
Best Castor Oil Substitutes
- Coconut Oil. Coconut oil, there’s no doubt you’ve already heard of this long-time tradition. ...
- Jojoba Oil. Unlike coconut oil or even castor oil, jojoba oil is not an “all-around” oil in so that it benefits both skin and hair equally.
- Olive Oil. ...
- Almond Oil. ...
- Argan Oil. ...
- Avocado Oil. ...
- Black Seed Oil. ...
- Shea Butter. ...
- Hemp Oil. ...
- Manuka Honey. ...
How much castor oil is in a bar of soap?
Most bar soap recipes only use about 4-5% castor oil in them, but shampoo bars take advantage of castor oil's properties and use a much higher percentage. It helps create a bar that's more gentle on your hair. 25% coconut oil. 25% olive oil. 20% castor oil.
Can I substitute castor oil for coconut oil in cooking?
Even a small amount of castor oil (such as 1%) contributes to a stable and fluffy lather. Substituting castor oil for another oil in recipes is tricky; there is not another fixed oil that adds quite the same properties. If you don’t have any on hand, I recommend increasing the amount of coconut oil in your recipe to increase lather.
What is castor oil soap used for?
Castor oil is an extremely unique fixed oil. It has a thick and viscous texture and a slight odor. In cold process soap, it contributes to large bubbles and is known for its cleansing properties. Due to its lathering ability, it’s a common ingredient in other soapy products such as solid bubble bath. It also adds shine and slip to lip products.
Is jojoba oil a good castor oil substitute?
So if you’re looking for a castor oil substitute, but one that focuses mainly on nourishing your skin, then look no further: Your perfect alternative is jojoba oil.

What oil can replace castor oil in soap making?
Castor oil at 2-5% is a great option for lather. Palm oil: It's most known for creating firm bars that release from the mold easily. It also helps create amazing lather when paired with coconut oil. The closest substitute is babassu oil, but you can also use tallow.
Do you need castor oil in soap?
Basic Information About Castor Oil Castor oil added to a soap recipe results in a stable lather that is low, dense, and creamy. What it does do is add moisturizing qualities to soap. Though it's thick and sticky straight out of the bottle, it is easily absorbed by the skin.
What can I use instead of oil in soap?
Common Soap Making Oil Substitutes Apricot Kernel Oil: Sweet Almond Oil, Hazelnut OilCommon Soap Making Oil Substitutes. ... Avocado Oil: Chia Seed Oil, Sweet Almond Oil.Avocado Butter: Shea Butter, Mango Butter. ... Cocoa Butter: Beeswax, Shea Butter, Palm Kernel Flakes.Coconut Oil: Palm Kernel Flakes, Tallow.More items...•
What can I replace palm oil with in soap making?
Palm Oil alternatives:Shea Butter:Cocoa Butter:Animal Tallow or Lard:
What does castor oil do in soaps?
Pure castor oil is thick and relatively clearer. It increases lather in the soap which a imparts rich and creamy texture leaving a very bubbly feel. Castor oil is a humectant, i.e., it keeps our skin aptly moisturized. Around 10% of castor oil in the soap recipe will make wonders.
What ingredient makes soap lather?
Foam or lather is created when foaming agents in soaps, detergents and shampoos mix with air and water. The most common foaming agents used in personal care are chemicals sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), sodium lauryl sulfate (sometimes referred to as sodium dodecyl sulfate or SLS) and coco-glucoside.
Can I use cooking oil for soap making?
Did you know that you can make soap from used cooking oil, such as oil for deep frying? It is also called recycled soap because it reduces used oil waste and is thus eco-friendly. The only ingredients needed are used cooking oil, NaOH (caustic soda), and water.
How do you make oil free soap?
0:387:01Palm Oil free SOAP *how to substitute palm oil and results - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd two types of oxides ultramarine blue and black best is to pre-mix the oxides with some oilsMoreAnd two types of oxides ultramarine blue and black best is to pre-mix the oxides with some oils before adding it to the soap batter as opposed to mica that can be added directly to the.
What is a substitute for jojoba oil?
The best replacement for jojoba oil is sweet almond oil. This is because it's very much like jojoba oil and is great for the skin.
