Recommend oil temp for Shea in CP soap?

[LynetteO]

@AliOop or any shea butter in CP soap user. I’m making a batch of soap today using Shea & GW415 soy. Should I keep my soap temps low? I read Shea can accelerate trace and with castor & soy already at the party, I don’t want to have the batter seize. Since 1st batch with Shea, the batch will be uncolored, unscented & small.

 

[Barefoot Farm Girl]

I’m by no means an expert, but I use 10% shea in my recipe, and jeep to the 40/60 ish ratio of hard to liquid oils. I use the 33% lye that alioop recommended to me. I like to soap at a range of 100 - 105. I get a nice fluid batter. I’ve never used the soy wax, so I don’t know how that can come into play.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I keep everything a bit warm when I use GW415 at 20-25% of the recipe with Shea and/or cocoa butter. By warm, the initial batter temp when I first add the lye would be 115-120F. I’ve possibly started a little cooler, like 110F for a challenging FO, but it’s been awhile. @KiwiMoose soaps her recipe cooler than that, I think. I also thoroughly melt the fats until clear, in advance, and let them cool down to the desired temp before adding the lye.

 

[LynetteO]

I keep everything a bit warm when I use GW415 at 20-25% of the recipe with Shea and/or cocoa butter. By warm, the initial batter temp when I first add the lye would be 115-120F. I’ve possibly started a little cooler, like 110F for a challenging FO, but it’s been awhile. @KiwiMoose soaps her recipe cooler than that, I think. I also thoroughly melt the fats until clear, in advance, and let them cool down to the desired temp before adding the lye.

Thank you for the reply. I made my small batch. I thoroughly heated oils and was going to cool to 90-100 but hubby in a hurry to go set up a rain barrel, and happened to read your reply, so I combined @ 110F. Everything, went lovely. I really don’t think I needed to SB at all, but I gave it a couple pulses before pouring into cavity molds. Anxious to test. Waiting not my forte!

 

[LynetteO]

I think tomorrow I’ll combine at 115-120F. Planned another test batch replacing the RBO with HO sunflower oil in a new no palm recipe.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Yes i tend to soap around 100f on average with 20% Soy wax and 10% shea.

 

[LynetteO]

I made the second batch today and my oils were at 115F & lye solution @ 110F. No stick blending required and I poured at medium trace in no time flat.