Does shea butter make good soap?

[Jennfromoz]

Hello again, just wondering about shea butter in soap. I'm thinking about buying a kilo, photo attached. Could I replace palm oil or Lard with shea butter? I personally love it on my skin. The oils I'd be using would be
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Shea butter
(Maybe a touch of apricot kernel oil)
Thanks.

 

[Funmi]

It

Hello again, just wondering about shea butter in soap. I'm thinking about buying a kilo, photo attached. Could I replace palm oil or Lard with shea butter? I personally love it on my skin. The oils I'd be using would be
Olive Oil
Coconut Oil
Shea butter
(Maybe a touch of apricot kernel oil)
Thanks.

It does make a good soap. If used in low amounts can give a touch of luxury in soaps, I've made a 100% shea butter soap in the past and though it didn't foam well, it wasn't stripping on skin and left it feeling soft after use.

Try anywhere from 5-20% in your recipe and see where it leads

 

[Ford]

Hi, using 15% butter in my recipe. I use Shea/Cocoa butter. Started using at 5% to add firmness to the bars. But after reading/learning more. Up it to 15%. To add some goodness to the bars. On apricot kernel oil. If it were not so costly for me. I would use more.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use Shea at 10% of my recipe.

This blog entry is quite helpful, and some of the other links on it if you want more info on stuff: What Fatty Acid Profiles in Soapmaking Are the Most Popular?

 

[Zing]

I once made a bar high in shea. Mrs. Zing loved it. I didn't like it because the lather was very "lotion-y" with teeny tiny bubbles. You may or may not want that. However, it does contribute to hardness so I use 5% now. Just take good notes on your recipes.

 

[Peachy Clean Soap]

I love Shea Butter in soap, imho it adds a luxurious feel to the soap.

 

[earlene]

@cmzaha and at least one other soapmaker here at SMF make a high percentage Shea soap with good results. Perhaps one of them will come along and share experience.

But in the meantime, here are some links regarding soaping with high shea soaps:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/70-shea-butter.82859/#post-910243https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/high-shea-butter-experiment.82886/#post-874174https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/25-shea-slowing-acceleration.84324/#post-897415https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/can-you-please-help-me-with-my-recipe.83506/#post-883158

 

[maryloucb]

I love shea butter in soaps! I use between 15 and 20% combined also with 10% cocoa butter. I don't use any palm oil or tallow.

 

[cmzaha]

At 50% or higher shea your soap will highly improve with a 6 month cure even using low CO it will still lather nicely.

 

[CpnDouchette]

I use 10% ish. I wouldnt use it as a total replacment lard or palm as it's fatty acid profile is quite different. At lower usage it has a wonderful skin feel, almost moisturising. Love a bit of shea in my soap!