What does sunflower oil do in soap?
Sunflower oil is a wonderful oil for soap making! First, this cosmetic oil can be used to add higher conditioning properties for your bar of soap. Plus, this oil adds a very small bit of hardness and creamy lather to your bar. So, this oil will add a more stable lather, conditioning, and a silky feel to soap.
Can you use regular olive oil in soap making?
Olive oil is one of the few oils you can use up to 100% of in your soaping recipes. It produces a lush, nourishing bar of soap.
How much castor oil should I put in my soap?
It is recommended that 5%-8% of castor oil is used in any cold process or hot process soap recipe. Using anywhere above 10% is known to make your soap really stick and unappealing to use. Also, to saponify one gram of Castor Oil, you need to add . 128-.
What is the best oil to make soap with?
Palm oil, along with olive and coconut, is one of the top oils used by soap makers today. Because of the qualities, it gives soap, it is often called "veggie tallow" in that it gives many of the same qualities that beef tallow does - a hard bar with a rich creamy lather.
Is castor oil good for skin?
A natural moisturizer Castor oil is rich in ricinoleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid. These types of fats can be used to moisturize the skin. They act as humectants, which retain moisture by preventing water loss through the outer layer of the skin ( 6 , 7 ). Castor oil is used in cosmetics to promote hydration.
Is castile soap and castor oil the same?
Most castile soap today is actually a blend of olive oil, coconut oil, castor oil, or any other commonly used vegetable oil. Castile soap can be made as either a hard bar soap or a liquid soap.
What to do if you don't have castor oil?
It is unique in it’s makeup and unique in what it contributes to a soap. If you don’t have any castor, you can usually just replace it with a liquid oil. It will change the feel of the soap, but it won’t be bad. Olive Oil – Olive oil is another unique duck.
What oil is used in cold process soap?
Cold Process Soap Recipe Mod 1. Coconut oil – 44%. Olive oil – 35%. Castor oil – 4%. Rice Bran oil – 5%. Shea butter – 5%. Avocado oil – 7% (You could also use 7% apricot kernel. Or you could even use 3.5% avocado and 3.5% apricot kernel) Mod 2: You don’t have shea butter but you do have cocoa butter.
Can you substitute olive oil for rice bran?
So you don’t want to substitute olive oil with another liquid oil such as rice bran or sweet almond oil or your soap won’t harden up as much as soap with olive oil. You can replace a portion of the olive oil in your recipe with another liquid oil.
Can you use coconut oil in soap?
It depends on the oil…but yes, usually you can! Coconut Oil – Coconut oil gives our soap lather. If you don’t have coconut oil, you can substitute in babassu oil or palm kernel oil. Babassu and palm kernel are great if you want to to make a coconut oil free soap (for those allergic).
Where can I buy castor oil?
You can probably get a small amount of castor oil from any pharmacy. The Walmart's in the states sell it on the shelves. I personally don't feel there is a sub, but in such a small amt, it shouldn't matter that much. I'd just up the coconut one tablespoon.
How much Pottasium ricinoleate to use in soap?
It's been discovered you only need a small amount, maybe as little as 1%, to dramatically help with the clarity of liquid soap. Pottasium ricinoleate seems to increase the solubility of the other types of soap in the mix. I've not verified this myself, but I have some references for it.
Can you make soap with coconut oil?
If you make a bar of soap using only coconut oil, you get big, fluffy bubbles. You even get pretty decent bubbles from a bar made using only sunflower oil, even though SoapCalc gives sunflower a zero for bubbly lather. If you make a bar using only castor, you get no lather at all. My fella joked that he got more bubbles just rubbing his hands together under running water than with the all-castor soap.
Is it necessary to throw a recipe into a lye calc?
It is imperative to throw any recipe into a good lye calc. Especially a tiny batch size. There is no room for error/scale variance in doing less than a 2 lb batch.
Can you substitute castor oil for olive oil?
Castor oil is unique in containing mostly ricinoleic acid. There's no substitute or equivalent. If you want to make a recipe without it, fill in with olive oil or maybe some coconut oil if you're trying to increase bubblage.
Can you soap a recipe without a calculator?
just some advice then - NEVER soap a recipe without running it through the calculator yourself. There are plenty of published (in books or online) recipes with too much or too little lye.
