Friday, December 16, 2011

Olive Oil Experiment Results / Resultados Experimento Aceite de Oliva


I am now able to publish the results of my recent experiment using different quality olive oil in soap.  THANK YOU SO MUCH to the volunteers who tested these for me!!   There were 17 testers but in the end 2 of them provided no results so my experiment is based on the results from 15 testers.  Ahora puedo publicar los resultados de mi experimento reciente con diferentes calidades de aceite de oliva en jabón.  ¡¡MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS a los voluntarios que los probaron!!   Había 17 participantes pero al final 2 de ellos no me dieron resultados así que mi experimento se base en los resultados de 15 personas.

The Experiment – Basically I made 4 different non-scented soaps using 4 different qualities of Olive Oil and sent out testers to see which soap people preferred.  I wanted to know if people could actually tell the difference and if it was worth using organic extra virgin olive oil.  El Experimento – Básicamente hice 4 diferentes jabones sin aroma, utilizando 4 diferentes calidades de aceite de oliva y envié muestras para ver que jabón preferiría la gente.  Mi meta era saber si realmente la gente podía distinguir la diferencia y si valía la pena (y el dinero!) usar aceite de oliva extra virgen y ecológico en mis jabones.


 I am sure that the participants are eager to know which soap was made with which quality olive oil…  Estoy segura que los voluntarios quieren saber que jabón contenía que calidad de aceite…

Soap Number 1 / Jabón Nº 1 – Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Lubrin  Aceite de Oliva Extra Virgen de Lubrín

Soap Number 2 / Jabón Nº 2 – Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Lubrin  Aceite de Oliva Extra Virgen y Ecológico de Lubrín

Soap Number 3 / Jabón Nº 3 – Bottom of the Line Olive Oil from Lubrin  Aceite de Oliva de baja calidad de Lubrín

Soap Number 4 / Jabón Nº 4– Cheap Olive Oil from the local supermarket  Aceite de Oliva barata del supermercado

After analyzing the results I have some basic conclusions: 
Después de analizar los resultados, tengo algunos conclusiones básicas:

1)        The soap made with Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Lubrin has won, as I wanted it to, but interestingly, NOT by as much as I would have thought.  El jabón hecho con Aceite Extra Virgen y Ecologico de Lubrín ha ganado, como yo quería, pero se me hace muy interesante que no ganó por tanto como hubiera pensado.

40% of the participants chose this as soap as their favourite.  40% de los participantes eligieron este jabón como su preferido.

27% of the participants chose the bottom of the line Olive Oil soap as their favourite.  27% de los participantes eligieron el jabón con aceite de oliva de baja calidad como su preferido.

20% of the participants chose the Extra virgin olive oil soap as their favourite.  20% de los participantes eligieron el jabón con aceite de oliva extra virgen como su preferido.

13% of the participants chose the local supermarket olive oil soap as their favourite.  13% de los participantes eligieron el jabón con aceite de oliva del supermercado como su preferido.

2)     Everyone seems to like different types of soap.  I don’t think there is a right and wrong here.  For whatever reason, people seem to have very distinct preferences, maybe water quality, skin type, and simply personal preferences…  Parece que a todo el mundo, le gusta diferentes tipos de jabón.  No hay uno correcto y otro equivocado. La gente parece tener preferencias muy distintas, quizás por la calidad de su agua, el tipo de piel y simplemente preferencias personales…

Please keep in mind the following things about this experiment:  Por favor, toma en cuenta lo siguiente sobre este experiment:

-         This was very young soap.  It had only cured for 6 weeks when I sent it out.  Este jabón era muy joven.  Solamente había curado 6 semanas cuando los envié a los participantes.

-         This was not Castille soap.  This soap had about 60% Olive Oil, but it also had my other favourite soaping oils – Coconut, Castor and Shea Butter.  No era jabón de Castilla.  Este jabón tenía mas o menos 60% de aceite de olive  pero también tenía mis otros aceites preferidos para hacer jabón – Coco, Ricino y Manteca de Karité.

-         Although 40% of the participants chose the Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil soap as their favourite, 20% chose it as their second favourite, 20% as their third favourite and 20% as their least favourite!!!!  Aunque 40% de los participantes eligieron el Aceite Extra Virgen y Ecológico como su preferido, 20% lo eligieron como su segundo preferido, 20% lo eligieron como su tercer preferido y ¡¡¡ 20% lo eligieron como su MENOS preferido!!!

-         One of the participants prefered the Organic Oil soap for her skin, but LOVED the rich Olive smell in the bottom quality oil soap.  I found it fascinating that she noticed this because the oil itself smells the strongest.  I love its smell but there are people who don’t.  A uno de los participantes le gusto el jabón de aceite ecológico para su piel, pero le ENCANTÓ el olor fuerte de aceitunas del jabón Nº 3, el del aceite de baja calidad.  Que interesante que lo notaba porque ese aceite mismo huele lo más fuerte.  A mi me encanta el olor pero hay gente que no le gusta.

