Shea butter in soap - for moisturizing

[songwind]

If I wanted to use shea butter in a hot-process soap, primarily for its emollient/conditioning properties, would it be better to add it at the gel stage?

I ask because the butters tend to be more expensive, and obviously if I want the unsaponified oil for skin care, this seems like a more cost effective way to do it.

If any of you have tried it this way, what % of total oils would you add in?

(Obviously, this wouldn't work with cold process.)

 

[kazmi]

Songwind, I haven't added shea at the end but have added another butter at the end of HP. If I remember correctly it was only about 1-2% added before adding the FO. Just make sure to completely mix it in.

 

[songwind]

That's about what I was thinking.

 

[judymoody]

In order for it to be noticeable, I'd use at least 5%.

 

[fatfacedcharlie]

I tried some shea butter in my shaving soap, I used 6% after the cook.

 

[songwind]

I tried some shea butter in my shaving soap, I used 6% after the cook.

How did it work out? Did it cause you any lathering trouble?

 

[fatfacedcharlie]

It's funny you should ask that, I've got a few different shaving soaps curing at the moment and I did a test lather on them all this evening just to see how they are coming along. My favourite one is the one with the 6% shea butter. It has slightly less lather (not by much) than the same recipe without, but it is really thick and creamy, like meringue or yoghurt or something. And it is slicker than a politician on polling day, leaves my face feeling quite nice as well. Got the coming weekend to myself, so I'm going to experiment with a bit more coconut oil to try and boost the volume a bit and see how that works.

 

[songwind]

That's nice to hear. I have a few shave soaps (made by others) with lanolin and/or butters, and a lower-but-creamy lather seems to be pretty common. Shaved with one of Mike's Natural Soaps this morning, in fact, which has kokum butter and lanolin. It was sort of like shaving with slippery yogurt.