Shea Butter...

[crafty86]

Kind of a simple question....I usually get the ultra-refined shea from wholesale supplies plus. But I put an order in with Columbus Foods - got the refined kind...obviously there's was much MUCH cheaper...so I ordered some because I use it alot, soaps, lotions, bath fizzies.. so I get it and it's very "grainy" as I have heard yall say before. Is this going to affect my lotions? I've soaped with it and it didn't seem to change that much..but Im very worried about my lotions. Anyone have any experience with this kind?

 

[Hazel]

I haven't used CF/SC shea so I'm glad to hear someone has tried it. Have you tried tempering the shea and making a small lotion batch?

 

[crafty86]

Good idea! Thats what I will do and I'll let you know how it turns out! Thank you!!

 

[Sunny]

can shea get grainy even in lotion?! if so, I didn't know that. I don't use much of it (have avoided it because I'm scared of grains in my lip balm)

 

[Hazel]

Good question. I don't know if it would get grainy in a lotion. I'm just guessing but I would think that emulsification would make it more stable. But I'm not an expert. I always tempered shea before using it in lotions and creams and never had any go grainy. However, I only made small batches and used up what I made within 3 to 6 months.

crafty86 -

Please let me know how it turns out. I had looked at CF/SC's shea butter but never purchased it since 10 lbs is a lot of butter to have sitting around.

 

[ToniD]

I get my shea from CF, and one time I ordered in warm weather. It melted and got all grainy and I was never sucessful at tempering to get it back to normal again. I used it in soap and it was OK except I think I got more ash with those batches. I never wanted to try that shea in lotions, so I don't know how it would have reacted.

 

[Lotsofsuds]

I look forward to reading more about your results.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I have made my shea butter grainy by heating it wrong. That is why I don't use it in lip balm. Doesn't it melt when you make the lotion?

 

[Hazel]

What do you mean by heating it wrong? I would warm shea up to approximately 160F and then hold at that temp for 20 minutes. Then I'd stick it in the freezer to cool it rapidly. Once cooled, I'd add it to the other warmed oils (which had also been heated and held for 20 mins) for the lotion. The heat from the oils would melt the shea. I don't know if this is the right way to do it but it worked for me. The shea didn't get grainy.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

I just barely heat my lip balm to melting point and pour. Back when I started making it I tried using shea butter. There were no instructions on tempering it back then. It was completely random on when it when grainy too. Using the same method and same shea butter. I was just thinking it it was melted and blended with other ingredients it wouldn't go grainy, if it was used in smaller amounts.

 

[Hazel]

The directions I wrote above are for what I do when I make lotions and creams. It's been years since I've made lip balm and I never used shea in them. I'll have to dig out a balm recipe and try shea. I don't know why it would sometimes become grainy and other times it wouldn't.

Hopefully, a lip balm expert will see this and be able to explain it.

 

[PippiL]

I just made my facial cream with CF unrefined shea butter.You have to heat it to about 170 F and than let it cool a little....no graininess.
(Is that a word?) I read that somewhere...it worked for me.

 

[Stacey]

I use shea butter in my lip balm. I melt it with my other ingredients, pour into the tubes and pop the tubes in the freezer for rapid cooling. No grainy-ness. I had read somewhere that the key to smooth shea was rapid cooling.

I too got my shea from Columbus Foods/Soaper's Choice over the summer and it came to me all grainy. I just melt it down as is and use it in my soaps. Never had any trouble with grainyness in my soaps. I don't believe I've had any additional trouble with ash either. But that's just me.

 

[LauraHoosier]

I use shea in lotions and I noticed when I did my heat and holds that as long as I hit 170F and held I had no graininess from the shea. If I did 160-165F I had graininess in my lotions. HTH!

 

[IrishLass]

My no-fuss trick to no grains is ButterEZ from LotionCrafters. It put an end to the stubborn grainies in my mango butter lip balm.

IrishLass