Something that I missed completely when making the soap was to record the differences at that point – trace time etc.  But another soaper, Mika,  is carrying out her own experiments and is recording all of those details.  Please visit her awesome blog at http://savonnerie-mika-english.blogspot.com/  to see her initial results and progress.   Algo que se me pasó por completo cuando hice estos jabones fue anotar todos las diferencias durante el proceso – cuanto tardaba llegar a la traza etc.   Sin embargo, otra Jabonera – Mika – está haciendo sus propios experimentos con aceite de oliva en jabón y está publicando todos esos detalles.  Por favor visita su blog : http://savonnerie-mika-english.blogspot.com/  para leer más sobre su experimento.
These results leave the question out there – Why are we usually recommended to use bottom of the line olive oil in our soap making instead of top quality?  Colour?  Trace time?  Smell?  Price?   Estos resultados dejan abierta la pregunta – ¿Porque nos recomiendan normalmente usar aceite de oliva de baja calidad cuando elaboramos jabón en lugar de aceite de alta calidad?  ¿Color? ¿Tiempo para llegar a la traza?  ¿Aroma?  ¿Precio?

In the end, the experiment has served its purpose for me.  I have chosen which oil I am moving forward with.  From now on, I am using Organic Extra-Virgen Olive Oil in my products. I have not done colour experiments with this oil yet, so if it proves too dark for any of my natural colours to come through well, I may use a different quality oil simply to enhance the colour in that soap, but for the most part I am going with the Organic oil.  Al final, mi experimento ha servido su propósito.  He elegido que aceite voy a usar. . . Desde ahora en adelante, voy a usar Aceite de Oliva Extra-Virgen y Ecológico en mis productos.  Todavía no he hecho experimentos de color con este aceite asi que si afecta mucho los colorantes naturales, es posible que uso otra calidad de aceite simplemente para facilitar el color natural en ese jabón, pero sobre todo voy a usar el aceite ecológico. 

Thank you everyone and Happy Holiday Season!  I hope this information has been of use to you.

¡Gracias a todos y Felices Fiestas!  Espero que esta información les haya servido.

Xoxo
Jen

22 comments:

  1. Nice experiment!

    In my experience, the cheaper the oil, the whiter the soap. well, getting it to gel properly also makes it whiter...Also, the cheaper oils seem to trace faster, pomace oil being the absolute fastest. Interestingly, my mum can't use the cheapo castille (it makes her itch), whereas extra virgin (even the cheap ones) works fine.

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  2. Fascinating results as I didn't like the Organic one the most, my favourite was 3 and then 1 was a very close second. Your right in that each of us has their preference based on skin type etc. I've still got my samples so I can go back and see what they are like based on the information I now have. Thanks for posting the results.

    Michelle

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  3. great! I agree with Suve's ​​view too. because pomace oil is solvent extraction, I am concerned about the effect of solvent that remained there.
    oils used in my experiment are all the extra virgin, and I think acidity and bitterness delaying the trace. but I don't know the difference yet they bring to the soap.

    Organic or not organic...soap made ​​from human hands is not just mere chemical reactions, there is energy of people who made. and I'm sure the difference in effect of energy with nature!! that's why I love your soaps Jennifer ;)

    Bis
    Mika

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  4. Muy interesante Jennifer, los resultados son muy curiosos. Yo,de vez en cuando, utilizo un jabón de oliva vírgen de primera presión, primera calidad, etc, etc, y resultan jabones más blandos que no acaban de gustarme.
    Sin embargo, si la base la hago con un aceite de oliva refinado, y sobreengraso con el oliva virgen, me gustan más los resultados.
    Como dices, es cuestión de ir probando diferentes aceites de oliva y quedarse con los que producen resultados mejores.
    Me parece que experimentos como el tuyo son muy interesantes para hacer un test. Muchas gracias por compartirlo.
    Un abrazo

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  5. Ok, I'm a little surprised. #2 is not my favorite at all. I chose #1 & #4. Now I'm confused why I felt that way. Interesting results!

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  6. What a great experiment! Definitely interesting results. Thank you for sharing!!

