How Much Cocoa Butter

[SunRiseArts]

I love cocoa butter in my HP soaps. I use it at only 7% though. My soap bubbles nicely, and is so luscious. I love coconut oil in my soaps, I understand people like it at lesser values, but here is my recipe if you would like to try it:

Castor 6%
Cocoa butter 7%
Coconut Oil 20%
Lard OR palm oil 40 %
Olive 20%
Rice bran OR avocado oil 7%

 

[bathgeek]

I have a 50% cocoa butter soap a year and a half old. The scent was never very strong - maybe about the strength of a fully cured citrus EO soap. Except it smelled just like chocolate cake! The scent of the dry soap is almost gone at this point, but I tried it last night and the scent came back in the shower. I was very pleased with the strength of the lather, although it has an unusual character. In the first few months it was very dry and fluffy, and made me think of egg whites whipped into stiff peaks. Six or so months in it was like whipped cream. Currently it has the most dense, lotion-like lather I've ever experienced. The lather through all stages has been amazingly abundant. Happy to pass along my recipe if you are still looking to experiment, although if I ever make a high cocoa butter soap again I have a few changes in mind.

I’d love the recipe! Including changes... ^_~

 

[earlene]

I have made soap with only cocoa butter and really liked the feel of that soap, as well as the lingering cocoa butter scent. I'm not home right now to check the current level of cocoa butter fragrance (I did not add any fragrance to the soap) now that it is about 18 or so months old, but it did retain the fragrance of the oil for longer than I expected. It was one of my single oil soaps, of which I made several for testing purposes.

 

[MissE]

I have a 50% cocoa butter soap a year and a half old. The scent was never very strong - maybe about the strength of a fully cured citrus EO soap. Except it smelled just like chocolate cake! The scent of the dry soap is almost gone at this point, but I tried it last night and the scent came back in the shower. I was very pleased with the strength of the lather, although it has an unusual character. In the first few months it was very dry and fluffy, and made me think of egg whites whipped into stiff peaks. Six or so months in it was like whipped cream. Currently it has the most dense, lotion-like lather I've ever experienced. The lather through all stages has been amazingly abundant. Happy to pass along my recipe if you are still looking to experiment, although if I ever make a high cocoa butter soap again I have a few changes in mind.

ETA: It kind of reminded me of a shaving soap last night. I passed my hands over the bar, filled my hands with lotiony lather (um, somewhere between lotion and toothpaste), set the bar down, rubbed my hands, et voila: perfect looking shaving cream lather. Songwind would be jealous

Ok, one last thought: Chocolate Orange Patchouli scent. Next time.

Sounds like it's all great! Please do post the recipe (and the changes, too?) Thanks!

 

[MissE]

I love cocoa butter in my HP soaps. I use it at only 7% though. My soap bubbles nicely, and is so luscious. I love coconut oil in my soaps, I understand people like it at lesser values, but here is my recipe if you would like to try it:

Castor 6%
Cocoa butter 7%
Coconut Oil 20%
Lard OR palm oil 40 %
Olive 20%
Rice bran OR avocado oil 7%

I'm planning wee little sample soaps from some of the recipes so graciously shared here and should be adding yours to it. Thanks, SunRiseArts.

 

[MissE]

I have made soap with only cocoa butter and really liked the feel of that soap, as well as the lingering cocoa butter scent. I'm not home right now to check the current level of cocoa butter fragrance (I did not add any fragrance to the soap) now that it is about 18 or so months old, but it did retain the fragrance of the oil for longer than I expected. It was one of my single oil soaps, of which I made several for testing purposes.

Please keep us posted when you are able to get a whiff of it, thanks

 

[dixiedragon]

But the scent does last in lip balm and lotion bars!

 

[MissE]

But the scent does last in lip balm and lotion bars!

I imagine it does since there is no lye to attack it! Must be difficult to keep from licking your lips and limbs!

 

[Millie]

I'll post it, just gotta eat a late breakfast then I'll hunt that recipe down. I'm off today with the house to myself. All I'm going to do is read the forum and make soap

Earlene, glad you are back to the forum safe and sound. When you have the time, I'd love to hear more about your 100% cocoa butter soap. (And how you made it out of the fires, I love reading about your adventures. That story deserves it's own thread).

