Palm oil is oil that comes from the fruit of the elaeis guineensis tree. Rich in palmitic acid, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, and Magnesium. It contains natural anti-oxidants and works well in cold-process soap making. Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil which comes from crushing the kernel, or the stone in the middle of the fruit. The palm fruit is the red fleshy part which is squeezed and compressed to extract the palm oil, which will initially come out red. Once refined the palm oil will be a yellow-white colour resembling other solid oils such as butter or margarine.
When making soap with Palm Oil, the glycerin yield is actually lower then with other soap making oils. This is because of its high percentage of free fatty acids. Despite the lower glycerin levels, Palm Oil soap making is still appealing because of the nice creamy, stable lather it produces and the hardness it adds to the soap. It also creates great lather when paired with coconut oil. Just be a little bit careful as using too much within your recipe can produce an overly drying product. Typical usage of less then 30% of Palm Oil for hand bars and less then 20% for facial bars.