

BTW your website is AWESOME.

Answer:

The oils you have listed are all soft oils with short shelf lives. You could probably make a soap from them but the results may be quite soft and will likely not last too long.

I would give it a try with a small batch just to see what the results are like. If you are able to expand the oil choices to include some hard oils like shea butter, lard, tallow or palm oil you will find the soap much more balanced.

A shame that she cannot use olive oil. It is usually the oil that everyone with sensativities is able to use.

Cathy

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starstarstarstarstar 		substitue your oils
by: Anonymous

Same issue, add olive. Here's my solution....soy is safe...so use Crisco all vegetable shortening as a solid oil...its made from soybean oil. Some shortenings are soybean. Soybean and cottonseed. Soybean and meat oils. Read the labels and find what works for your needs. I tend to replace olive with grapeseed oil...I'm told grapeseed has a limited shelf life but it never stays around long enough to realize its limitation. I use mango butter in place of shea (tree nut...can use it). Try looking up all the diff oils and butters out there...note the solid oils that are safe for you and use a soap calculator to design a recipe fitting your needs.
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starstarstarstarstar 		liquid soap instead of bar soap
by: Anonymous

Hi, This is just a thought, but when I read your question I thought of Liquid soap in stead of a bar soap. It would not be bubbly but if you are ok with that then this might be an option. Catherine Failor has a wonderful book called making natural liquid soaps. Even though she goes for bubbly soaps, the steps would be the same. you can check it out at the library. Good luck.
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starstarstarstar 		hardening
by: Linda

The addition of 2 0z. of castor oil to your recipe will harden and provide lots of bubbles. Just add it to the main oils to get your total volume. Few people react to castor oil.

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