Wrestling a Greased Pig

If anyone ever says "I'll sell you some coconut oil at a good price BUT it comes in a plastic bag", run. No matter the price, it's not a good deal. Silly me in my quest for coconut oil in increasingly larger quantities succumbed to the lure of a good price. I bought a 40 lbs box of organic coconut oil thinking it's no big deal if it comes in a plastic bag. So the box came a couple weeks ago and I dragged it into my dining room and there it sat until my small 7 lbs. bucket ran dry. Today was the day that the box must be dealt with as I was out of coconut oil.

I opened the box to find a pour spout on this giant bag of hardened coconut oil. Seriously, a pour spout? My helpful husband suggested I let it sit out in the sun and just pour it into the rubbermaid tote I'd purchased just for this purpose. I outlined my plan saying I'd just line the plastic tub with a garbage bag and scoop it in with my giant soaping spoon. I sliced open the plastic wrap coating my scissors in oil. I peeled back the top and realized our air conditioner works really well. The coconut oil was definitely in it's solid form. I scooped and chiseled until the rectangle was the right size to fit in the tub. Now came the tricky part, I had to pick up this now 35 lbs hunk of oil and deposit it in the tote. At this point my hands and arms up to my elbows were dripping with coconut oil. After all my body temperature is slightly above 76 degrees...the melting point. Exactly how I managed to get the hunk of oil into the tub, I'm not sure but it definitely involved some grunting and sliding on the oil I'd plopped on the floor. Mission accomplished.

My second mission after the coconut oil was to make a shampoo bar. I poked around the internet looking for a recipe and suggestions. The commonality amongst the recipes was a large percentage of castor oil; about 25%. I read somewhere else to skip the palm oil because it left residue. I added some jojoba to help with conditioning and also a wee bit of sunflower and apricot kernel oil just because I had it. I contemplated my scents and decided on some cucumber green grass from Snowdrift farms. I added some cucumber extract and papaya extract because it seemed like a good idea. Now to wait a couple weeks and see if my recipe was successful. At the moment, it's cooking in the oven. If anyone's willing to try one of these bars when it's ready, just let me know.