 

[Millie]

Alrighty, after much self-made ado, cue the trumpets. Here it is:

50% Cocoa Butter
30% Coconut Oil
14% Olive Oil pomace
5% Castor Oil
1% Jojoba
SF: 4%
To a 26.5 oz batch:
1/2 tsp powdered coconut milk
3/4 tsp kaolin clay
1/8 tsp TiO2

Why the weird additive amounts? It was early in my soaping days and I was aiming for an all natural soap for my vegan palm free friends. I separated the batter and tried to make a small portion a lighter shade for a subtle swirl. Kaolin clay just added a gray tint without lightening the tan batter. I had read that coconut milk could lighten the soap, but it didn't seem to make a difference at that low rate and I didn't want to mess with the superfat too much. I cheated with some mineral pigment. By that time my additive portion was getting too thick for swirling, so I mixed it in with the rest. The bars came out a lovely creamy off white. The additives, though scant, may have contributed to the lather.

Things I would change for next time:
1. Lower the coconut oil! Even though I still like 30% in many recipes, it wasn't necessary for this one. It is the only soap I have ever used in my hard water and thought, 'this is too much lather!'

2. Lower the cocoa butter to 40% - I still want the scent, but would like a little wiggle room to balance out the recipe. I think between the castor and jojoba oils, the cocoa butter lather was well suspended and contributed quite a bit to the overabundant lather.

To balance the recipe, your guess is as good as mine. I know I would like to raise the liquid oil percentage a tad.

Scenting time: I think the scent strength was a little stronger than I wrote in my first post, because I remember my mom sniffing soaps around three months into the cure. She couldn't smell the lemon + litsea soap at all (split evenly for a total 1oz ppo) but she immediately identified the chocolate notes in the cocoa butter soap. I think the scent went through a brief odd phase in the first month when it smelled like all natural doggie biscuits I liked to munch on as a little kid

For next time I would add folded orange and light patchouli EOs. I think they would be killer with the chocolate cake scent.

 

[HowieRoll]

I have a 50% cocoa butter soap a year and a half old. The scent was never very strong - maybe about the strength of a fully cured citrus EO soap. Except it smelled just like chocolate cake! The scent of the dry soap is almost gone at this point, but I tried it last night and the scent came back in the shower. I was very pleased with the strength of the lather, although it has an unusual character. In the first few months it was very dry and fluffy, and made me think of egg whites whipped into stiff peaks. Six or so months in it was like whipped cream. Currently it has the most dense, lotion-like lather I've ever experienced. The lather through all stages has been amazingly abundant. Happy to pass along my recipe if you are still looking to experiment, although if I ever make a high cocoa butter soap again I have a few changes in mind.

ETA: It kind of reminded me of a shaving soap last night. I passed my hands over the bar, filled my hands with lotiony lather (um, somewhere between lotion and toothpaste), set the bar down, rubbed my hands, et voila: perfect looking shaving cream lather. Songwind would be jealous

Millie, thank you for sharing your experience because yesterday I busted out a bar from the batch I'd made (outlined on post #11 of this thread) and was knocked over with (and reminded of) how much lather there was. I mean, I barely had to run my hand over it and it was foaming up, left and right! It had been a while since I'd used this soap, and am now kicking myself for not ordering more of that cocoa butter from ND in my recent order. The soap is also hard as a rock, and could be used as a weapon!

But I'm glad to hear you have had the same insane lather experience, and with a much high percentage of cocoa butter (thanks for sharing your recipe)!

As for the smell, I had stored this bar with some mint soaps so there was a a peppermint aroma, and a definite underlying nutty smell. It was tough to know if the nuttiness would be more cocoa-like without the peppermint in the way, but all in all it was very pleasant, nonetheless.

 

[Millie]

Millie, thank you for sharing your experience because yesterday I busted out a bar from the batch I'd made (outlined on post #11 of this thread) and was knocked over with (and reminded of) how much lather there was. I mean, I barely had to run my hand over it and it was foaming up, left and right! It had been a while since I'd used this soap, and am now kicking myself for not ordering more of that cocoa butter from ND in my recent order. The soap is also hard as a rock, and could be used as a weapon!

But I'm glad to hear you have had the same insane lather experience, and with a much high percentage of cocoa butter (thanks for sharing your recipe)!

