Shea butter

[Soaps_and_more]

Hi,

I've been making soap for some time now (nearly two years) and lately a lot of soaps are just crumbling. After a longer search, changing the recipe etc I am certain that it is the shea butter. I've been buying it always with the same supplier but it seems to have changed, its already crumbly when it comes.
After the curing time the soap is a bit better, but still crumbles very easily.

Has someone here also had that kind of problem once and/or what do you think I could do. Of course I wont buy with this supplier anymore, but it could happen with others also. Maybe there is some kind of trick or strategy ...

Thanks in advance!

 

[BrewerGeorge]

What's your recipe? Do you gel your soaps?

 

[Soaps_and_more]

I dislike the gelling of the soap. I never do that unless I do rimmed soap.

My recipes always change, I never do the same one twice. At the moment its usually any combination of coco, rice bran, almond, canola, castor and shea butter or babassu. Probably five or six soaps were made with that shea butter, they were all different recipes and they all crumble.
All other soaps (without this shea) went well and I have no problems with them.

 

[BattleGnome]

How long do you wait to unmold? There is a possibility that you are waiting too long to cut. (If you're up for it) try to repeat a recipe, but cut sooner.

The few times I've gotten Shea it's ended up looking like your picture. Coconut oil eventually looks the same as well. I hack off pieces as I need it and sometimes scoop a big spoonful then "cut" off pieces into my measuring bowl.

 

[SheLion]

I buy unrefined shea butter and it is solid but soft and quite sticky, similar to coconut oil actually. (Or at least the coconut oil I buy.) There is no crumbliness to it at all. The few soaps I've made with higher amounts of shea were quite crumbly when I cut them but not after curing. Cut the soap sooner so it's softer and that will help avoid the crumbling when cutting. If they're still crumbly after curing, then I have no idea.