Whipped Shea Butter - simplified (UPDATE!!!)

[SudsyKat]

See below (my more recent post) for a great update! Here's the original post:

Well, the shea butter isn't simplified, but my questions are. I posted a very long post before with way too many questions, so let me be brief. I want to make a whipped shea butter.

1. What are good oils to use? 80% shea to 20% oils
2. If I do use a preservative, what would be the best one?
3. If I want to add cornstarch, how much do I add and when and how (just throw it in there or melt it or what?)

It's not that I can't find information or tutorials, it's just that there are so many methods and opinions, it makes my head spin.

Thanks! :shock:

 

[nattynoo]

No water=no need for preservative
Are u making it like a body butter with water etc??? Or just whipped shea??

I did some whipped shea yesterday actually. I did 75%shea25%virgin coconut oil.
I didn't like it one bit.
It was far too greasy for me yet I like solid lotion.... go figure.
Perhaps the cornstarch is the key ingredient here.

 

[carebear]

add 2% IPM (isopropyl myristate) or up to 5% fractionated coconut oil.

some use cornstarch, but I hate that.

 

[kellyincville]

Re: Whipped Shea Butter - simplified

1. What are good oils to use?

What oils you want to use will depend on how you want your product to feel. I'm new to whipped butters so I've been making a ton of small batches. Personally, I like lighter feeling creams so I've been using mango butter to replace some of the shea and jojoba oil as the 20% oil.

A fab resource for finding out what oils and butters might be best for you to experiment with is here:

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/p ... posts.html

Someone on the forum recommended it and if you have the $$ to donate for her ebook(s) (I got Back to Basics: Anhydrous Products ), I found them to be one of the best sources of the type and depth of information that I was looking for. HTH!

 

[SudsyKat]

Thanks, all! I tried a small batch today (about 10 oz total), with 80% shea butter and 20% coconut oil. I don't know why I picked coconut oil - I guess because I had it on hand. I didn't really like the result, though I don't hate it. It whipped up nice, but it solidified pretty firm - not what I was wanting. Of course, in retrospect, coconut oil's melt point is 76 degrees, so it's not exactly a real liquid at room temperature. I also don't like the greasiness of the coconut oil. Unlike the greasiness from the shea butter, the coconut oil greasiness doesn't really go away. Oh, well. And I did add a tsp. of cornstarch, though I don't know if it had any effect, since I have nothing to compare it to. Maybe I need to try a different oil and perhaps I'll try the IPM.

What should I do with the batch I made. I hate to waste it. I don't hate it, but I wonder if I can make it better somehow. Any suggestions?

 

[c.a.p.]

I just made a whipped shea last week and I, too, didn't care for it - too greasy, as you said. I did a 70% shea and 30% FCO. It was too greasy so I added the cornstarch. Like you said, it's ok, but not what I was looking for. It has grown on me, though. While it is greasy, after about 10 minutes it does melt in. It's great for rough spots like heels. My shea was not good, either. Gritty right out of the box. I may have to use that in soap.

 

[Healinya]

Yeah, I can't handle coconut oil in leave-on products... it is oily. I like grapeseed, almond, rbo, ako for the oils in whipped butter... a little jojoba makes it extra nice

 

[SudsyKat]

Just an interesting tidbit on the grainy shea. I melted my shea in 2 small batches (5 oz or so for each batch), stirred every couple of minutes and put it in the fridge after it reached room temperature. I continued to stir it every couple of minutes in the fridge. It got rid of the graininess completely. I wasn't sure it would work, but it really did. Then I took those 10 ounces of shea and used that for my whipped shea butter (melting it yet again, like most whipped shea butter recipes tell you to do).

So, here we are with our shea and coconut, sort of okay, but not great concoctions. Anybody have any suggestions on how to "rebatch" or redo what we have to improve it? I thought about remelting (or maybe just softening?) and adding more corn starch and a little more of a soft oil (I don't have a lot of good choices on hand). Maybe avocado?? Sunflower? :?

 

[heartandsoap]

I experimented with a small batch of body butter the other day too.
It is oily but does soak in. My hands are soft and I've noticed that they don't get dry after washing as with store bought lotions.
I love it I used organic refined Shea, Mango and Cocoa butter at 70% and Avocado oil with a little glycerine, vit E and cornstarch and then whipped it.
For my feet I use it after bathing and put on some cotton socks.
January is turning out to be home spa month I love the Himalayan salt baths the sugar scrubs. Now I'm interested in trying a mud body mask.

 

[c.a.p.]

Just an interesting tidbit on the grainy shea. I melted my shea in 2 small batches (5 oz or so for each batch), stirred every couple of minutes and put it in the fridge after it reached room temperature. I continued to stir it every couple of minutes in the fridge. It got rid of the graininess completely. I wasn't sure it would work, but it really did. Then I took those 10 ounces of shea and used that for my whipped shea butter (melting it yet again, like most whipped shea butter recipes tell you to do).

