Oils & Butters: So many choices

In this day and age, thanks to internet and such, we have access to a huge variety of products. This is true for soaping as well. Back before this easy access, soapmaking was done with what was available locally. As such, soaps were varied depending on where you lived. For example, Castile soap (100% Olive Oil soap) would have been found in  and around Italy, Coconut oil soaps in tropical regions, and pure animal fat soaps here in the US and Europe. Now a days, we have the luxury and exciting task of playing with a huge variety of different oils from all over the world! It really does make the the mad scientist in me giggle with glee. Each oil has it's own properites and brings something special to soap and body products. And as such, each soap maker is goign to combine them in thier own special way to make their products unique.

Bird of Paradise: My 100 % Olive Oil Soap.

The list of oils that are out there is long! And to be honest, there are so very many that I hope to have tried them all one day. Some are inexpensive, some are pricy. But they are each special. Here are the oils that I have used and use in most of my products.

Now, let me just say this up front. I know that there are oils and butters in my list. For the sake of ease, I grouped them all together. Oils are usually liquid at room temp, butters are usually solid. There is a lot more to it then that, but I'm going to just over simplify for now.

Oils I use:

• Olive Oil: is the oil extracted from tree-ripened olives.
• Rice Bran Oil: the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice after chaff (rice husk) has been removed.
• Sweet Almond Oil: oil that comes exclusively from edible almonds (Prunus amygdalus var. dulcis) selectively cultivated for their sweet taste.
• Apricot Kernel Oil: Oil pressed from the Apricot kernel.
• Castor Oil: obtained by pressing the seeds of the castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)Here is a picture of Castor pods.
• Avocado Oil:  an edible oil pressed from the fruit of the Persea americana (avocado).
• Argan Oil: is a plant oil produced from the kernels of the argan tree (Argania spinosa L.) that is endemic to Morocco.
• Tallow: is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, processed from suet.
• Cocoa Butter: is a pale-yellow, edible vegetable fat extracted from the cocoa bean.
• Shea Butter: is an off-white or ivory-colored fat extracted from the nut of the African shea tree (Vitellaria paradoxa).
• Coconut Oil: is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts harvested from the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera).
• Mango Butter: is a seed oil extracted from the stone of the fruit of the Mango (Mangifera indica).

Each had it's own amazing properties which are to many to list here. I hope to delve into more detail and highlight some of them in later posts. 

Oils I'm dying to try:

• Jojoba Oil: is the liquid produced in the seed of the Simmondsia chinensis (Jojoba) plant, a shrub, which is native to southern Arizona, southern California, and northwestern Mexico.
• Kokum Butter: comes from the seeds of the kokum tree (Garcinia indica). This fruit-bearing tree is also known as the wild mangosten tree. 
• Macadamia Oil: is the non-volatile oil expressed from the nut meat of the macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia) tree, a native Australian nut.

There are a lot of oils and butters our there that I probably haven't even heard of. I know a few that  I have heard of, like Emu oil, don't interest me as much, because of the name. But, I plan on doing research into them anyway. Would hate to miss out on an amazing oil just because of the name.

What oils have you tried that were exotic and wild? What is you favorite oil for soaping or general care?