As for the smell, I had stored this bar with some mint soaps so there was a a peppermint aroma, and a definite underlying nutty smell. It was tough to know if the nuttiness would be more cocoa-like without the peppermint in the way, but all in all it was very pleasant, nonetheless.

Hurray, I'm not crazy after all! They lather like crazy.

It's funny, my cocoa butter soaps also took on a hint of peppermint scent from another batch, although I didn't notice that coming through in the shower. Peppermint would be great in this soap.

One other thing I would try next time around is to keep temps as low as possible when melting the cocoa butter, in the hopes to keep that rich, raw dark chocolate scent (it gets cakey with heat). I don't know if that is possible, but if anyone is still planning a high cocoa butter soap, let us know how it goes!

 

[Arimara]

Thanks, Millie. Now I have two recipes to try. I just lack the coco butter right now.

 

[MissE]

Alrighty, after much self-made ado, cue the trumpets. Here it is:

50% Cocoa Butter
30% Coconut Oil
14% Olive Oil pomace
5% Castor Oil
1% Jojoba
SF: 4%
To a 26.5 oz batch:
1/2 tsp powdered coconut milk
3/4 tsp kaolin clay
1/8 tsp TiO2

Why the weird additive amounts? It was early in my soaping days and I was aiming for an all natural soap for my vegan palm free friends. I separated the batter and tried to make a small portion a lighter shade for a subtle swirl. Kaolin clay just added a gray tint without lightening the tan batter. I had read that coconut milk could lighten the soap, but it didn't seem to make a difference at that low rate and I didn't want to mess with the superfat too much. I cheated with some mineral pigment. By that time my additive portion was getting too thick for swirling, so I mixed it in with the rest. The bars came out a lovely creamy off white. The additives, though scant, may have contributed to the lather.

Things I would change for next time:
1. Lower the coconut oil! Even though I still like 30% in many recipes, it wasn't necessary for this one. It is the only soap I have ever used in my hard water and thought, 'this is too much lather!'

2. Lower the cocoa butter to 40% - I still want the scent, but would like a little wiggle room to balance out the recipe. I think between the castor and jojoba oils, the cocoa butter lather was well suspended and contributed quite a bit to the overabundant lather.

To balance the recipe, your guess is as good as mine. I know I would like to raise the liquid oil percentage a tad.

Scenting time: I think the scent strength was a little stronger than I wrote in my first post, because I remember my mom sniffing soaps around three months into the cure. She couldn't smell the lemon + litsea soap at all (split evenly for a total 1oz ppo) but she immediately identified the chocolate notes in the cocoa butter soap. I think the scent went through a brief odd phase in the first month when it smelled like all natural doggie biscuits I liked to munch on as a little kid

For next time I would add folded orange and light patchouli EOs. I think they would be killer with the chocolate cake scent.

Good to know that high percentages of CB works! Millie, you are my new favorite doggie-biscuit-munching-sud-making person! Thanks for sharing your recipe and your experience.

Millie, thank you for sharing your experience because yesterday I busted out a bar from the batch I'd made (outlined on post #11 of this thread) and was knocked over with (and reminded of) how much lather there was. I mean, I barely had to run my hand over it and it was foaming up, left and right! It had been a while since I'd used this soap, and am now kicking myself for not ordering more of that cocoa butter from ND in my recent order. The soap is also hard as a rock, and could be used as a weapon!

But I'm glad to hear you have had the same insane lather experience, and with a much high percentage of cocoa butter (thanks for sharing your recipe)!

As for the smell, I had stored this bar with some mint soaps so there was a a peppermint aroma, and a definite underlying nutty smell. It was tough to know if the nuttiness would be more cocoa-like without the peppermint in the way, but all in all it was very pleasant, nonetheless.

I like that CB soap has so much character and is so consistent (as your experience corroborates Millie's). I think its also safe to say that it needs to be stored separately from other scented soaps if the intention is not to let it soak up that scent. And, I guess if one wanted that to happen it could be done, and peppermint would be an awesome tinge to add. Thanks a lot, HowieRoll!

 

[Arimara]

I like that CB soap has so much character and is so consistent (as your experience corroborates Millie's). I think its also safe to say that it needs to be stored separately from other scented soaps if the intention is not to let it soak up that scent. And, I guess if one wanted that to happen it could be done, and peppermint would be an awesome tinge to add. Thanks a lot, HowieRoll!

