Cocoa Butter Wafers

[Adri71]

Is there a rule of thumb about how much you should use in a recipe? I'm new to formulating recipes and the one I'm working on now has 20%, is that too much? Is there a max I shouldn't exceed? I've read that it can make the soap too hard. Is that the primary concern? Thank you in advance!

 

[atiz]

I have used 15% at most so far (and usually do 10%). It does make the soap a bit brittle, but that also depends on what other oils you have. I don't think 20% would be a big problem, esp. if you have a good amount of liquid oils.

 

[Adri71]

I have used 15% at most so far (and usually do 10%). It does make the soap a bit brittle, but that also depends on what other oils you have. I don't think 20% would be a big problem, esp. if you have a good amount of liquid oils.

Olive oil 35%
Cocoa butter 20%
Palm 15%
Babassu oil 10%
Castor oil 10%
Coconut oil 10%

What do you think? Am I in trouble: ;-)

 

[atiz]

This looks like a nice recipe to me, although I'm by far not the most expert here.
A lot of people use 5% of castor, but I have used 10% and didn't have any problems with it.
You should watch it closely as for when to cut; I haven't worked with palm, but with the hard oils you have it may harden up pretty fast.
Good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[Arimara]

That recipe might trace faster than you would like and I would suggest against soaping at room temperature on account to the cleansing oils and the cocoa butter

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Olive oil 35%
Cocoa butter 20%
Palm 15%
Babassu oil 10%
Castor oil 10%
Coconut oil 10%

What do you think? Am I in trouble: ;-)

You can replace the coco butter with lard and that will slow down your trace and it makes a hard bar that isn't brittle at the same time.

 

[Adri71]

That recipe might trace faster than you would like and I would suggest against soaping at room temperature on account to the cleansing oils and the cocoa butter

Wouldn't a higher temp accelerate trace? I'm just learning

 

[Adri71]

You can replace the coco butter with lard and that will slow down your trace and it makes a hard bar that isn't brittle at the same time.

I ran that through Soapmakingfriend and it looks pretty good with lard. I got similar numbers, mine were ever so slightly better on the longevity and hardness but when I compare that to the cost and the availability, using the lard in place of the cocoa butter is really attractive. I think since I have both on hand I'd like to make a test bar of each and see which I like better. Thank you for this suggestion! I appreciate it!

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I ran that through Soapmakingfriend and it looks pretty good with lard. I got similar numbers, mine were ever so slightly better on the longevity and hardness but when I compare that to the cost and the availability, using the lard in place of the cocoa butter is really attractive. I think since I have both on hand I'd like to make a test bar of each and see which I like better. Thank you for this suggestion! I appreciate it!

You're welcome. Everyone has their own preferences and that is what makes your soap an individual expression of yourself. I became hooked on lard after I tried my first lard batch. I use cocoa butter for balms, scrubs and lotions because its benifts can be better realized in those products versus soap. The soponification process will change the oils that you use and they will loose, some of what makes them great in balms, lotions, scrubs and body butters.

 

[Arimara]

Wouldn't a higher temp accelerate trace? I'm just learning

That is also true. The thing about your current recipe is that the types of oils you're using, most of them, can speed up trace. You are also using 20% cocoa butter, which has the highest melting point of the oils you have. You would have to soap with your oils at least 95F to lessen the chance of you reaching a false trace, which was more my concern for you.

For the record, I use 20% cocoa butter. Because of how my recipes are formulated, I tend not to have brittle bars when I cut loafs (If I use a loaf mold). Modern Soap Making has and article about slowing down trace. As far as making less brittle bars, I would subtract 5% from the castor oil and allocate it to the palm or the olive oils as a start. You could also take a bit away from the cocoa butter as well. In truth, you may want to learn a bit more about how different oils behave in soap so you can better formulate your recipes.

 

[Adri71]

That is also true. The thing about your current recipe is that the types of oils you're using, most of them, can speed up trace. You are also using 20% cocoa butter, which has the highest melting point of the oils you have. You would have to soap with your oils at least 95F to lessen the chance of you reaching a false trace, which was more my concern for you.

For the record, I use 20% cocoa butter. Because of how my recipes are formulated, I tend not to have brittle bars when I cut loafs (If I use a loaf mold). Modern Soap Making has and article about slowing down trace. As far as making less brittle bars, I would subtract 5% from the castor oil and allocate it to the palm or the olive oils as a start. You could also take a bit away from the cocoa butter as well. In truth, you may want to learn a bit more about how different oils behave in soap so you can better formulate your recipes.

I hadn't considered false trace! Yes, I do have a lot to learn before I can formulate a decent recipe. Thank you for your feedback, I'll be referring back to it often

 

[bookreader451]

I found the two links below very helpful when formulating recipes and I use cocoa butter at 10% in most of my recipes.
https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/the-most-popular-fatty-acid-profiles-in-soapmaking/https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/soapcalcs-soap-quality-numbers/