# Oils



## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

Organic? Expeller pressed? Not? Does it matter? What's your opinion...

Specifically coconut, olive and palm oils.

In our home we are big whole foods/organic/all natural-ists. How would this fall into soap making? I mean Lye is a caustic, non-organic  substance, right? What does that do to oils and soap? Is it a waste of money to buy organic only to have it become non-organic in the process? I can see using expeller pressed vs. solvent extracted oils as expellor pressing leaves in the beneficial nutrients.

I've used the WalMart recipe but have a few friends (of same mindset) that want to go in on a bulk oil order. Soaper's Choice, right?!

Looking forward to feedback!


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## Madfarmer (Nov 18, 2008)

Well, like DuPont used to advertise, "Better Living Through Chemistry". It's easy to carry the 'organic' & 'natural' idea to rediculous extremes. You're correct--soap just can't be an all-natural product. But lye isn't lye anymore in the finished soap. Saponification is a chemical reaction that changes lye and fat into a totally different compound: soap. As for oils, I'd try to make sure that the tropicals are at least fair-trade items, not from palm plantations where tropical forests have been destroyed for $$. If you're willing to do the research, it gives you information you can use in marketing, and justifies a higher price for your soap.


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## baileybunch (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks for sharing your opinion. I understand the saponification process and am curious as to where that leaves the oils. I don't sell my soaps <yet> this is for home use. I do like to be sensible. Most expeller pressed oils, but not all, are organic. Looking forward to hearing more!


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

Well, I look at the difference in cost versus the finished product. I have tried making soap with all (or mostly all) organic oils. I can't tell the difference in the finished product and since I do sell, I could not justify the higher cost per bar. And where I live, it doesn't seem to matter to people that the soap is made from oils (generic) and not organic oils. 
For personal use it would be your personal preference. For selling the preference of your customer base.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

Never would I purchase organic oils for soaping now for lotions that might be a different thing but not for soap.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

If you're willing to do the research, it gives you information you can use in marketing, and justifies a higher price for your soap.
..........................

Tom is so right!

It's no biggy for home use, and you know the soaponfication process leaves nothing in soap, good or bad unless you have a bad ratio of lye to butters/oils. But once you want to sell your soap, never ever overlook the marketing aspect. Vicki


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## Terri-Lynn (Nov 7, 2007)

The organic oil issue isn't necessarily that the soap will be better for your skin but that the growth of said oils is not harming the environment etc. Some of my customers are more aware of these issues than others and some are willing to pay for that. I am hearing more "we don't want soy in our soaps unless it's organic" merely because of the GMO issue. It may be more of an issue here than in other locals. I think that the market I sell at is probably high on "awareness"...university and artistic town. During tourist season I don't hear the same issues, I'm just quaint.


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## Madfarmer (Nov 18, 2008)

And soap is NEVER "homemade". It's "Hand-crafted" !

Tom


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## Bernice (Apr 2, 2009)

I personally haven't delved into soap making yet, been too leery of lye :ugh and no time! But...my best friend loves making soaps. So far she has experiemented with fragrance oils which I can buy cheap for her at a shop near Richmond and my essential oils. She buys her almond and palm oils from a soap making catalog, can't remember the name. What we found in the experiement is that EO's (which I either buy organic or make my own) keep their scent longer than frgrance, but it has no impact on the finsihed product. We also add herbs from my herb gardens in her blends too. She makes a tea of them first. Don't know much more about soap making than that.


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## Guest (Apr 13, 2009)

It all boils down to label appeal, and the area you live in... some areas they are more than willing to spend the dollars for high end soaps, with organic on it.. some areas are not, but still like the handcrafted soaps.. I make both.. I sell soap in many different geological areas, and many of my soaps are sent out in the mail.. so you need to find out what your customers want and expect from your products. Every soaper has a little different ways of their products and we all learn by trial and error what sells and what does not sell.. 
a humans mind is so strange.. you can make a fantastic soap, smells good, looks good, but put the wrong name on it and you won't sell any of it.. Change the name, and bingo, it is all sold.. Try it sometime, if any of you has a soap that just does not move, change the name of it.. 
Barb


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