Shea Oil in Cold Process Soap

SoapMee · Apr 12, 2020

I have 16 oz of shea oil that I need to use up as it's getting to the end of it's shelf life. I know now that not many people use it in soap making. Any ideas out there on percentage used in soap that is not just wasting it (ie: using it up) but will actually contribute something to the bar of soap. So far I've used a lot of the following: Lard, CO, Crisco, Olive, Avacado, Rice Bran, Sweet Almond, Apricot, Neem, and Castor. I have a bit of Cocoa Butter and Shea Butter to experiment with which I have not used in soap making yet. I also have Palm Oil coming next week which I have no experience using yet either... My head is swimming as I'm trying to learn, and keep straight, which fatty acids do which thing.

I used soap calc to figure the FA profile (I see it's high in oleic)
Palmitic 6
Stearic 10
Oleic 73
Linoleic 11

Any ideas?

Arimara · Apr 12, 2020

Play around with Coconut oil, rice bran oil, avocado oil and castor oil @ 5% and see what you come up with for a sheabutter soap. You can start off with with 20% shea and go from there. I have not tried shea butter with lard, crisco or palm but you could experiment with that if you want.

The only reason I did not give more percentages is because I think it is a good exercise to plan your first soap. With that in mind, I suggest only paying attention to cleansing levels, keeping them under 20 (you can even leave that as 12, you'll still get clean) and watching the palmitic and oleic levels I think. You want the soap to last you some. When you've come up with a recipe you'd like to try, feel free to run it with us and we can lend you more pointers. So far it looks like you're a brave one and off to a solid start.
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dibbles · Apr 12, 2020

I am in the same boat with some shea oil I bought when I wanted to make lotion. Turns out I don’t enjoy lotion making and saw my aging bottle of shea oil sitting on a shelf. Bramble Berry recommends up to 15% in soap. I used 6% in a small batch, and made some salt bars using 10%. Unfortunately I can’t tell you what, if any, difference there is since they are both just new this week. FWIW, a test of a piece of the regular soap seems very nice. There was nothing out of the ordinary while soaping with it.

SoapMee · Apr 12, 2020

This is my idea... I want a longer lasting bar that is nourishing for my drier skin type that I will use on my face and body. Using a 5% superfat.
Coconut 15%
Palm 20%
Shea Oil (fractionated) 15%
Shea Butter 10%
Lard 15%
Rice Bran 20%
Castor 5%

SoapCalc says...

Lauric	7
Myristic	3
Palmitic	20
Stearic	9
Ricinoleic	4
Oleic	39
Linoleic	12
Linolenic	0

The INS value is only 138 though. Granted the range is 136-165, but should I be concerned?

Arimara · Apr 13, 2020

INS level really does not matter. The main things a lot of use care about are cleansing and longevity. The soap will last you and it is not stripping, according to cleansing numbers. The only question I have is why fractionated shea? Do you need to use it up? I've never used it as it is beyond my price point but I'd imagine it would be great in a whip.

SoapMee · Apr 13, 2020

I'm using the fractionated shea because I bought some about a year and a half ago thinking I would make lotion, but that never materialized. I have used it in my cleansing oil, but my house gets a bit too cold in the winter and it solidifies so I didn't include it when I made my next batch. Hence, I need to use it up...