Can 5% shea butter be felt in cp?

[KentuckySilks]

So I’ve been reading through a lot of posts here and was wondering what the consensus is for if you can actually feel Shea butter at 5%. I can start out at 10% but wanted to know your all’s thoughts. Thanks!
By the way, my recipe is.
Lard 44%
Coconut oil 26%
Avocado oil 20%
Castor oil 5%
Shea, butter, 5%
2% super fat
36% lye concentration
2% citric acid.
2% sorbitol.

 

[KiwiMoose]

The only way to know for sure is to make two test batches - one with your usual 10% and the other wiht 5% to see if you can feel a difference. If you do that, make sure you increase each of your other oils by 1 or 2% each to compensate, because if you increase one of them by 5% you will never know if the difference in feel is from the higher concentrate of that one oil.

 

[AliOop]

Looks like a nice recipe to me. Because I prefer lower cleansing, I'd swap the percentages for coconut oil and avocado oil, so the soap is less stripping. You will still have plenty of bubbles due to the solvent action of the sorbitol, and the chelating action of the sodium citrate (that will come from the reaction of the citric acid with the NaOH).

As for the shea butter at 5%, yes, I do notice a difference. One, the bar is a bit harder, and two, the lather is kinder to my skin.

 

[KentuckySilks]

The only way to know for sure is to make two test batches - one with your usual 10% and the other wiht 5% to see if you can feel a difference. If you do that, make sure you increase each of your other oils by 1 or 2% each to compensate, because if you increase one of them by 5% you will never know if the difference in feel is from the higher concentrate of that one oil.

Oh my gosh great point! I would have just taken 5% out of one oil!! Thanks

Looks like a nice recipe to me. Because I prefer lower cleansing, I'd swap the percentages for coconut oil and avocado oil, so the soap is less stripping. You will still have plenty of bubbles due to the solvent action of the sorbitol, and the chelating action of the sodium citrate (that will come from the reaction of the citric acid with the NaOH).

As for the shea butter at 5%, yes, I do notice a difference. One, the bar is a bit harder, and two, the lather is kinder to my skin.

Lard soaps are pretty hard, and I even use higher percentage of lard sometimes, got some experimenting to do- I have a recipe w 18% CO and plenty of bubbles so will likely be making tons of new soap variations

 

[AliOop]

Lard soaps are pretty hard, and I even use higher percentage of lard sometimes, got some experimenting to do- I have a recipe w 18% CO and plenty of bubbles so will likely be making tons of new soap variations

Yes, they sure are. I was just responding to your question about whether anyone noticed a difference with 5% shea added, and my answer to that is yes: the increase in hardness is noticeable to me, even in my usual high-lard (45-65%) recipes. The increase in mildness is also noticeable to me YMMV

 

[Zing]

I use shea at 6.5% and like that it contributes to hardness. I can't do more than that because the lather feels too lotion-y for me.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Looks like a nice recipe to me. Because I prefer lower cleansing, I'd swap the percentages for coconut oil and avocado oil, so the soap is less stripping. You will still have plenty of bubbles due to the solvent action of the sorbitol, and the chelating action of the sodium citrate (that will come from the reaction of the citric acid with the NaOH).

As for the shea butter at 5%, yes, I do notice a difference. One, the bar is a bit harder, and two, the lather is kinder to my skin.

I hadn't noticed that Ali. @KentuckySilks why not just start out with 20% CO and use 11% shea? Job done

 

[KentuckySilks]

I hadn't noticed that Ali. @KentuckySilks why not just start out with 20% CO and use 11% shea? Job done

I did! Actually I left out the shea and increased the others to see if I like more avocado oil on skin, then I’ll try the shea- I like adjusting recipes- I used to only use palm, but then I got into lard and I absolutely love it! Ads, hardness, mildness, creaminess, and some bubbles, but there are drawbacks. It’s really hard to gel it and you have to cure it for like three months before you get a nice lather. I think my final recipe is going to end up between 50 to 60% lard.

 

[AliOop]

I got into lard and I absolutely love it! Ads, hardness, mildness, creaminess, and some bubbles, but there are drawbacks. It’s really hard to gel it and you have to cure it for like three months before you get a nice lather.

Interesting, I don't find it hard to gel my lard soaps. Because I use a high lye concentration (low water) to cut down on soda ash, a heating pad and overturned box serve as my "oven" for CPOP, and they gel within an hour or two at most.

As long as I don't go over 55-60% lard, my soaps don't need a long cure to get a nice lather, probably due to the 20% CO and 1-2% sorbitol in each batch. But around 60% lard, then my soaps do need a longer cure before they lather well, especially when first using the bar. It's like they get a hard shell that has to be worked through before the lather is nice.

 

[KentuckySilks]

Interesting, I don't find it hard to gel my lard soaps. Because I use a high lye concentration (low water) to cut down on soda ash, a heating pad and overturned box serve as my "oven" for CPOP, and they gel within an hour or two at most.

As long as I don't go over 55-60% lard, my soaps don't need a long cure to get a nice lather, probably due to the 20% CO and 1-2% sorbitol in each batch. But around 60% lard, then my soaps do need a longer cure before they lather well, especially when first using the bar. It's like they get a hard shell that has to be worked through before the lather is nice.

Mine definitely changed drastically after 2 months cure, also you’re right- each of my soaps fail to lather nicely in the first use, figured that out years ago- weird! Shell idea I guess?!

 

[KentuckySilks]

Interesting, I don't find it hard to gel my lard soaps. Because I use a high lye concentration (low water) to cut down on soda ash, a heating pad and overturned box serve as my "oven" for CPOP, and they gel within an hour or two at most.

As long as I don't go over 55-60% lard, my soaps don't need a long cure to get a nice lather, probably due to the 20% CO and 1-2% sorbitol in each batch. But around 60% lard, then my soaps do need a longer cure before they lather well, especially when first using the bar. It's like they get a hard shell that has to be worked through before the lather is nice.

What’s you definition of a long cure? I aim for 6 weeks, but the ones I made in November are sooooo much better than first week

 

[AliOop]

What’s you definition of a long cure? I aim for 6 weeks, but the ones I made in November are sooooo much better than first week

To me, a long cure is anything more than 4-5 weeks. How about you?

 

[KentuckySilks]

To me, a long cure is anything more than 4-5 weeks. How about you?

2 months or so