Lowering Coconut oil melting point.

[Beldaran]

Has anyone found a good mix/ratio of coconut oil and another common oil to keep coconut oil liquid at room temp? I have a massive amount of coconut oil, and I wanted to try making a fragrance oil out of it, but that won't work if it stays solid. I'm planning on actually steeping the flowers/herbs in it, so I need it liquid.

I have other oils: jojoba, olive, safflower, grapeseed, even castor and I can buy the other more common ones if needed. Has anyone found a good ratio?

I may just take a liquid carrier oil and start adding coconut and see how much I can get away with adding.

Really I should probably just use a different oil, but I'm looking for a way to use this coconut oil I have.

[SimplyViki]

I have no idea, but if you raise the melting point, wouldn't that mean it's still solid at room temp and warmer? I think you want to lower the melting point... but my mind plays silly reversing tricks on me all the time, so I could be wrong.

[Nightshade]

:ponder: I think you may be out of luck on this one.

I've blended oils before when experimenting, and if the room temp is cool enough for the coconut oil to be solid it'll do so and separate out, making clumps in the liquid oil. It's the same way in which it will become liquid in a shea blend when it warms too much- I'm not aware of a natural method to keep it blended and suspended within another oil.

Normally for oil infusions of herbs olive, sunflower or almond oil is used and cold-pressed unrefined would be best.

[Beldaran]

I have no idea, but if you raise the melting point, wouldn't that mean it's still solid at room temp and warmer? I think you want to lower the melting point... but my mind plays silly reversing tricks on me all the time, so I could be wrong. You are correct. I honestly was thinking way too hard about it and still got it wrong. don't even get me started on raising/lowering pH, I mess that up every time as well. :rolleyes:


:ponder: I think you may be out of luck on this one.

I've blended oils before when experimenting, and if the room temp is cool enough for the coconut oil to be solid it'll do so and separate out, making clumps in the liquid oil. It's the same way in which it will become liquid in a shea blend when it warms too much- I'm not aware of a natural method to keep it blended and suspended within another oil.

Normally for oil infusions of herbs olive, sunflower or almond oil is used and cold-pressed unrefined would be best.
I was afraid of that. I assume that a small enough amount to stay emulsified within the other oil and not separate out wouldn't be worth adding then. Oh well, I'll have to find something else to do with that coconut oil.

[CindyLea1]

Use it in the kitchen?? Use it in place of other cooking oils like olive oil? Put it up on the swap board? Put some in fancy jars, with using instructions and give to your friends and family for presents?

[tigerlily]

In a book at home I have seen instructions for getting lard to take the scent of flowers. Not quite what you are after I am sure, but the process should work for coconut oil, I could look up the instructions if you are interested.

Otherwise you may be able to use a crockpot/slow cooker to heat the oil and get the scent out of herbs that way? Wouldn't be suitable for delicate flowers, but herbs should be ok?

[longhairedfairy]

Oddly, mine has been pretty much staying liquid, even today (technically yesterday) when it was a bit coolor.

[teela1978]

Mine is liquid most of the summer too. Maybe you can do an infusion over the month of July? :)

[Beldaran]

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

Right now I'm at work and my very small (2oz?) tub is mostly solid. Also my shea butter/coconut oil/conditioner mix in my bathroom stays solid for most of the year except for the few hot days we get in the spring before the AC is on.

Really I was hoping to keep the oil as a liquid for using it in other recipes, not just long enough to infuse it.

Currently I have 4 jars of lilacs sitting in the warmest room of my house with grapeseed oil in them. I read several places online that newer lilac bushes do best if you trim the blossoms off before they start to seed (giving the plant more energy to put into new growth) so yesterday I trimmed all of the lilac flowers off my plant and had a medium size rubbermaid tub full when I was done.

The recipe I had said 1/4 cup flowers and 1/2 cup oil, but since I had so many darn lilacs I ended up doing 1 cup flowers to 1/2 cup oil. The oil just barely coats the flowers, so it should work. I'm planning on straining out the flowers tonight and adding more, and then repeating that until I'm out of flowers (hopefully by the end of the week).

I'll keep you all posted on how it works.

[renarok]

fractionated coconut oil is really nice, and stays liquid. It is a wonderful body oil, massage oil, hair oil.

[PatGear]

Hmm, I've blended coconut oil with grapeseed and apricot kernel oil (in different mixes) and they didn't separate when they cool down. (I did whip them during the cooldown process and there were some EO added.)

However, at least at the ratio I use (which was "eyeballing" so I don't really know what that was!), the mixes aren't liquid at room temp. They are soft and creamy. Kind of like butter at room temp rather than runny like oil. That's probably not good for your infusion, though....

[Gulbahar]

I've blended oils before when experimenting, and if the room temp is cool enough for the coconut oil to be solid it'll do so and separate out, making clumps in the liquid oil. It's the same way in which it will become liquid in a shea blend when it warms too much- I'm not aware of a natural method to keep it blended and suspended within another oil.
Yeah, that's always a problem. I have good results when I mix the oils and butters in their liquid state and then deep freeze them immediately. They don't separate afterwards even if they melt and get solid many, many times later like during summertime. The other option is whipping the mixture like PatGear suggested but I always use just tiny portions of oil and butters so I am stuck with the freezer.
As for ratios - I usually just try until I am happy with the result. It so much depends on the room temperature, especially for coconut oil.

[physicschick]

I have no helpful tips, but I did fix the thread title for you. Good luck!

[Beldaran]

I have no helpful tips, but I did fix the thread title for you. Good luck!

Thanks so much! I swear I changed it in advanced options, and it showed up for me, but apparently it doesn't change it for everyone?

ETA: Oh, I get it. I changed my "post title" in the first post, but not the whole thread title.