Jojoba Oil in Soap

This week we are focusing on using Jojoba Oil* in Soap making. We want to get to know our customers better and have you along for the ride! In our #HowDoYouHobaCare series, we find out how/why individuals, professionals, and businesses use our HobaCare Jojoba – and showcase their lives, services, or products! (see the list below for more in this series).

We are delighted to introduce you to Ron of Katie’s Homemade Soaps in Newton Falls, Ohio. Ron has been creating natural soaps with quality in mind. All of the ingredients that he uses have been selected for their beneficial properties (including jojoba of course). Ron’s commitment is to quality and providing a simple but effective product that he is proud to share. Learn more about Ron and how he uses jojoba oil for soap making below! 

Can you tell us a little bit about your company and how you got started in the natural soap industry? 

We started making soap in 2006 and began selling it at local farmer’s markets and craft shows. I really wanted to set my own hours and looked forward to the challenge of building a successful home-based business. Soapmaking was the perfect fit for me. I wanted to produce a product that was skin friendly so I chose a variety of nutrient-rich oils to incorporate into a recipe, including jojoba.

How do you choose the ingredients that go into your soaps? Why do you include jojoba oil in soap making? How did you find HobaCare Jojoba?

I chose to use jojoba oil in my soap because of its benefits and because it is highly stable within a soap as an unsaponified, superfatting material. I liked the fact that jojoba oil is greaseless and it has the ability to hold natural moisture. I found The Jojoba Company HobaCare Jojoba through an online search.

Do you use jojoba personally as well? 

I use the jojoba oil along with the other soapmaking oils to make an after-shave lotion scented with essential oils for personal use.

Do you have any great advice for someone looking to make their own natural soaps on a small scale?

My best advice to anyone wanting to make their own soap is to purchase these two books by Susan Miller Cavitch. The Natural Soap Book and The Soapmaker’s Companion. These are the only two books I have ever read on natural soapmaking. I refer to them often.

You might be asking, “What properties does jojoba bring to soap?”

Many soap makers purchase HobaCare Jojoba oil for soap. Many different brands of castile soap include jojoba as an ingredient. Why is jojoba oil used for soap making?

Since jojoba is not actually an oil but a liquid wax, it brings different properties to soap than an oil will. One of the benefits of jojoba being a wax and not an oil is that it is extremely shelf stable and resistant to rancidity. This will help bring a long shelf life to your soap. Jojoba also helps bubbles/lather last longer. We won’t attempt to go into all the science of using jojoba soap here, especially when there are wonderful resources already out there. If you want to read more specifics on jojoba oil soap, including how much jojoba oil to use, its benefits, and more, read Soapy Science: Jojoba Oil on The Ultimate Guide to Soap website.

Read more posts in our How Do You HobaCare Series:

• • INTERVIEW WITH LAURA MCCANN OF ADORATHERAPY

• • HILLARY – HOW DO YOU HOBACARE?

• • CARI, HOW DO YOU HOBACARE?

• • AMY GALPER – USING JOJOBA OIL IN AROMATHERAPY

• • MICHELLE OF LUMINA MASSAGE

Do you use HobaCare Jojoba oil in your produce, business, or personal life? Do you use it in other ways? Do you have your own jojoba oil soap recipe? Let us know! Your interview could be the next to show up on our blog! We’d love our readers and our social media followers to know – How Do YOU HobaCare?

*Jojoba is actually a wax ester and not an oil, to learn more about that see our in depth page with information about Jojoba. We refer to it as an oil because it’s what people understand but we prefer to call it an “extract” instead.