Soap, Soap, Soap

A Facebook conversation with a friend about oils and essential oils prompted some vague memories of a sleep-deprived Easter morning conversation with my mother on the same topic.

Some random tidbits that came up:

Oils – there are vegetable oils, then there are essential oils.

Vegetable oils –

Vegetable oils are pressed out of the plant (typically the fruit but not always) and can be used for cooking, medicinal purposes, fuel, wood-care and in soap-making.

Olive oil mixed with lye is what makes “castile soap” although many people refer to any vegetable oil based soap as castile soap (as compared to using any form of animal fat to mix with the lye).

If the bottle you are buying says simply “vegetable oil”, it is probably soybean oil. Use in very light quantities, if at all.

Other examples: Coconut, olive, sunflower, safflower, almond, peanut, and so many more. While I prefer not to link to Wikipedia most of the time, they do have a nice list! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetable_oils

Essential oils –

These are extracted from the other parts of the plant (generally not the fruit) using water or another solvent, then distilled to create a very concentrated oil without any of the plant parts remaining.

EOs go through such an intense process to get the core (essential) oil, that one drop of a mint essential oil is the equivalent of 15 pounds of mint, without the constituent plant parts themselves to balance that power properly. In other words – the benefits between an essential oil and drinking a tea are rather different. (link to a better explanation)

Essential oils are heavily scented and very powerful in tiny amounts.

Aromatherapy is the best way to get started – have a stuffy nose? Take the bottle of peppermint oil, open it up and breathe it in gently. Or just make a cup of mint tea. Have a headache coming on? Breathing in the peppermint oil can help with that too.

Sometimes essential oils are more potent when used on the skin. Most essential oils should not be used on the skin “neet” or straight; they should be diluted in a carrier-oil (any other vegetable oil) usually about 10-12 drops per ounce of carrier oil for most situations. They can be diluted in water, but should be stirred or shaken before using since the oil and water will want to separate. http://www.learningabouteos.com/index.php/2013/08/07/properly-diluting-essential-oils/

Caution should be taken on ingesting essential oils. Some companies claim that all of their oils can be taken internally, but considering the effect of 40 cups of mint tea on mucous membranes, that is a lot of power!

Trust aroma-therapists and others who are trained with hundreds of study hours, over those who sell the essential oils.

Soaps –

All it takes is oil and lye (dissolved in water) to make soap. A chemical reaction occurs to shift the sub-atomic particles to create soap, a process called “saponification.”

As the soap is thickening up (“trace”), essential oils can be added for scent and health benefits. Other items such as milks and creams can be added at the trace stage as well.

Sometimes the glycerin will naturally separate out; other times it can be easily extracted. This glycerin is the moisturizing component of the soap. Most soap made in factories has the glycerin removed and sold for rocket fuel, food, cosmetics, etc. Then other moisturizers are added back into the soap so it doesn’t dry your skin out when you use it; although bar soap tends to still be quite drying. Leaving the glycerin in is the best way to keep the soap moisturizing in a natural, balanced way.

Glycerin generally wants to remain in a liquid state but can be hardened with the addition of stearic acid.

Most of the “melt and pour” soaps you purchase online are JUST the glycerin portion (with stearic acid?), usually with some alcohol added to make it more “clear” so that what you melt it down and add your other ingredients, it starts out “clear”. Glycerin is a nice soap on its own, but it is not full soap with all the benefits of the full soap.