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  7. Suvi, Thanks for the information. I remember back to the first soaps I made with only olive oil and they were WHITE WHITE WHITE, but I didn't like the suds of an all olive oil, pure castille soap. xo Jen

    Michelle, I know, I was fascinated as well. The testers, like youself were fabulous, and provided such interesting comments that I think I will be doing more experiments like this in the future. One thing I have learned is that there is not one true perfect soap or oil... everyone has their own preferences. Thank you! xo Jen

    Mika, Thank you for your information and comments. I am looking so forward to hearing further results from your experiments!! You are right about the energy going into soap... I think that is why I love hand made things. xo Jen

    Julia, Muchas gracias por tu comentario y ideas. xoxo Jen

    Shieh Design, I know... I was so interested with the results and with the certainty and passion with which the testers prestented their choices to me. Wow. So glad you participated! xo Jen

    Amy, so glad you found my experiment interesting. I hope the information can sirve in some way. xoxo Jen

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  8. Thank you so much for this experience,Jen!
    And like Mika says :
    ´´Organic or not organic...soap made ​​from human hands is not just mere chemical reactions, there is energy of people who made. and I'm sure the difference in effect of energy with nature´´, I LOVE that , I think the same!
    Love&Bless everybody and Happy Holidays!
    Claudia

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  9. Super interesting tests, Jen! I've wondered about this myself...

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  10. Thank you for sharing your experiment with us! I really enjoyed reading the results!

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  11. Claudia, You are welcome! I also really like what Mika said and agree! Happy Holidays! xo Jen

    Tenth Avenue, I was also pretty fascinated with the results and could go on with different tests... which I may do in the future. I loved the results from your shampoo testing. I think we have both decided that everyone is so different, you can't find one perfect oil/ bar/ shampoo for everyone!! xo jen

    Nicole, So glad you enjoyed reading the results!! Happy holidays!!

    xoxo Jen

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  12. Fascinating! Just by sight, I like the darker one which is number 4. But normally, the cheaper the olive oil, the lighter the oil is.

    Like you said, everyone likes something different depending on their skin type, location, water type, etc. I think that is why having so many soapers out there doesn't hinder another...and that's because we are all different and the ideal soap is determined on an individual basis.

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  13. Hi Holly, Thanks for the comment!! Can't wait to see more of your EO soaps. xo Jen

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  14. Jen, muy buen trabajo. lo que me sorprende es que solamente un 20% eligiera el jabon con aceite de oliva virgen extra. el aceite de primera presion guarda todas las propiedades del aceite. quiza el experimento deberia ser solo con aceite de oliva. el resto de aceites puede que desvirtue las cualidades del aceite de oliva? yo estoy probando ya hacer el jabon con aceite de oliva economico y poner el de virgen extra en la traza (como ha dicho Julia) te dire cuando terminen de secarse. gran trabajo el que has hecho Felicidades!!!!!

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  15. Jen,

    Thought I'd add to my previous comment. You might be interested to know my 73 year old mom took part in the experiment as wel. As to why people use cheap olive oil? It's because of price and competition. I wish my town had their own olive oil. I'm going to experiment with this amazing olive oil from Greece that a Greek friend of mine recommended.

    Michelle

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  16. It just goes to prove Jen, there is no accounting for taste...or smell..or love or lather. Scents I hated, people loved, scents I loved never sold but folks do recognize and come back to buy soaps that make their skin feel good. Thanks for letting me play this great game, Once again, I learned a ton.

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  17. Canela y Limon, Gracias por tus comentarios y ideas. Por favor cuentame como van tus experimentos una vez curados los jabones!! Felices fiestas! xo Jen

    Michelle, Thanks for your further comments! Hope your mum liked the experiment! Please let me know how you get on with the olive oil from Greece. Nice to be supporting the devastated Greek economy as well.. xo Jen

    Donna, Thanks for your comment! So glad you enjoyed participating. I was super appreciative of your participation and help. We are all learning together... and I hope we never EVER stop learning!! It would get boring wouldn't it? Happy Holidays!! xo Jen

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  18. Great results! I'm surprised I liked #2 without knowing it was the organic olive oil. Individual tastes are always so interesting to "test".

    ~Robin
    Kinky Witch Soap

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  19. Hola Jennifer.
    Yo cuando comenzé a hacer jabón siempre utilizaba oliva virgen extra pero luego leí que era mejor el refinado y cambié por este.
    Me parecen muy interesantes los resultados y lo que más me sorprende es que no haya nada completamente determinante.
    Un beso.

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  20. Robin, Thanks for your comment. I really enjoyed this test and was glad that you participated! xo Jen

    Blanca, también me ha sorprendido los resultados y me ha gustado hacer esta prueba. Gracias por tu comentario! xo Jen

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  21. Aaargh Jen sorry I am one of the people who never completed the test, SORRY, I did try but soap and me never can have a long relationship, I did get through to soap 3 and I think I had said to you I liked 2 better.

    Remember me when you need to test soap for super sensitive hands and I will help out.

    :( Sorry again, but nice to see that product quality is noticeable.

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  22. Bianca, I am due to experiment with Castille Soap (pure Olive Oil) and will be asking you to test out for most sensitive skin!! Happy New Year! xo Jen

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