Olive Oil

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What is it? A liquid oil pressed from olives, commonly used in cooking but it’s also awesome for DIY projects!
Appearance A greenish-yellow liquid oil.
Texture Smooth
Scent It varies by grade and variety, but it ranges from  a fairly characteristic “green” scent to little to no scent.
Absorbency Speed Average
Solubility Oil
Why do we use it in formulations? It’s an inexpensive, easy to obtain, carrier oil.
Do you need it? I use it almost exclusively in soap, though it has made it into a few other recipes.
Refined or unrefined? Buy the cheapest stuff you can get for DIY recipes—this is usually pomace grade. Save the beautiful extra virgin variety for cooking and eating!
Strengths Easy to purchase, versatile.
Weaknesses The colour and scent can carry through to final products, which may or may not be desirable.
Alternatives & Substitutions Rice bran oil and soya bean oil are good swaps, as are other average-to-absorb carrier oils, though it can be hard to find options as inexpensive as olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada)!
How to Work with It I love it in soap, where it tends to make up about 40% of any bar soap recipe.
Storage & Shelf Life Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) should last at least two years.
Tips, Tricks, and Quirks Olive oil is primarily composed of Oleic Acid.
Recommended starter amount 100mL (3.3fl oz)—unless you’re planning on using it in soap, in which case I’d start with at least 1L (34fl oz).
Where to Buy it Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier or Amazon. Costco also sells a two pack of olive oil (pomace) (USA / Canada) jugs that’s a great deal.

Some Formulations that Use Olive Oil

Skills

Posted on

August 29, 2016