Oils and other ingredients I use.

Some of my first soaps.
Following is a list of oils I use in my soaps and beauty products. I also included information I've found about each oil. First up will be the carrier oil list, then the essential oil list & then the fragrance oils I have on hand to use. At the end, I'll list a few other items I sometimes use.


I use some of the following in my homemade cold process soap, lotion bars & Whipped Body butter. I don't sell my items, but I wanted this page for my own reference...as well as any family or friends who get some as a gift. :)


Carrier Oils


(Sweet) Almond Oil -  It is an excellent skin softening and soothing oil known for its skin nourishing properties.  Good for dry, inflamed or itchy skin.  It is rich in essential fatty acids, vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, and E.  This oil is a great moisturizer and makes a stable luxurious, mild lather while helping to condition the skin and help promote a clear, clean, young looking complexion.  It’s easily absorbed, leaving the skin soft and smooth without a greasy feel.   In hair care, it helps condition, nourish & soften hair.  In soap it helps make a stable lather.  Add to soap batch at trace.


Avocado Oil - This oil is good for sensitive, dehydrated, cracked & maturing skin.  It’s High in Vitamins A, B1, B2, B5 (panthothenic acid), D, E, minerals, protein, lecithin & fatty acids.  It can improve skin elasticity and is great for feet.  It’s highly prized by people skin problems like eczema, psoriasis and other skin ailments.  It’s a very penetrating oil and adds valuable nutrients to the skin while softening  & moisturizing yet leaves no greasy residue.  It may also treat sun damaged skin that is dehydrated and under nourished.  In hair, it is believed to be a good hair stimulant and an excellent protein conditioner for the hair & scalp.  Avocado oil helps restore luster and hydrate dry and damaged hair ends. This oil is often used for superfatting soaps or can be used up to 30% as a base oil.


Castor Bean Oil - This oil attracts and retains moisture to the skin. It’s rich in fatty acids, and is a soothing, lubricating oil that is readily absorbed by the skin. It good for muscle aches. It adds mildness and richness to soap and provides a conditioning, fluffy lather with thick, large bubbles. For Hair Care, castor bean oil is great used in shampoo bars or for hot oil treatments for brittle, damaged hair or hair loss. Castor oil coats the hair shaft and smoothes the cuticle layer, sealing in moisture and leaving the hair feeling soft and silky. Since it absorbs easily into the hair, it allows deeper penetration for greater hair conditioning and hair stimulant properties. This oil can be added at trace for supperfatting, or add it to other oils at no more than 30% in the beginning of the soap making process. (From other things I’ve read keeping it closer to 10% would be better.)


Coconut Oil - This oil is a great moisturizer which is quickly absorbed by the skin and never leaves a greasy feeling. It is also a mild oil suitable for those with inflamed and irritated skin, and those with skin sensitivities. This oil when used in soap makes a hard bar of soap with cleansing properties and makes lots of rich creamy lather with big fluffy bubbles. It even produces an incredibly rich, creamy, fluffy lather in hard water and even cold seawater It has been used as a hair tonic to stimulate hair growth, stimulate the scalp, and prevent graying of hair. When used in soap it can be drying if it makes up a large portion of the fat in the soap so using 20-30% is best.


Hemp Seed Oil -(NOT the same plant as marijuana!) This oil protects skin, and offers anti-inflammatory properties. With a high content of fatty acids (Omega 3 and Omega 6), it resembles the body’s natural sebum, making it great for acne prone skin. It is quickly absorbed into the skin. It contains ceramides, which protect the skin. It contains many vitamins and minerals and is a highly nutritious food. It sooths and moisturizes the skin. I have heard some people use it for eczema and psoriasis. In body care products, it’s an anti-inflammatory, anti aging, balances dry skin, fights skin inflammations, helps heal skin lesions, and helps balance moisture. In hair care products, Hemp Seed Oil helps with manageability and shine as well as bringing relief from dry scalp or hair damage. It smoothes down the cuticle of the hair, which reduces the scattering of light and improves the luster and feel of the hair. It has a short shelf life, so store in the refrigerator and always add vitamin E to any creation using it. It creates a silky bar of soap, even if it is only used to superfat your batch. For superfatting, add 5% at trace.


