# Best recipe w/ these ingredients...?



## dxstewart (Aug 1, 2010)

Hi there.

Just discovered the site (it's great and super helpful!) and have been reading up on soap making. I wanted to use a kit but due to my forgetfulness am not, and am making it from a semi-scratch mode.

I bought an opaque soap base w/ a honey almond fragrance, both shea and cocoa butter, and Vitamin E oil. Being a beginner, I googled tons of sites (there's soooo many) and different recipes. I am wondering how much should I put in and which ingredients would go really well together. I guess my biggest thing would be, how much of each should be put in?

Any helpful tips and hints are much appreciated.


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## janallyn (Aug 4, 2010)

hi i am not really clear what you mean, do you have a base with all those things in it?  if you do there is not much you can add other than colorant.  if i am incorrect please repost and i will try to help.

jan


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## pops1 (Aug 6, 2010)

I am assuming you have bought a Soap base and have also bought Shea butter,Cocoa Butter and some Vit E oil and want to know how much to add of each.
With butters the total amount  that you should use is 1 tablespoon per lb,any mix just don't go over the 1 tablespoon.When you are more experienced you can experiment ,a lot of people use more than the standard but save that for when you know your soap well just stick to the 1 tablespoon rule.So you can use either 1/2 tablespoon of Shea and 1/2 tablespoon of Cocoa butter or 1 tablespoon of either .Vitamin E can be add at the rate of 1 teaspoon per lb but be warned this could be at the expense of your lather so l think 1/2 teaspoon is plenty


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## Best Natural Soap (Aug 6, 2010)

Just for FYI, put shea butter and cocoa butter into soap calc. They are quite different as far as what they'll contribute to the finished bar. I've found that I like shea, but can get similar results to cocoa butter with less expensive ingredients.


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## Deda (Aug 6, 2010)

Best Natural Soap said:
			
		

> Just for FYI, put shea butter and cocoa butter into soap calc. They are quite different as far as what they'll contribute to the finished bar. I've found that I like shea, but can get similar results to cocoa butter with less expensive ingredients.



The OP is referring to MP.


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## Best Natural Soap (Aug 6, 2010)

Yep- I'm clear on that. But, wouldn't Shea and Cocoa butter impact her soap differently? Shea is higher in Oleic which is very conditioning.
Don't these properties come through in M&P as well?


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## dxstewart (Aug 6, 2010)

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies and helpful information. I did indeed buy a base and am shea and cocoa butter separately with some Vit E and Honey Almond oil. 

Thanks for the 1 tb rule. I will make sure to remember this when making a batch. Is it good to make soap in batches of one pound? I only have four molds as of this moment.

Thanks again everyone for your help. Right now, I'm trying to see what to use to actually microwave the soap base in.

Dee


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## pops1 (Aug 7, 2010)

I have a variety of Pyrex jugs in different sizes l find they are terrific to use for melting base.


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## pops1 (Aug 7, 2010)

You can make your soap in any amount you fancy but when you first start out its so much easier to stick to small amounts that way if you make a mistake you only have a little bit of a problem instead of a big one and you don't waste product.

If you have a problem trying to work out your usage for additives(butters,FO) its useful to make a chart 
For example
1 tablespoon(15mls) Shea Butter for 1 pound of base
1/2 tablespoon 7.5mls for 8 oz of base
1/4 tablespoon 3.75mls for 4 oz of base 
etc etc makes it easier than trying to work out what you need when you are in the middle of soaping.


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## Deda (Aug 7, 2010)

Best Natural Soap said:
			
		

> Yep- I'm clear on that. But, wouldn't Shea and Cocoa butter impact her soap differently? Shea is higher in Oleic which is very conditioning.
> Don't these properties come through in M&P as well?



I'm no Chemist... but oils added to MP will not saponify.


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## Best Natural Soap (Aug 8, 2010)

Right- it's not about saponification-it's about an oils' beneficial qualities.

I'm such a science geek- I googled around a bit, and found this article (not the best writing, but good info) about differences between shea butter and cocoa butter. I found it interesting- thought I'd share with everyone. 

One big benefit to using shea and cocoa butter as additions to a MP base, is that you'll get all of their skin friendly benefits, without the lye monster attacking them. 

Here's the link: http://www.helium.com/items/830705-coco ... hea-butter

I love shea!! I save out a cup or so from my soap supplies- it melts on contact, and feels so luxuriously wonderful!


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## dxstewart (Aug 10, 2010)

Best Natural Soap - Thanks for the link!


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