Cocoa Butter Soap Recipe?

[orangetree71]

I have cocoa butter, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil and castor oil. Does anyone have a recipe using these ingredients? Or, can I just substitue cocoa butter for shea butter in a shea butter soap recipe? What percentage is a good amount for cocoa butter?

 

[madartist]

you can, but you may need to adjust your lye. go to soapcalc, choose the oils you want, plug in the percentages (or weights) adjust the size you want, your %water, and superfat (if you wish), then hit CALCULATE. it will figure the amount of NaOH for you. If you need me, you have the number. Linda and I are not doing anything and can walk you through it.

 

[orangetree71]

Thanks Maddy. My recipe calls for 13% shea butter. Is that a good % for cocoa butter too? I want the soap to smell like cocoa butter. I'll run it through the lye calc to adjust the lye and water.

 

[carebear]

some have had slightly different experiences, but even at 48% I've not found that yummy cocoa butter smell to come through in soap. if I closed my eyes and tried really hoard I could almost imagine I could smell it - but nothing significant.

 

[madartist]

I agree with carebear. But I have read (I haven't tried this) that if you colour your soap with cocoa powder at light trace (and use enough to get a really dark colour) the scent of cocoa will come through. I haven't tried this myself because I prefer to drink cocoa, rather than slather it all over me, but it's worth a shot if that's the scent you are going for.

 

[orangetree71]

Bummer. I was hoping for the scent. I might try a cocoa swirl, but it sounds like it won't be enough to scent the soap. Carebear, does 48% cocoa butter make a nice soap? It sounds like an awful lot. Can you suggest a good % for the soap to possess the nice qualities of cocoa butter? What about 20% cocoa butter, 35% olive oil, 20% palm oil, 20% coconut oil and 5% castor oil?

 

[ChrissyB]

I don't think you need to add that much cocoa butter and shea butter.

 

[carebear]

yea, 48% is an awful lot. that sucker moved FAST. I still have a bar of it somewhere from 2006!

what qualities are you looking for from the cocoa butter?

hard to say how much, or even what the qualities are because the soap is a mix of all the components. i'd say that, in general, to get the dense low lather that cocoa butter can produce you might want to add it at about 10%. but remember that the other oils also impact the lather type.

Here's the formula I used:

Cocoa Butter 48%
Lard 16% (some use solid shortening aka Crisco)
Castor 16%
Canola 16%
Beeswax 4%

Notice it's A VERY HARD BAR. I cannot imagine why the beeswax is in there. It's a formula I got off another forum back then.

(no DOS either even with canola at 16%)

 

[honor435]

i like this:
oo 10
po 6
co 8
castor 3
cocoa 3oz 8.9water 4.159 lye
but you should go on soapcalc.net, you can change around your recipes etc. you dont need alot of cocoa to make it feel nice.

 

[orangetree71]

Thanks Honor435. I might try this recipe. 10% cocoa butter sounds like a good amount.

 

[honor435]

it is, i tried more cocoa and it didnt seem to add any qualities.

 

[Lynnz]

I add cocoa butter at 10% to my recipes and I love the feel it gives...........just my personal opinion but too much more is just additional expense not really required

 

[Healinya]

I recently stopped buying fifteen different oils to 'play' with. I settled on five oils that I love together. It's 35% Olive, 25% Coconut, 20% Palm, 10% Cocoa Butter, 10% Castor.

 

[carebear]

I recently stopped buying fifteen different oils to 'play' with. I settled on five oils that I love together. It's 35% Olive, 25% Coconut, 20% Palm, 10% Cocoa Butter, 10% Castor.

we all reach that point eventually, tho not necessarily with the same oils.

 

[honor435]

i agree my recipes are getting much the same, i may change from cocoa butter to shea, but then main oils are the same, co, oo, po, castor, maybe some pk.

 

[mzz]

I really like this recipe and I had to try it today

It is:
35% olive
25% palm
20% coconut
10% cocoa b.
10% castor
kaolin clay, tussah silk

7% SF, 33% LS

Values: 40 - 14 - 57 - 23 - 36 - 57 - 150

I like creamy lather, so I have high hopes for this recipe.
We will see... 8)

 

[Soapsugoii]

Healinya, those are the same ones I settled on too, after playing around for the better part of a year! haha. I get lots of lather with this combo, and it's really rich. I've never tried more than 10% CB but I feel like that's the perfect amount for what I want from my soaps.

I actually just spent the better part of an hour pounding away at a 35lb block of it with a hammer and chisel and putting it into smaller bags. There HAS to be an easier way to get raw CB. I dread it every time I get a new shipment. Can I just say how obsessed I am with cocoa butter for ANYTHING topical, though?

 

[Pepsi Girl]

I really like this recipe and I had to try it today

It is:
35% olive
25% palm
20% coconut
10% cocoa b.
10% castor
kaolin clay, tussah silk

7% SF, 33% LS

Values: 40 - 14 - 57 - 23 - 36 - 57 - 150

I like creamy lather, so I have high hopes for this recipe.
We will see... 8)

I'm sure I should know this but I don't today So what is LS?

 

[mzz]

LS = lye solution

33% = 1 part lye, 2 parts water

 

[Hazel]

I'm sure I should know this but I don't today So what is LS?

I had a "huh?" moment, too.

I use LS as an acronym for liquid soap.