Refined vs. Raw Shea Butter

[ariella42]

I'm a soap newbie, so I just started expanding my recipe horizons. I bought my first shea butter on Amazon just because it popped up as a suggestion when I bought my stick blender. It was raw shea butter, and I liked how it worked in my soaps. I need to order some more base oils now, and shea butter is definitely on my list. However, I realized that Brambleberry sells refined shea butter. Clearly the refined shea butter is uncolored, but what is the difference in the properties of the soap? Thanks!

 

[shunt2011]

I don't think the properties differ once in soap at all. I happend to mostly use unrefined but that's just my personal preference. The only difference I've noticed in soap is that unrefined can make the soap more beige than white. You can certainly use either one though.

 

[ariella42]

Thanks! I'm making goat milk soap (and so far mostly HP), so I'm okay with a beige bar. If they're otherwise the same, I think I'll stick with what I know (and what's cheaper).