Jojoba Oil - This oil is actually a wax, and resembles human sebum (the oil your skin produces) which makes it one of nature’s most effective natural moisturizers. It’s great for premature aging and wrinkling skin, as well as all skin types because it penetrates the skin easily. It has anti-inflammatory and bactericidal properties, making it an excellent emollient for skin conditions like psoriasis. It doesn’t clog pores (actually can help unclog them and remove embedded grime) so is good for those with acne problems. It’s a great oil for hair care (has great cleaning properties) and facial products. It has been said that Jojoba oil can promote hair growth and improves the health of the hair and scalp, restoring and conditioning the hair. It’s easily absorbed, and actually creates a protective film over the skin and hair that helps keep moisture in and provides wonderful softness and shine. It helps promote a stable lather in soap and is good at conditioning skin. It’s usually used to superfat, because it’s a more expensive oil. Use one to two ounces per pound at trace. It naturally accelerates tracing in soap recipes.


Jojoba oil is going on the back burner for now, till I get a little more money for it, or it comes down in price...cause it's just TO expensive right now. We will see if I can come up with something else to use in it's place, and how I like my products with it...and then see if it's worth the price to me, since I'm not selling and getting a return on my investment.


Olive Oil - Helps to attract and absorb moisture. It’s good for inflamed skin and does not block the natural functions of the skin. It may be good for cell regeneration. It can prevent the loss of your skin’s natural moisture, and it helps soften skin keeping it supple and younger looking. It rarely causes allergic reactions and is believed to have healing properties. In hair care, hot Olive oil treatments have been used for centuries. It can help repair split ends, heal dandruff and makes your hair shiny, silky and lustrous. Olive Oil is excellent as a base oil in soaps, either in whole (Castile soap) or in part. Avoid extra virgin olive oil, the lower the grade the better. If you want a mild soap, use olive oil. Use as a base oil, up to 100%.


Palm Kernel Oil - This oil is pressed from the seed of the Palm tree fruit. It has a high percentage of lauric acid, which makes it very similar to coconut oil and allows it to produce a hard soap with good lather. It’s a great moisturizer which helps it be absorbed quickly and doesn’t leave a greasy feeling. It’s one of the best oils known for it’s lathering and moisturizing properties. It has some of the same qualities as Palm oil. Use it as a base oil at 20-30%.


Palm Oil - This oil is produced from the pulp (fleshy) portion of the fruit of the palm. It makes a hard bar of soap that cleans well when used in combination with other oils such as coconut and olive oil. It helps harden the bar, and create smooth creamy bubbles, yet is mild. It is a good substitute for tallow in all-vegetable soaps. Palm oil is far superior to other vegetable oils that are filler oils. It can help pull other oils into saponification. Use it as a base oil at 20 – 30%.


Organic Virgin Palm Oil - This has a rich orange color, which will make your soap tend to be orange. The color is from the Beta-Carotene content, which is 15 times more than that found in carrots. Rich in Vitamins A & E, virgin palm is excellent for skin nutrition and protection. The nutrients in this oil can help minimize the signs of aging, soothe and heal acne, fight fine lines & wrinkles as well as help to maintain a healthy complexion. It’s been shown to heal scars from acne and may help relieve psoriasis and eczema. In hair care, virgin palm oil conditions and is great for dry hair.


Shea Butter - Not recommended for those with nut allergies. Shea has been used for over 1000 years as a treatment for dry aging skin. It contains a low level of natural UV protection and was used for centuries to heal and protect skin due to it's anti-inflammatory capabilities. It's been shown to increase the healing of wounds and improve scars. Shea has been used to heal eczema, burns, rashes, severely dry skin, and to lessen the irritation of psoriasis. Shea penetrates deep into your skin helping to give back it's elasticity. It moisturizes and nourishes your skin and is excellent for dry, damaged and maturing skin & may help prevent or reduce stretch marks. Shea Butter has unsaponifiable fats, which do not turn to soap thus giving wonderful moisturizing properties to the bar of soap. In hair care, shea helps provide deep nourishment for the hair shaft and moisturizes dry, dull hair, resulting in improved luster and manageability. It's an excellent treatment for dry scalp, because it absorbs quickly and penetrates into the scalp to rehydrate & helps stimulate hair growth. It's believed to help promote new hair growth. In soap it has a conditioning effect. Use in your base at up to 20% of your total oils, or as a superfatting agent at 1 2/3 tablespoons per 5 pounds of oils added at trace.