This is true for any soap. :cry:

 

[MissE]

This is true for any soap. :cry:

Is that so! I learn every day, thanks!

Oh, and I don't know how I got the idea into my head, but is cocoa butter skin-drying in soap?

 

[Arimara]

Is that so! I learn every day, thanks!

Sadly yes. Strangely, during cure, soaps don't absorb scents too much but after cure... That becomes a whole other ball game. AT least from my experience. I'm still learning.

 

[Millie]

Oh, and I don't know how I got the idea into my head, but is cocoa butter skin-drying in soap?

I put cocoa butter into soapcalc and it doesn't report any of the typically drying fatty acids (lauric and myristic). Some people find olive oil soap drying though, while others make it for it's mildness, so it's a little subjective. The cocoa butter bars I made seemed a tad more drying than a typical soap when I used it with a minimum cure, but I didn't find them drying after that.

Happy to report that now the bar is in use, the whipped cream fluffiness is coming back! It is sooo luxurious. All this is subjective too, so I hope I'm leading you in the right direction. Be honest with your findings. I can't wait to find out how it goes for you!

 

[MissE]

I have made soap with only cocoa butter and really liked the feel of that soap, as well as the lingering cocoa butter scent. I'm not home right now to check the current level of cocoa butter fragrance (I did not add any fragrance to the soap) now that it is about 18 or so months old, but it did retain the fragrance of the oil for longer than I expected. It was one of my single oil soaps, of which I made several for testing purposes.

:bunny:
Hello! Not to trouble you too much (maybe just a lil ) but I just was thinking a lot about your 100% Cocoa Butter recipe and so I checked it in soapcalc's lye calculator. Well, cleansing is "0" and lather "0" and now I'm even more eager to hear all about your Cocoa Butter soap! What really is it, is it like a bar of very hard, non-lathering, really chocolatey-smelling piece of washing rock?

Oh, please tell!

I put cocoa butter into soapcalc and it doesn't report any of the typically drying fatty acids (lauric and myristic). Some people find olive oil soap drying though, while others make it for it's mildness, so it's a little subjective. The cocoa butter bars I made seemed a tad more drying than a typical soap when I used it with a minimum cure, but I didn't find them drying after that.

Happy to report that now the bar is in use, the whipped cream fluffiness is coming back! It is sooo luxurious. All this is subjective too, so I hope I'm leading you in the right direction. Be honest with your findings. I can't wait to find out how it goes for you!

Thanks, Millie, I'm making one test batch today, so ho-ho!

 

[MissE]

Happy to report that I've made soap based on HowieRoll's Recipe at #11!


What I did different:

I didn't have avocado oil at hand and didn't want to fuss since the object of my test batch was to figure out the scent without an fo. To enhance the scent, I added the avocado oil amount to the cocoa butter (30%). If my test batch falls too short in terms of performance, I will be willing to add back the avocado oil, of course). Also, following his advice at #19, I dropped my olive oil (40%) down and upped my coconut oil (25%); the courage to do that high coconut oil amount came from Zany_in_Co's advice at #35. I left my castor oil (5%) amount alone.

What I added:

I decided to divide my batch into three: I added cocoa powder to one, cocoa powder and finely ground coffee to the other, and left the last one without any additives.

What I'll do differently next time:

I stayed with my 33% lye solution, just because in my own experience I am always rushing against soap thickening/tracing on me and I rather hoped that going by HowerRoll's notes about the runny consistency of his recipe, it would just buy me a little more time with mixing in my additives. Big mistake. My barter was running everywhere and I just couldn't get it to trace! At this point I was praying for even a false trace so I could sb it thoroughly and at least have everything suspended without the oils separating. Anyway, it finally did show signs of a trace and I triumphantly poured them. Phew! If anyone else is interested in trying this, please do go with the 40%, and you are welcome!

The Result:

I am yet to test this soap in the shower to observe how it lathers and so on, but as per the scent fresh out of the mold, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't quite get the chocolatey smell I wanted. The smell was more markedly that of cocoa. I used raw cocoa butter, by the way. But if I must pick one, I'd say the scent came through best in the cocoa powder-coffee soap. The one with only cocoa powder barely had the cocoa scent. And the one without any additives just had no discernible cocoa/chocolate scent.

#soaptestdone!