Using more expensive oils and butters

[GriffinRidgeFarm]

I am working on a shampoo bar recipe and I was wondering if oils like Mango butter, Apricot Kernel oil, cocoa butter and avacado oil really make a difference?

Here is the recipe that I am thinking of using:

20% avacado oil
5% Mango butter
5% cocoa butter
20% castor oil
5% shea butter
10% apricot kernel oil
10% coconut oil
25% olive oil

5% SF

 

[Robert]

I am working on a shampoo bar recipe and I was wondering if oils like Mango butter, Apricot Kernel oil, cocoa butter and avacado oil really make a difference?

Probably not all together like that.

Here is the recipe that I am thinking of using:

20% avacado oil
5% Mango butter
5% cocoa butter
20% castor oil
5% shea butter
10% apricot kernel oil
10% coconut oil
25% olive oil

5% SF

You can look up the fatty acid content of those and see that there's probably a lot of redundancy. It's possible that some have other minor constituents (such as waxes (giving you fatty alcohols) and steroids) that might be of value separately, but not likely that they don't overlap in function. So overall I'd say it's an overly complicated recipe. Your olive, coconut, and castor are doing the major work in there, but you probably already knew that. I don't think I've ever seen a soap recipe with more than 4 saponifiable fats that I thought were all useful together, so I'd pick just one of the remaining 5 oils & butters as an "extra" and see if it makes any difference along with the 3 just mentioned.

 

[Lindy]

I am working on a shampoo bar recipe and I was wondering if oils like Mango butter, Apricot Kernel oil, cocoa butter and avacado oil really make a difference?

Here is the recipe that I am thinking of using:

20% avacado oil
5% Mango butter
5% cocoa butter
20% castor oil
5% shea butter
10% apricot kernel oil
10% coconut oil
25% olive oil

5% SF

That looks like a great recipe.

Robert - there is more to an oil/butter than the fatty acid profile. You need to dig deeper into other properties of the oil itself including healing properties. Shea butter is significantly different from mango or cocoa butters and at 5% are still lending some great properties into the soap itself. Some oils, like Pine Tar or lanolin need to be kept beneath 5% because with them less is more and yet they still bring amazing properties to soap.

Sometimes it is the whole rather than the individual ingredients that create something great.

 

[lsg]

And some oils and butters such as avocado oil, olive pomace oil and shea butter contain a higher percentage of unsaponifiables This can contribute to a milder bar.

 

[Robert]

That looks like a great recipe.

Robert - there is more to an oil/butter than the fatty acid profile. You need to dig deeper into other properties of the oil itself including healing properties.

I did. That's what I referred to above as the waxes and steroids.

Shea butter is significantly different from mango or cocoa butters and at 5% are still lending some great properties into the soap itself. Some oils, like Pine Tar or lanolin need to be kept beneath 5% because with them less is more and yet they still bring amazing properties to soap.

Sometimes it is the whole rather than the individual ingredients that create something great.

That's true, but of the various materials in this recipe, there will be a great deal of overlap in the minor constituents brought in by those ingredients, and also overlap between them and the major base oils, chiefly olive. They differ from each other, but mostly quantitatively rather than qualitatively.

 

[Lindy]

Robert now look at the healing properties of each oil, again they differ greatly. You are looking at the wrong areas....

ETA

When combining oils and butters you have to look at the synchronicity that occurs where the sum is more than the individual parts. By doing combinations you are creating something that is more than the individual parts. A good example of this is when you add Lavender essential oil to an EO blend. The lavender supports and strengthens the properties of the other oils in the blend.

 

[dagmar88]

I don't think I've ever seen a soap recipe with more than 4 saponifiable fats that I thought were all useful together, so I'd pick just one of the remaining 5 oils & butters as an "extra" and see if it makes any difference along with the 3 just mentioned.

I'd agree on that with normal soap, but soap used as shampoo is a whole different animal.

 

[Lindy]

Robert start actually making soap and then do side by side comparisons to see what properties are brought to the soap by each oil/fat/butter. Then you can talk about it in an advisory way.

 

[lizflowers42]

It sounds like it will be a very nice shampoo bar! When in doubt, try it out

 

[GriffinRidgeFarm]

Thanks for all your responses! I changed it slightly, because I ran out of shea butter and olive oil.
The new recipe is:
25% avocado oil
20% castor oil
15% cocoa butter
15% coconut oil
25% apricot kernel oil

I HP'd it today and I'll try it in the next couple days and let ya'll know how it goes!

 

[lizflowers42]

Thanks for all your responses! I changed it slightly, because I ran out of shea butter and olive oil.
The new recipe is:
25% avocado oil
20% castor oil
15% cocoa butter
15% coconut oil
25% apricot kernel oil

I HP'd it today and I'll try it in the next couple days and let ya'll know how it goes!

If it doesn't work out well for a hair bar, it will still make a lovely hand soap!

 

[GriffinRidgeFarm]

I tried the bar, and it was great! It worked perfectly on my very oily hair I guess that leaving the olive oil out was a good idea!