Advice on planned batch of Avocado soap? And EO?

[Guest]

I'm planning my next batch, probably avocado soap. Here's the recipe:

avocado oil - 38%
coconut oil - 31%
palm oil - 19%
olive oil - 13%

(lye discount 5%, lye conc. 30%)

add at trace:

avocado oil - 1/4 T. ppo
shea butter - ???
coconut butter - ??? (don't have it yet)
Aura Cacia lime EO 1 oz.
lime or light green mineral colorant - maybe

1. What do you think of the recipe?

2. I'm adding additional avocado oil at trace. What do you think of adding shea butter and maybe even COCOA butter? I've got the shea butter but not the coconut butter. Worth getting and adding?

The 1/4 T. avocado oil ppo comes from the original recipe (Cavitch book) of adding 2 T. to an 8# oils batch.

3. I have no idea how strong the Aura Cacia lime EO is. Do you have any recommendation of how much ppo? I can work backwards to figure my batch size. Or should I forget the scent? I picked lime to go with the expected greenish color.

4. Is adding green to avocado soap kind of gilding the lily? I have an "apple pale green" mineral I can add, and wasn't thinking of using more than a little. Or should I just go au natural?

5. Any other adds or deletes or other recommendations?


EDIT: Meant COCOA butter but typed coconut, now corrected.

 

[sarahjane]

You can add pureed avocado to it!!! It is so nice in soap!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the idea but I'd rather not add spoilables at this point. This is only my 5th batch and I don't want to take too many chances.

 

[jadiebugs1]

What's coconut butter? Never heard of that one.

 

[Guest]

I add avocado oil at 20% in every batch now. When I'm really feeling decadent I use a 40%. I'd use more if it wasn't so costly. My skin just loves the stuff. I'm not sure you'll get much value in adding such a small amount at trace.

 

[Guest]

What's coconut butter? Never heard of that one.

CB is often added at trace because of its "feel good" skin properties. It has a long tradition with skin bathers.

 

[jadiebugs1]

I've heard of coconut oil, coconut milk and I've heard of cocoa butter. Do you mean cocoa butter or is there actually a butter called coconut butter??

 

[Guest]

I add avocado oil at 20% in every batch now. When I'm really feeling decadent I use a 40%. I'd use more if it wasn't so costly. My skin just loves the stuff. I'm not sure you'll get much value in adding such a small amount at trace.

I want to create "to die for" soaps. Thanks Marr. I guess my 38% avocado recipe qualifies as your decadent.

This is my first time out to create a commercial bar killer. I want to damn the price and kill the pharmas dead. Please tell me how to do that.

I'm severely handicapped by the EO question. I don't want to kill this batch. I need to know how much NOW lime EO to add.

Please, if anybody knows... tell me!

 

[Guest]

Help! Help!

Only one thing I really need, I have to know how much soap I can scent with 1 fl. oz. of Aura Cacia lime EO!

I guess I'll do a 2# (oils) batch unless I hear otherwise...

 

[Soapmaker Man]

Adding pureed avocado like sarajane suggested is perfectly fine. I might add one small avocado to a 2 pound batch, with no issues. During the saponification process, things like pureed avocado are "cooked" and present no more spoilage issues than anything else added. Some oils present more chances of going rancid than using pureed avocado in moderation. I have added pureed avocado to many recipes over the years....issue free, great soap. I have an avocado oatmeal bar that is almost 2 years old I pull out and use every once in a while.

Paul :wink:

 

[Guest]

I'll give it some thought Paul, although I wonder if I shouldn't get the soap right first before I try adding the vegetable. This is only my 5th batch. My 2nd failed because I added too much annatto powder as a colorant. Looked nice though.

And man, avocado is so touchy! It's one of my favorite vegetables and I almost never have a moment where I don't have an avocado sitting in my kitchen waiting to be devoured. There's a fresh avocado there right now, waiting for my first cut tomorrow.

