Why We Use Coconut Oil in Our Handmade Soap
Why coconut oil has a place in our soap recipe
Coconut oil is one of the core plant oils we use in our Signature soaps.
But it isn't there because coconut oil happens to be a popular skincare ingredient.
In cold process soap making, every oil brings something different to the finished bar. Coconut oil has a particular job to do, and it's one of the ingredients that helps us create the kind of soap we've been making here in Argyll since 2008.
So, why do we use it?
Coconut Oil Helps Create a Good Lather
One of the reasons coconut oil works so well in handmade soap is the lather it helps produce.
Used as part of a carefully balanced recipe, it contributes to the bubbly, cleansing lather you expect when you use a bar of soap.
We don't formulate around one ingredient, though. It's how the different oils and butters work together that matters.
It's Part of a Balanced Soap Recipe
Our Signature soaps are made with coconut oil, olive oil and shea butter.
Each has its own role in the recipe.
Coconut oil contributes cleansing and lather. Olive oil helps create a milder bar, while shea butter adds richness to the finished soap.
Getting that balance right is part of the craft.
Why More Coconut Oil Isn't Necessarily Better
Coconut oil is an effective soap-making oil, but that doesn't mean adding more automatically makes a better bar.
Used at too high a proportion, coconut oil can produce a soap that feels more cleansing than some skin needs.
That's why we formulate our soaps as a blend of plant oils and butters rather than building the recipe around a single fashionable ingredient.
Simple ingredients. Carefully balanced.
Coconut Oil and Cold Process Soap Making
When we make soap, coconut oil doesn't simply remain coconut oil inside the finished bar.
During the cold process method, the oils react with sodium hydroxide in a process called saponification, creating soap and naturally occurring glycerine.
The bars are then left to cure properly before they're ready to use.
It's a slow process, but it's one we've trusted since we started making soap in 2008.
Ingredients Chosen for a Reason
We don't choose ingredients because they're fashionable.
We choose them because of what they bring to the recipe.
Coconut oil earns its place in our Signature soaps because of the cleansing properties, hardness and lather it contributes when balanced with olive oil and shea butter.
Nothing complicated.
Just a carefully considered soap recipe, made in small batches in Tarbert, Argyll.
Explore our handmade soap collection and find the blend that suits you.