T-50 Vitamin E Oil - Used as an antioxidant in products. If you superfat your soaps, it’s good to use it. Use at 4 drops per 1 lb of oil.


Tallow (Beef) - Adds hardness to a bar of soap, also can help give you creamy lather and good conditioning properties.


Essential Oils


Clary Sage -


(Pink) Grapefruit Oil -


Lavandin Oil -


Lavender Oil -


Lemon Oil -


Lemon Grass Oil -


Lime Oil -


Litsea Cubeba Oil -


(Sweet) Orange Oil -


Patchouli -


Peppermint Oil -


Tea Tree Oil -


Yang Yang Oil -




Essential Oil Blends


Bladderwrack Blend - Aromatic Notes: Grapefruit, Cedarwood, Geranium, Oakmoss


Fragrance Oils


Honeysuckle - I've always loved this scent.


Lilac - One of my favorite flowers...so naturally have to have this scent.


Puppy Kisses - One of my favorites!! A wonderful exotic fragrance with base notes of raspberry, cantaloupe, and watermelon, middle notes of jasmine and violet, and fresh top notes of grapefruit and kumquat.


Sweet Autumn - Aromatic Notes: Sugar, Lemon, Shortbread It does have a sweet scent...although I'm not sure that I'd say Lemony.


Vintage Rose - I LOVE roses, and since rose oil is so expensive, I thought I'd try one of the rose fragrance oils I found.




Other Supplies I sometimes Use


Bees Wax - Produced by the (female) worker honeybees. The bees mold the wax into six-sided cells which are filled with honey and then capped with more wax. Beeswax nourishes and soothes the skin. Skin-nourishing propolis and trace amounts of vitamins and minerals are found in unrefined beeswax. Beeswax can also help prevent the loss of moisture from dehydrated skin and helps to seal in the moisturizing oils and butters without clogging pores. In hair care, beeswax adds moisture, hydration and softness to hair and can add shine and glossiness to dull hair. Beeswax makes a harder bar of soap and is also used in creams, lotions, lip balms and candle making. It contains a high percentage of unsaponifiables. You can use it at about 1 oz per lb of oils, in your base oils to make your soaps harder.


(Australian) Clay (pink) - Helps balance the most stressed and sensitive skin. It’s hydrating properties help refine delicate lines, moisturize and improve the overall texture of skin. Is also great for giving soap a pink color.


(French) Clay (green) - It absorbs and removes impurities from the skin, stimulating blood flow to help create healthy and glowing skin. Can be used in poultices to treat arthritis, sore muscles and sprains, in ready to use pastes for application on cuts, bruises, insect bites, stings & minor burns. Suitable for all skin types. Is also great for giving soap a light green color.


Cocoa Butter -An excellent all over the body moisturizer as it helps soften and sooth the skin and aids in preserving the skin by adding a protective layer that locks in natural moisture. Good for all skin types especially dry itchy skin. In hair care it easily absorbs into the hair and imparts sheen. It locks in moisture and helps protect the hair shaft. In soap it helps make a hard, very moisturizing bar that is great for very dry skin.


Herbs -


Honey - Can be used as an additive to soap. It helps retain moisture on the skin in much the same way as glycerin. Don't Use more than 2 tablespoons per pound of oils, added at trace.


Mica - Some of it is great for coloring soaps and if lip and/or eye safe, can be used to make lip stick, gloss and eye shadow.


Spices for color -







Herbal Salve & Lotion Bars
I prefer essential oils for scents, but sometimes just can't get them because they aren't available, are to expensive (like rose oil...it's REALLY expensive) or I just found a fragrance oil mix that I love so had to go that route. Fragrance oil names, may or may not be the original name...I may use the one I use for that scent, instead of what it was called when I purchased it.


I always use Milk in my soap, instead of water. Sometimes Goat milk if we have it, but most usually fresh Jersey Milk from our beloved Jersey & Jersey mix Cows!






Whipped Shea Body Butter
Disclaimer - All info is for educational purposes only (mainly mine as this way I can come take a quick look at why I choose to use a particular product), some of the info may not be accurate, or work for everyone. Use any info you find here at your own risk!

Resources:  I got most of the above info about the different oils from the following sites.  Mountainroseherbs.com,  chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com, swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com, soapnuts.com, & colebrothers.com.