# Cocoa Butter Soap Recipe?



## orangetree71 (Feb 10, 2010)

I have cocoa butter, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil.  Does anyone have a recipe using these ingredients?  Or, can I just substitue cocoa butter for shea butter in a shea butter soap recipe?  What percentage is a good amount for cocoa butter?


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## madartist (Feb 10, 2010)

you can, but you may need to adjust your lye. go to soapcalc, choose the oils you want, plug in the percentages (or weights) adjust the size you want, your %water, and superfat (if you wish), then hit CALCULATE. it will figure the amount of NaOH for you. If you need me, you have the number. Linda and I are not doing anything and can walk you through it.


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## orangetree71 (Feb 10, 2010)

Thanks Maddy.  My recipe calls for 13% shea butter.  Is that a good % for cocoa butter too?  I want the soap to smell like cocoa butter.  I'll run it through the lye calc to adjust the lye and water.


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## carebear (Feb 10, 2010)

some have had slightly different experiences, but even at 48% I've not found that yummy cocoa butter smell to come through in soap.  if I closed my eyes and tried really hoard I could almost imagine I could smell it - but nothing significant.


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## madartist (Feb 10, 2010)

I agree with carebear. But I have read (I haven't tried this) that if you colour your soap with cocoa powder at light trace (and use enough to get a really dark colour) the scent of cocoa will come through. I haven't tried this myself because I prefer to drink cocoa, rather than slather it all over me, but it's worth a shot if that's the scent you are going for.


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## orangetree71 (Feb 10, 2010)

Bummer.  I was hoping for the scent.  I might try a cocoa swirl, but it sounds like it won't be enough to scent the soap.  Carebear, does 48% cocoa butter make a nice soap?  It sounds like an awful lot.  Can you suggest a good % for the soap to possess the nice qualities of cocoa butter?  What about 20% cocoa butter, 35% olive oil, 20% palm oil, 20% coconut oil and 5% castor oil?


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## ChrissyB (Feb 10, 2010)

I don't think you need to add that much cocoa butter _and_ shea butter.


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## carebear (Feb 10, 2010)

yea, 48% is an awful lot.  that sucker moved FAST.  I still have a bar of it somewhere from 2006!

what qualities are you looking for from the cocoa butter?

hard to say how much, or even what the qualities are because the soap is a mix of all the components.  i'd say that, in general, to get the dense low lather that cocoa butter can produce you might want to add it at about 10%.  but remember that the other oils also impact the lather type.

Here's the formula I used:

Cocoa Butter 48%
Lard 16% (some use solid shortening aka Crisco)
Castor 16%
Canola 16%
Beeswax 4%

Notice it's A VERY HARD BAR.  I cannot imagine why the beeswax is in there.  It's a formula I got off another forum back then.

(no DOS either even with canola at 16%)


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## honor435 (Feb 11, 2010)

i like this:
oo 10
po 6
co 8
castor 3
cocoa 3oz   8.9water  4.159 lye
but you should go on soapcalc.net, you can change around your recipes etc. you dont need alot of cocoa to make it feel nice.


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## orangetree71 (Feb 11, 2010)

Thanks Honor435.  I might try this recipe.  10% cocoa butter sounds like a good amount.


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## honor435 (Feb 11, 2010)

it is, i tried more cocoa and it didnt seem to add any qualities.


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## Lynnz (Feb 11, 2010)

I add cocoa butter at 10% to my recipes and I love the feel it gives...........just my personal opinion but too much more is just additional expense not really required


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## Healinya (Feb 11, 2010)

I recently stopped buying fifteen different oils to 'play' with. I settled on five oils that I love together. It's 35% Olive, 25% Coconut, 20% Palm, 10% Cocoa Butter, 10% Castor.


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## carebear (Feb 12, 2010)

Healinya said:
			
		

> I recently stopped buying fifteen different oils to 'play' with. I settled on five oils that I love together. It's 35% Olive, 25% Coconut, 20% Palm, 10% Cocoa Butter, 10% Castor.



we all reach that point eventually, tho not necessarily with the same oils.


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## honor435 (Feb 13, 2010)

i agree my recipes are getting much the same, i may change from cocoa butter to shea, but then main oils are the same, co, oo, po, castor, maybe some pk.


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## mzz (Oct 3, 2012)

I really like this recipe and I had to try it today 

It is:
35% olive
25% palm
20% coconut
10% cocoa b.
10% castor
kaolin clay, tussah silk

7% SF, 33% LS

Values: 40 - 14 - 57 - 23 - 36 - 57 - 150

I like creamy lather, so I have high hopes for this recipe.
We will see...  8)


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## Soapsugoii (Oct 6, 2012)

Healinya, those are the same ones I settled on too, after playing around for the better part of a year! haha. I get lots of lather with this combo, and it's really rich. I've never tried more than 10% CB but I feel like that's the perfect amount for what I want from my soaps. 

I actually just spent the better part of an hour pounding away at a 35lb block of it with a hammer and chisel and putting it into smaller bags. There HAS to be an easier way to get raw CB. I dread it every time I get a new shipment. Can I just say how obsessed I am with cocoa butter for ANYTHING topical, though?


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## Pepsi Girl (Oct 6, 2012)

mzz said:
			
		

> I really like this recipe and I had to try it today
> 
> It is:
> 35% olive
> ...




I'm sure I should know this but I don't today  So what is LS?


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## mzz (Oct 7, 2012)

LS = lye solution

33% = 1 part lye, 2 parts water


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## Hazel (Oct 7, 2012)

Pepsi Girl said:
			
		

> I'm sure I should know this but I don't today  So what is LS?



I had a "huh?" moment, too.   

I use LS as an acronym for liquid soap.


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## Pepsi Girl (Oct 7, 2012)

Hazel said:
			
		

> Pepsi Girl said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Thanks I hate when that happens, but when someone else does it sure makes me feel better!


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## Trinity (Jun 19, 2013)

Does anyone put the cocoa butter in at trace or just melt it with your other oils? That's the way I have been doing it but saw a video a few days ago and she said she always puts her butters in at trace ........ thoughts on why to do it this way or why not?


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## Skatergirl46 (Jun 19, 2013)

I put my cocoa butter in with all of the other oils at the beginning. I'm a newb. at this so I'm not in a position to give anyone advice, but my soap has worked just fine that way.


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## Paintguru (Jun 19, 2013)

How hard are the bars of the folks that use 10% CB?  I'm looking for something to make my bars a bit more long lasting and was debating trying some CB.


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