Grainy whipped shea body butter :(

[FOhoarder]

So I took the plunge and tried a body butter for the first time. My first batch I used unrefined shea that was from Soapers Choice. I use it in soap with no problems. Well it whipped up nicely but its very grainy. It melts immediately but who wants that gritty feeling...not I! I used Anne Maries recipe so I did not melt the shea and coconut oil. Just put it all in my mixer and mixed away. The shea does not feel grainy in the box. So then I tried the same recipe with my refined shea and no graininess at all. My question is....how do I salvage my grainy batch? Can I melt it all and try another approach to rewhip?

 

[VanessaP]

Swift mentions that melting shea butter completely then cooling it rapidly in the fridge helps squash the grainys. She also has a few comments from others in the post as well.

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... tters.html

 

[Genny]

Can I melt it all and try another approach to rewhip?

Yes, yes you can

 

[FOhoarder]

Great! I'll go check that out...thanks!

 

[itunu]

You could also try adding cera bellina at 5% (decrease your butter)

http://www.theherbarie.com/Cera-Bellina-pr-495.html

(I'm presuming your body butter is anhydrous).

 

[FOhoarder]

Oh yes, no water added. Just whipped butter and oil. I just melted it and its in the freezer now. So I'm crossing my fingers that it won't go grainy on me when I whip it again. First I heard of cera bellina. I'm going to read up on that one. Do you use it in your butters?

 

[itunu]

I use it in addition to my butters when making something with a high butter content eg lip balm, whipped body butter.

It will also make your product stiffer, more gel like so I tend to reduce the amount of butter/wax.

You might find this discussion interesting:-

http://chemistscorner.com/cosmeticscien ... ization/p1

there are also some discussions on the subject on this forum

http://www.thedishforum.com

 

[FOhoarder]

Thanks for the links! Very interesting read for sure!

Success on my rewhip! Nice and smooth texture...no graininess at all. Thanks everyone for your guidance!