Crystallization of cocoa butter in my body butter?/UPDATE

[llineb]

I have been making body butter for the last year and have really liked it until lately. My cocoa butter has been crystallizing and making little beads in my butter. They melt right away when you rub it on your skin but I don't like the texture of the finished product. It only happens on some of my batches. The only thing that has changed is the season from warm to cold and I am now using some Jojoba oil in the recipe. I read somewhere that you need to heat it slowly to avoid this so I used my double broiler to make my last 3 batches and they were all crystallized. ugh! :roll:

Also, I put them in the fridge to cool slightly so the mica floats and doesn't sink to the bottom.

Does anyone know what's causing this?????

Thanks so much!!!!!!

UPDATE: Thank you so much for all of your help!!!!!
I made my body butter using the butter-ez and by heating the shea and cocoa butters separately and keeping them at the temps and times you recommended. I also added corn starch to this batch. I then put them in the fridge to cool....They are smooth like butter!!!!!...hence the name Body Butter. Thanks for solving the problem. It is sooooooo great to have this forum! You guys rock!

 

[Catmehndi]

Could it be the Jojoba? Since it's technically a wax, perhaps it's the culprit?

 

[llineb]

I'm not sure... and honestly I didn't know Jojoba oil was considered a wax. I thought it was an oil. I use sweet almond oil mainly and then add a little jojoba oil.

I was also wondering if maybe it is my shea butter that gives it the grainy feel...but it actually has little balls in it....hmmmmm????????

 

[carebear]

it could be either the cocoa butter or the shea. I don't believe the jojoba would impact the crystallization of the butters.

all has to do with temps, tempering, stuff like that.

try some butterEZ from the Herbarie (or is it Lotioncrafters?). TDF!

 

[llineb]

What butter does the butter ez replace and how much do I use?
Also, any recommendations on how to heat and mix everything. I usually melt the beeswax and oils in the microwave and then add the shea & mango butters into the melted oils/beeswax and microwave for 1 min more. Then I stir the mixture until the shea and mango butters melt completely. I then add the cocoa butter that has been melted slowly in the double broiler. I will then put them in the containers and in the fridge to cool slightly and stop the mica from sinking. I then leave them out to cool the rest of the way. :?

 

[carebear]

the supplier should be able to tell you how to use it. you would replace some of a comparable butter with it.

Oh, if your bw is already melted, unless you are adding a lot of butter the heat already in there should be enough to melt the shea & mango. Why aren't you melting the cocoa butter separately?

I'm told that rapid cooling can help prevent graininess.

I'm not sure what a double broiler is. Is it something that goes in the oven like my broiler pan?

 

[llineb]

Well, one supplier (on ebay) told me to heat the cocoa butter slowly and let it cool slowly... so I started to heat it separately on the stove. I then started to take it out of the refrigerator to cool slowly. This may be the culprit b/c it was one of the changes I made. I used to cool them in the refrigerator until they were done.
I think I will try the Butter Ez and cool it in the fridge.

Thanks for the advice!!!!!!

Also, do you heat your oils(sweet almond/jojoba) with your BW or do you add them at room temp? I usually heat them with my BW only because when I first started making Lotion Bars the recipe said throw all the ingredients together and heat. I have since read about the butters loosing some of the skin benefits if over heated and so I now add them at the end...but I am still heating my oils with my BW...just thinking maybe I shouldn't?????

p.s...I meant double boiler. I just cooked steaks on my broiler pan and had food on the brain. :?

 

[carebear]

I heat my BW with any stable oils like coconut.

Butter EZ is miraculous.

 

[christysfarm]

I have the same problem with my lotion bars. The mango butter that I use crystalizes into little beads.. I use a double boiler to melt every thing together and than pour into molds and let cool overnight on the counter. I would love to solve this issue.

Christy

 

[oxana124]

From what I have read I believe you have to temper the butters that tend to crystallize (like cocoa and shea). This is supposed to solve the crystallization issue.

Shea:
Tempering: Graniness in shea butter is fairly common, caused by crystallization during the cooling process. Graniness in shea butter is not an indication of poor quality, just a reaction to temperature fluctuations. It tends to be more of a problem during the summer months when products sit in hot trucks during shipping. The proper method for alleviating graininess is a process known as tempering. To temper the butter, heat it to 170 to 185 F, and hold it at that temperature for approximately 15 to 30 minutes. To keep the fat crystals from reforming, stick the shea butter into the refrigerator until solid. The steady heat of tempering will help completely melt the fat crystals, but will not harm the beneficial qualities of the butter.

Cocoa:
Tempering: To prevent unfavorable crystallization, cocoa butter should be tempered. Slowly bring the temperature of the cocoa butter up to approximately 100°F, being careful not to overheat. Hold at that temperature for 45 to 60 minutes, before cooling.

Above info from: http://www.thesoapdish.com/oils.htm

 

[carebear]

tempering is great but isn't really a long term solution since your lotion bars will likely be exposed to temperature shifts as time goes on.

 

[llineb]

problem solved...see above!!!!!!!

 

[hobbiz]

So cocoa butter must be tempered every time we make soap with cocoa butter? Tempering like this will increase production time by 45-60 minutes at least, and its not convenient to temper all the cocoa butter at once (40 pounds for me). How to solve this situation?
If I still try to use untempered CB, is it still beautiful? Will lots of bar of soap have white dots of crystallization?

 

[llineb]

I don't think it matters when you make soap b/c you soap stays hot and geels so that it doesn't crystalize. I think this is only an issue with body butters. I don't heat it for 45mins when i make my lotion bars and I never have this issue...only with my body butter.

 

[Lindy]

You don't need to temper Cocoa Butter for soap......

 

[hobbiz]

Thanks guys. I feel relief.