My biggest problem right now is that I want to make this avocado soap tomorrow (was going to do it today but the events of reality overtook me) and I've really had problems with scenting my soaps. Four batches now and two had scent problems (too little, too much).

I've got this Aura Cacia 1 ml. lime EO that I'm thinking of using and I have no idea if it's too little like my first batch or too much like my second batch (or just right like my third batch).

I guess I'll just make a 2# batch and put it all in if nobody has any advice for me. I hope it will work out.

 

[Laurie]

I don't have alot of experience with scents yet and I have not used a citrus scent. I wouldn't stress over it too much though. Experience really is your best teacher. Unless someone chimes in beforehand just go ahead and try it the way you were saying- 1 oz to 2 lbs.

 

[Guest]

Do you mean cocoa butter or is there actually a butter called coconut butter??

Typo and/or mental failure. I meant cocoa butter. Oops!

 

[cdwinsby]

I tend to use about 15 ml (3 tsp) ppo but remember that what you think is enough scent might not be the same as someone else. I've had people think I under scent and others say too much scent. Hard to please everyone.

You mentioned Cavitch...she seems to use about 7 tsp to about 3 lbs of oil. Not enough for me but...

Don't forget that most citrus scents are top notes and volitile as well, so the scent will disappear much faster than a base note will.

Good luck!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. Right now I'm planning this out, playing with SoapCalc, looking at alternate recipes to see if I might improve the soap by using a different formula. In a couple hours I'm gonna operate!

The current target is 42 ounces of oils to get about 105 cu. in. in a 3" diameter mold producing 15 one-inch thick round bars. So that 42 ounces is 2.6 pounds and my bottle of Aura Cacia lime EO is 1 oz. or 30 ml, 2 tsp, giving 0.8 tsp ppo. Wow I guess that won't play at all!

I gotta think this thing over because I can't afford much more EO buying it retail at stores. I'm intending to order online today and perhaps I can get out from behind this dilemma.

Maybe I'll use my orange EO (NOW) which I have 2 oz. in stock. Doesn't quite fit with avocados though...

 

[SoapyGal]

So how did this turn out Greg?

As far as using scent, I've had really great luck using MMS.... they have a "scent calculator" on their site, and it tells you how much to use of whichever scent of theirs you plug in. They give you 3 ranges, from "light scent" to "strong scent". I've used the numbers for "strong" for both batches I've done so far, and they've both been scented perfectly.

Also, they claim that their scents are blended a little bit stronger than alot of other places, but I can't say if this is accurate because I've only used theirs.

I've averaged .45 - .49 oz. for my 1-lb. batches.... it was plenty.

Just thought I'd share

 

[Guest]

Thanks Soapy. I'm aware of the MMS calculator but have suspected it's only good for the scents you buy at MMS. Can somebody confirm or refute this?

I've tried their calculator but expecting to use their competitors' scents, and they aways came back lower ppo than I'd expect.

My avocado bars came out fine, and I just realized that I never shot pictures. I really like them and they're going to run out since I've been handing them out to friends and family, so I better shoot 'em before they're gone.

Avocado is a nice oil and I'm happy I have almost a gallon in stock. Next time I'm going to mix in avocado pulp from fresh avocados, maybe 1-2 T. ppo.

Can anybody confirm that 1-2 T ppo is a good number?

BTW the lime scent is working okay too, subtle but recognizable. I'd kick it up slightly in the next batch but I'm not going to be using Aura Cacia anymore since my main suppliers don't carry it and I'm not going to be buying any more 0.5 oz bottles of EO.

 

[SoapyGal]

Thanks Soapy. I'm aware of the MMS calculator but have suspected it's only good for the scents you buy at MMS. Can somebody confirm or refute this?

Yes, this is correct. I called & asked them first to be sure.

Please do take pics!!

What was the % of ao you used in your batch, and would you increase, decrease, or keep it the same?

 

[Guest]

About 40 percent. It's a good number.