Does soapcalc count as ricinoleic acid?
Top, SoapCalc appears to count the full ricinoleic content of castor in both the bubbly lather and conditioning categories. That would be a pretty good trick if it were true, since the other fatty acids it counts toward bubbly lather all tend to clean so well they can be drying. I thought the idea that ricineo lic acid = bubbles came from Cavitch, but I just read through her comments on castor and don't see anything about lather. So I don't know where the idea got started.
What does castor oil do to soap?
Castor oil added to a soap recipe results in a stable lather that is low, dense, and creamy. What it does do is add moisturizing qualities to soap. Though it's thick and sticky straight out of the bottle, it is easily absorbed by the skin. Because of its unique fatty acid make-up, there's truly no other oil quite like it.
What percentage of castor oil is used in soap?
Most bar soap recipes only use about 4-5 percent castor oil in them, but shampoo bars take advantage of castor oil's properties and use a much higher percentage. It helps create a bar that's more gentle on your hair. 25 percent coconut oil. 25 percent olive oil. 20 percent castor oil.
Who owns Bath Rabbit Soap?
David Fisher has been making soap for over 15 years. He currently owns Bath Rabbit Soap Company and is the author of "The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making.". You may remember being forced to gulp a tablespoon of castor oil as a kid--and now dislike the idea of it--but it's a wonderful oil to include in your soap recipes.
Does castor oil speed up trace?
Be warned, castor oil will speed up your trace. You may want to leave it out of recipes where you want extended time to swirl like a column swirl or even just a multi-layered soap.
How long does castor oil last in soap?
The humectant properties make it a wonderful addition to leave on products, such as balms. Castor oil has a shelf life of about 1 year. In cold process soap, castor oil is typically used around 2-5% of the total oil weight. I’ve found using more than 10% can lead to a slightly sticky bar.
What is castor oil used for?
In the Rosy Red Lip Gloss, castor oil is used along with cera bellina wax for a soft, Vaseline-like texture. Adding castor oil to the Nourish Lip Balm Base adds a little more shine and gloss, as shown in the Beautiful Bronze Lip Tint Tutorial. Left to right: Rosy Red Lip Gloss, Beautiful Bronze Lip Tint Tutorial.
What is the best oil to use in a bubble bath?
Castor oil is commonly used in solid bubble bath to contribute to fluffy bubbles. Check out the How to Make Solid Bubble Bath video below on Soap Queen TV to see the process in action. The recipe also contains liquid glycerin, baking soda and SLSA. The recipe is easy to customize with various scents and colors.
Does castor oil soap have a lather?
The castor oil soap hardened within the mold in just a few hours. I was a little surprised that the 100% castor oil soap produced lather. Click here to read more about the tests of each oil. Castor oil has a thick and sticky texture, which led to very interesting results in the Single Oil Cold Process Lather Tests.
Is castor oil a lubricant?
In addition to bath and beauty products, castor oil is used in food and as a coating and lubricant in various industries. Castor oil feels similar to glycerin with a thick and sticky texture. It also acts as a humectant on the skin, just like glycerin. The humectant properties make it a wonderful addition to leave on products, such as balms.
Does castor oil accelerate trace?
Castor oil does slightly accelerate trace, so keep that in mind when adding it to your recipes. If you’re looking for a few cold process recipes with castor oil, check out the cold process soap tutorials below.
Does castor oil help dry skin?
In the Oat Oil Cleansers for Dry and Oily Skin, castor oil is used in both formulas. The idea behind oil cleansing is that it dissolves and washes away the sebum produced naturally by your skin, and replaces it with new “clean” oil. This leaves skin balanced, and does not cause skin to overproduce sebum.
What is Castor Oil?
Castor oil is a natural, vegetable-based oil that is extracted from the castor bean. Despite the name, castor beans aren’t a bean at all. They’re a member of the spurge family (euphorbiaceae).
Where are Castor Beans Grown?
The plant grows best in the tropics and subtropical regions where temperature s never drop below freezing. Even a light frost will kill the plant. This means unless there’s a 140-180 day growing season, you won’t get a crop of castor beans for making oil.
