Substitute for coconut oil & Palm Oil oil

by Katerina
(Greece)

I read that the palm oil is not environmentally friendly and coconut oil, although is very cleanse but creates dry skin.

I read the table in section "Soap Making Oils" and I can not find in my area Babassu oil and Palm Kernel (is the same as palm oil?). What oil can i use instead of coconut oil to have satisfactory cleanse.

Also, I read that the soybean oil can replace oil palm. Is that true?

What oil can I use instead of palm oil except the Lard, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Kokum Butter, Beef Tallow, Sheep Tallow and Coffee Bean?

Answer:

Palm kernel oil and palm oil are not the same. The come from the same plant but from different parts of the plant.

I am unaware of any other oils that will function the same way in soap as Coconut oil, Palm Kernel oil and Babassu oil.

Be aware that soap can be made with any oil. Castile soap is made with 100% olive oil and many people love it.

Soybean oil (hydrogenated) can be used in place of palm oil but it is different. The bar may be a little softer due to the lower combined amount of stearic and palmitic acids in the oil.

As to your question "What oil can I use instead of palm oil except the Lard, Cocoa Butter, Shea Butter, Mango Butter, Kokum Butter, Beef Tallow, Sheep Tallow and Coffee Bean?" you've pretty much eliminated all of the common oils used that have similar properties to palm oil.

These oils all contain high amounts of either palmitic acid or stearic acid and sometimes both. They make the soap hard and provide a conditioning stable lather.

To find other oils with somewhat similar properties, visit SoapCalc's page on Sorting Oils. Click on Palmitic Acid and then Stearic Acid to see if there is an oil that is available to you with higher amounts of these acids in them.

Again, remember that you do not need to use any particular oil in a soap. You can formulate a soap recipe from any type of oil. The ones I have listed are just examples of how I formulate soap recipes.

Cathy