Choosing Oils for Soap Making

Soap making is essentially a luxurious science experiment 😉. When the proper balance is achieved, this science experiment can be rewarding and potentially profitable!

When selecting the ingredients for your own custom soap recipe there are a variety of options to consider. What properties to you want your soap to have? Do you prioritize moisturizing, lather, hardness? All these factors and more help you choose the types of oils to include in your recipe. Like all handmade projects, there is a process of trial and error in determining the “right” recipe.

See below for some examples of some tested and true oils that have a variety of advantages based on what qualities you’re after…

Here are some examples of oils with an abundance of Moisturizing benefits:

Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Argan Oil, Jojoba Oil and Almond Oil are among many that are wonderful. In addition, replacing water with Goats Milk, Yogurt, or Aloe Vera juice can help with conditioning properties.

 Looking for more lather/bubbles in your soap recipe? Try the following oils:

- Babassu

- Coconut Oil

- Palm Kernel

 Castor Oil is in a league of its own and we only recommend 5-10% in your recipe to achieve its benefits without the bar becoming too soft. Replacing some of another oil with Castor will allow your bar to achieve both cleansing and moisturizing benefits.

 This is one of the balancing acts that soap making requires. How can one create a bar that is both cleansing (without drying the skin) while also having moisturizing benefits.

If you have recommendations, tips or tricks to help achieve the proper balance please comment below!