Using cocoa butter together with coconut oil

[soapman5]

Hello,

I'm making a soap with 5 % cocoa butter, but I'm also using coconut oil 20 %. Do I have to increase the coconut to 25 %, because of the cocoa butters lather decreasing effect?

 

[lsg]

You include Castor oil in your recipe for more and bigger bubbles.

 

[soapman5]

You include Castor oil in your recipe for more and bigger bubbles.

Yes, I will do that. But you do not think that I should increase the coconut oil?

 

[lenarenee]

If you are willing to possibly have a more skin drying bar of soap, you can certainly increase the coconut. You can also add sugar to help with the bubbles. eta; to correct wrong word.

 

[ResolvableOwl]

IME, cocoa butter does not decrease lather, it just doesn't increase it. In the first place, it depends what you are replacing with CB. If you shave the percentage off olive oil/lard/palm/canola, then you don't need to adjust anything. Even if it's coconut oil, you might adjust bubbly additions (or not, there are perfectly fine bubbly soaps at 0% coconut).

Coconut isn't the only way to increase bubbly lather. Most important IMHO is to not overdo superfat (5% is the upper limit, 1…3% are better – superfat “eats up” the cleansing power of soap). Then, chelators (citrate, gluconate, EDTA) help mitigate the bubble-killing effect of hard water. Castor oil, sugar/honey/sorbitol, aloe vera juice, rice flour, goat milk, using a soap cloth/felt – so many possibilities without even touching the coconut content, avoiding all its downsides (shorter-lasting bar, skin irritation, tropical imports…).

 

[soapman5]

If you are willing to possibly have a more skin drying bar of soap, you can certainly increase the cocoa butter. You can also add sugar to help with the bubbles.

No, I think I'll stay at 20 %. I'll add some sugar! Thanks

 

[lenarenee]

No, I think I'll stay at 20 %. I'll add some sugar! Thanks

Sorry....I said cocoa butter INSTEAD of coconut oil! Good luck with your new recipe!

 

[soapman5]

Sorry....I said cocoa butter INSTEAD of coconut oil! Good luck with your new recipe!

Hehe, I knew that!

 

[amd]

At 5% your cocoa butter really isn't going to affect lather.
My original recipe was 25% CO. When I modified it to add cocoa butter, I took 5% from the CO for the cocoa butter. I liked my recipe so much better. That was 5 years ago. Since then I have since decreased my CO even further (currently 18%, adding the difference to my RBO) and I still do not see a difference in lather, but I do feel a difference in cleansing. I like the lower CO.

 

[soapman5]

At 5% your cocoa butter really isn't going to affect lather.
My original recipe was 25% CO. When I modified it to add cocoa butter, I took 5% from the CO for the cocoa butter. I liked my recipe so much better. That was 5 years ago. Since then I have since decreased my CO even further (currently 18%, adding the difference to my RBO) and I still do not see a difference in lather, but I do feel a difference in cleansing. I like the lower CO.

I've some try batches, that have been curing för 4 weeks, one with 18 % CO, 20 % COand 23 % CO and there isn't that much difference in the lather department. One gets so focused and obsessed with these numbers! Thanks!

 

[soapman5]

IME, cocoa butter does not decrease lather, it just doesn't increase it. In the first place, it depends what you are replacing with CB. If you shave the percentage off olive oil/lard/palm/canola, then you don't need to adjust anything. Even if it's coconut oil, you might adjust bubbly additions (or not, there are perfectly fine bubbly soaps at 0% coconut).

Coconut isn't the only way to increase bubbly lather. Most important IMHO is to not overdo superfat (5% is the upper limit, 1…3% are better – superfat “eats up” the cleansing power of soap). Then, chelators (citrate, gluconate, EDTA) help mitigate the bubble-killing effect of hard water. Castor oil, sugar/honey/sorbitol, aloe vera juice, rice flour, goat milk, using a soap cloth/felt – so many possibilities without even touching the coconut content, avoiding all its downsides (shorter-lasting bar, skin irritation, tropical imports…).

Ah, ok, I've been reading that too much butters with affect the lather, ie, decrese it. I'm trying with SF 3 %. I will also try 2 % superfat, to see if there is a difference. Thanks for tips for bubbles!