What are the most common oils used in making CP Soap?
Many soapmakers start out using Crisco to make their first “beginner” soaps, as it is inexpensive, easily obtained and easy to work with. It produces a hard, white bar with stable, cleansing lather. In everyday soapmaking, many soapmakers use a lot of palm and coconut oils, as they saponify quickly, produce excellent lather and cleansing power when saponified. They both make a nice hard, white bar of soap. Castor oil is commonly used, as it produces great lather and is conditioning. Olive oil is a favorite because it is makes a conditioning bar of soap. It does not produce much lather, and is not as cleansing as palm/coconut oil when saponified – so, it is often combined in a recipe with palm and/or coconut oil. Some soapmakers choose to make castille soap, which is 100% olive oil soap.