So, here we are with our shea and coconut, sort of okay, but not great concoctions. Anybody have any suggestions on how to "rebatch" or redo what we have to improve it? I thought about remelting (or maybe just softening?) and adding more corn starch and a little more of a soft oil (I don't have a lot of good choices on hand). Maybe avocado?? Sunflower? :?

Thanks, SudsyKat. I'll try that.

Hey, do you think I can try that with the batch I've already made? Then rewhip?

 

[SudsyKat]

I don't see why you couldn't try it. You're not happy with what you have, so you might as well remelt and try something else. I was very surprised that it worked because so many people say you can't get rid of the graininess. And, of course, who knows what it will be like in a few weeks, but it sure did seem to work.

I don't know how the other ingredients will play into the mix when you try to remelt with the other oils present, but it's worth a try. Let me know how it turns out!

 

[SudsyKat]

UPDATE!

I'm so excited - I do believe I've succeeded in making a whipped shea butter that I really like! I'll have to see how it behaves a day or two from now, but for now, I LOVE IT! Here's what I did...

I fixed my grainy shea (by melting it, letting it reach room temperature, and then rehardening in the fridge).

Here's my recipe:

10 oz. melted shea butter
2 oz. avocado oil
1 Tablespoon of corn starch
1 tsp Ylang Ylang

I melted my shea butter (which i had earlier fixed so it's not grainy) and added the avocado oil and corn starch. I whipped on med/high setting of my stand mixer for 10 to 15 minutes (until it was cooled to room temperature). I put it in the fridge for 5 minutes, then took it out and whipped it for 5 minutes. I repeated this 2 or 3 times, adding the Essential Oil only toward the latter half of the process. The last time, when I could see that the refrigerator was causing the butter to harden up a bit, I whipped at almost the highest speed of my blender for 5 to 7 minutes. It was still soft, but creamy and thickened. I knew it might thicken up a bit more after it sat, so I put it into a jar and called it good. I have since used it and I love the consistency - like a very thick cream. It's oily only for a brief minute, then it absorbs quickly and feels just perfect. I'm so excited!!! And it smells heavenly as well. Thanks for your help, Forum folks!

 

[c.a.p.]

Nice job, SudsyKat. I'll try remelting my shea mixture today and let you know how it turns out. Again, thanks for the tip.

 

[c.a.p.]

I slowly heated my shea mixture to about 140F, held it there for about 1/2 hour, then beat it, cooled it, beat it, cooled it. The graininess is gone!

However, it did not whip up into a "whipped shea". Its the consistency of a body butter. I like it, but I wish it would whip up again. Maybe I was too impatient.

Any ideas?

 

[SudsyKat]

CAP - sorry I didn't respond sooner. Once I "fixed" my shea, I just melted it and did the whipped shea recipe as described, so I'd say, just go ahead and pretend like the "fixed" shea never had a problem to begin with and use it in whatever whipped shea recipe you have. I should mention that although I really like my creation, which was 80% shea, 20% avocado oil, it is more like a nice body butter and not very "whipped" feeling. If you're going for more whipped, maybe try a little higher ratio of liquid oil to shea. Just a thought. And by all means, use an oil that's light - not coconut oil (ick - way too greasy).

CAREBEAR - I was meaning to ask you why you don't like using cornstarch? You mentioned that in your post - what are the downsides?

Thanks!

 

[c.a.p.]

I used FCO because it was naturally vanilla-scented. I don't want to use FO's, but can't afford real vanilla. This seemed like a good alternative. I'll keep experimenting. Thanks for the input.

I, too, would like to know the downsides of cornstarch.

 

[citymouse]

I really like almond oil and jojoba in my whipped formulations. I use a dash of cornstarch, it seems to puff it up a little bit more, but too much seems to make it hard and grainy afterwards.

I actually do add a preservative because i put my sheas into little jars which people dip their fingers into (and fingernails are bacteria magnets) so I feel better having some protection there. I like optiphen plus for my whips.

 

[MidwestSoaper]

I think I'm going to give this a try, it sounds yummy.

 

[BakingNana]

Congrats on your success, SudsyKat! I'm really loving shea with jojoba and some Isopropyl Myristate at 3%. My husband is really happy with it. His hands are so dry and cracked in the winter. This stuff seems to be doing the trick without too much of a greasy feeling. Soaks in well in a short period of time. I also like sweet almond or rice bran oil.

I'd be interested in the cons of cornstarch, also, although I don't think I'd like the feeling of cornstarch dried on my skin after the oils soak in.

 

[chigirl]

I used FCO because it was naturally vanilla-scented. I don't want to use FO's, but can't afford real vanilla. This seemed like a good alternative. I'll keep experimenting. Thanks for the input.

I, too, would like to know the downsides of cornstarch.

I am one of those who love tapioca starch but can’t stand arrowroot powder. It’s probably just personal preference. That being said, I have never used cornstarch.