This is the result of a soap I made on Monday night via the Hot Process Method (loving it ).I used Rice Bran Oil as my staple in the soap instead of Olive Oil. But I was unsure of what the outcome was going to be. I did a brief research on Google and posted inquiries on 
several soap forums (Teachsoap, Soapmaking Chronicles, Indie Beauty)
Some soapmakers have used it and suggested that Rice Bran Oil has similar qualities to the Olive Oil. While some have not used it. I took caution to the wind and used it in the soap pictured to the left.
In addition to the new oil, I brewed a tea of Stinging Nettle Leaf that was the water portion of the soap process. I decided to try it after viewing my friend's blog Gracefruit and reading her experience using the herb. The tea from the Stinging Nettle gave the soap its color. I scented the soap with a Yuzu fragrance oil sample and Tangerine essential oil from Brambleberry. (Hi Anna Marie) I can say that the soap was harder coming out of the mold than if I used the Olive Oil as a base. But the true test will come in a couple of weeks when the bars are ready for use.
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
Rice Bran Oil & Nettle Leaf Who Knew
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10 comments:
I'm glad to hear the rice bran oil has worked well so far. I have a supplier in the area who carries it and I've been tempted to give it a try. I think I'll put it on my soaping grocery list = )
I think I read somewhere that too much rice bran oil can make the soap sticky and harder to remove from the mould like you said!
Tangerine and Yuzu sounds delightful! Can't wait to hear how well it works!
Hooray! Looks like some fabulous soap there. Did you wash your hands with the pot scrapings? Any first impressions? :)
E xx
Working with new ingredients can be a little nerve wrecking- been there before! Your soap looks awesome so far and from the sounds of it, smells great too! Can’t wait to see how it turns out.
PS - I was just thinking about my RBO soaps and I've actually found RBO and Canola to be very similar to using Olive Oil in soap. But, at 100%, I usually can tell the difference. When the oil is part of an entire mix (say 25% of your recipe), I don't much notice the difference. Just my two cents ... I am really interested to hear what you think once your soap has cured.
I've been using RBO, instead of OO, and I notice a difference — and I like it.
The second time I used RBO, I used Sal butter, instead of shea or mango. Sal butter reminds of cocoa butter, as far as how it brings "hardness" to soap. I use a 50/50 hard/soft oil ratio, so I can definately appreciate a harder bar, out of the mold.
I will wait for a 4-6 week cure time, to make my final judgement. But I'm thinking of converting to RBO.
It's the total recipe that determines what qualities a soap will have, so I'm all for trying new combinations and seeing what works best.
I'm excited about RBO, and I look forward to reading your feedback.
Do you know www.naturseife.com?
But its in german.... :-(
Nice blog!
Claudia
@Claudia,
Thanks for the site. If you can translate German, than we can talk. :)
oooh - that soap looks lovely!!! I "acquired" some RBO just recently and will start experimenting with it this weekend.
@Morgan Street
Let me know how the soap turns out. We have almost gone through this soap. I will need to make some more.
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