Butters, which one?

[Rahmi]

Hi everyone!

I'm planning to buy some butters soon, and originally was going to get only shea butter. But mango and kokum butter are local here, and prices are better too. Wondering what others experiences are with these butters. Thanks!

 

[cmzaha]

I do not use much mango butter, but I really like Kokum.

 

[BattleGnome]

My vote is to get the local stuff and save some cash.

I don’t soap with either one but have used great products with both butters.

 

[shunt2011]

I don't soap with either one but use what's local and better priced.

 

[Dahila]

I have some soaps with shea butter and cocoa but Kokum goes to my shampoo syndet bars

 

[Dawni]

I'd go local too..

I've not made anything with kokum but there are many soapmakers over there who use it. In my mind it could replace cocoa butter as a hardener.

I quite like mango butter in soap and in my lotion bar but it's costly here so I'm being stingy with what I have lol. It could replace your shea too.

These aren't direct replacements btw

I would really want to try kokum. Thinking of having my SO bring me back some of both.

 

[Kathymzr]

I’m a newbie too, so have practiced a lot just making up recipes with SoapCalc.net. Have made some of my recipes. I like a hard bar, cleansing bar, so challenge myself to amp up conditioning. I don’t sell so take a learning approach, surfing the web to learn about the characteristics of oils. Lots to learn.

For butters, Kokum, Mango and Cocoa often find their way into recipes. I love avocado butter better than the oil. Murumuru butter is versatile. Illipe butter is lovely, but I have never liked Shea butter personally-too greasy for me.

More exotic butters do get expensive, but you can try them out just making up recipes to see if they work for you.

Kokum, Cocoa and Mango are staples for me. They are a good place to start off.

 

[IrishLass]

I love kokum butter. It's my preferred butter for making body butter. I also use it in my shave soap formula. Mango butter is another staple of mine. I use it in lip balms, soaps, and sometimes I blend it with kokum butter in my body butter.


IrishLass

 

[Carly B]

As mentioned above, kokum is very hard, and I use it for a lot of things instead of cocoa butter. I use mango butter a lot. I find it less greasy than shea butter, although I do use shea as well. I've never seen kokum locally. Are you finding it at a farm stand or health food store or something else?

 

[Kathymzr]

When I was in Hawaii, and assembling my soaping “kit”, I found it cheaper to belong to Amazon Prime for many things than to pay shipping for oils, molds, heavy basic things. Always careful to check out suppliers of course. For FOs, though, with the whacky effects on batter, I’m sticking with the suppliers which freely evaluate and share info, like BB, etc. I’m not pushing Amazon Prime, but shipping is a significant cost, allowing extra $$ to buy larger quantities.

 

[Kathymzr]

Mango, Kokum are good basics. Cocoa too, for blending hard and soft oils. Illipe butter is an odd duck—it throws the SoapCalc numbers to favor hard oils, yet I think of it as a conditioning butter, so it tends to get sidelined - too easily I think. Now I understand why people find their cost efficient, go to soap recipes. They just work well. But I still like to experiment. Hahaha-I’m still convinced my rash was from using my soap with Sea Buckthorn Oil!

 

[Carly B]

Mango, Kokum are good basics. Cocoa too, for blending hard and soft oils. Illipe butter is an odd duck—it throws the SoapCalc numbers to favor hard oils, yet I think of it as a conditioning butter, so it tends to get sidelined - too easily I think. Now I understand why people find their cost efficient, go to soap recipes. They just work well. But I still like to experiment. Hahaha-I’m still convinced my rash was from using my soap with Sea Buckthorn Oil!

I wouldn't discount that. I got into soapmaking after my trip to Hawaii. I had a patch of psoriasis about the size of a quarter that wouldn't go away, not even with prescribed cream. I was in Hilo Hattie's, of all places, and I was reading a jar of kukui nut lotion, and it inferred that kukui nut oil would help psoriasis. And sure enough, it did. I was thrilled, because I always felt that the cure for most things could be found in the rainforest, etc., if we didn't screw it up, and this reinforced that idea. So I started buying kukui nut oil for my soaps and lotions and creams. Just because it's a rinse-off product doesn't mean it can't be detrimental or beneficial. I was never a fan of sea buckthorn oil because it stained everything orange....

 

[Kathymzr]

I love love love Kukui nut oil too. I’m noticing a lot of new shampoos and conditioners that use natural oils now. The secret of natural oils is out!