Cocoa butter

[SoapBro]

Just got my hands on some cocoa butter, i have yet to use this in soap and i have no idea how it behaves, is its drying at higher %? does it discolor the soap? does it harden it? what benefits does it offer in the soap? same as shea?

any info would be appreciated. :grin:

 

[JuneP]

Notes I have, garnered from other sources say you can add 5-15%.. Too much can cause the soap to crack. It's high in stearic acid and palmitic and other soaping acids. It adds hardness, stable lather, and is
conditioning. It moisturizes and helps prevent rancidity. If used in super fatting, it lays down a protective layers to hold moisture to the skin.

I haven't used it yet in soap, so others can tell you about odor, color, etc.

Just got my hands on some cocoa butter, i have yet to use this in soap and i have no idea how it behaves, is its drying at higher %? does it discolor the soap? does it harden it? what benefits does it offer in the soap? same as shea?

any info would be appreciated. :grin:

 

[shunt2011]

I use cocoa butter and shea butter at 10-15% most times. I love the hardness it adds to my soaps. It does help with a creamy lather I think. Depending on if you are using refined or unrefined the color will vary. My soaps are usually light cream to a beige.

 

[ClaraSuds]

I did a batch with it at 5% the other day. The bar surface felt really silky but so far, that's all the difference I can tell. Not really sure it's worth adding that expensive ingredient yet. Still sitting on the fence about it. In body butters and skin creams it can't be beat though. Just not sure what kind of thing it adds to a wash off product.

 

[Bubli]

I just finished a shampoo bar batch at 35% cocoa butter (yes, I meant to type "35%") and it is so creamy, bubbly, silky, hard and NON-DRYING. I have yet to have cracking or over heating issues and I do cpop to force gel. BUT I do use full water at 38% of oil weight, because 1. It traces fast and heavy 2. It heats quickly as you are HAND mixing ( not stick blending) 3. Because it traces fast and heavy, full water allows for a more fluid pour. Without this 38%,in my experience, you end up plopping your soap in instead of pouring. I also lowered my coconut oil to 5% and ended up with a 3/cleansing and a 41/hardness on soap calc. Lovely creamy lather. And so non drying even at only 24 hours old. I sware! I started doing test batches at 5% cb and upped it each test batch until I felt I was pushing the limits just enough. Now I am happy with my recipe and won't use anything else, ever.

 

[Bubli]

I would like to add that I do only use food grade cb that has been tempered, the stuff that comes in little wafers for making chocolate. I have not had experience with the other grades in soap making, I have read that untempeted causes some sort of chalky spotiness and striping. But I don't know that for sure. You may want check into that before you use a large amount or do a tiny test batch with what you have. Good luck, you'll love it!

 

[Cindy2428]

It is an expensive ingredient but for a luxury bar of soap, I'm with Bubli - totally worth it. I'm still tinkering with my numbers and costs but I notice a big difference at 15%. I upped my canola to accommodate cost and didn't see a big change from reducing my olive oil. In larger amounts it will effect your color but when you use the soap the payoff is more than acceptable.

 

[Chefmom]

YES!! It's lovely and totally worth adding. The great thing about cocoa butter is a little goes a long way. As little as 5% can make a noticeable difference in your finished bar. If you are hot processing your soap, save it and add after the cook....it's worth the extra step in my opinion. I've used as little as 4 ounces in a 100 ounce batch and noticed a lovely creamy and hard bar in the finished product.

 

[lionprincess00]

I use it as a hard replacement (hard like tallow or palm, or lard but it's a softer fat than the aforementioned).

So I take my 30-40% tallow I use, and replace 3-8% with cocoa butter (if I'm in a butter usin' mood or, more likely, am running low on the tallow).

It can crack/make a bar brittle and hinder lather at too high a %. Below 15%, I think, should be safe.

 

[Dahila]

I add 5 - 10% to my soaps and love it. I do not care for shea butter though. More than ten percent I found it draggy. I love my soaps with cocoa butter )

 

[Trix]

It is a wonderful ingredient to harden soap and makes rich lather. Coconut oil can be too drying for some so adding bit of cocoa butter would impart some softening qualities, but it is a it too expensive for soap for some people....but like others told you, a bar with the right amount of coca butter in it, is a wonderful skin treat!