Teach Soap

Hello all. I have been MIA for a bit but I am sort of back now that the kiddos are back in school. So I tried my hand at Whipped Butters today. I melted 3.5 oz Shea butter, added 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil (might add more, not sure), added my EO and started whipping. It was taking FOREVER!! So I stuck it in the fridge for about 3 minutes, took it out, whipped some more. Still taking forever. So the I put the bowl in a bigger bowl and put a little bit of ice around it, whipped some more. It finally set up to a really good consistency. Jarred part of it. It set up really hard like. Not as hard as Shea out of the container pre-melting but fairly hard. So then I still had 1/2 left. I added some Jojoba, .1 oz, then whipped that some more. Jarred it when it was nice and smooth and the Jojoba was fully incorporated. Now it is not as hard as the one without Jojoba but still fairly hard. Anyway, my question is, what is the consistency of Whipped butters supposed to be? I thought they would be nice and fluffy but this isn't. What should I do differently? It goes on nicely and then soaks in wonderfully. I have tested both. I put one on one foot and the other on the other foot so I can get an idea of the difference between the two. So far I am liking the one w/o Jojoba but time will tell. They are very greasy but once it soaks in, my skin feels great!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Haven

You definitely need more jojoba in the first batch. I put mine in the freezer for a bit, whipped some more, back in the freezer, scraped the sides down, whip some more til it all cooled off. Then spooned into jars.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Good, then it's not just me. I had to put my wrist brace on it was taking so long and it started to hurt. LOL! And that was with my electric hand mixer. Then at the end, I switched to a regular whisk cause my mixer was getting too hot. It was nuts! Thanks! I am going to try another batch tonight and I will add more Jojoba.

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Haven

Try it. I think you will be happier with more jojoba (or any other liquid oil).

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I whip first, then add jojoba oil, color and FO. Carefully mix to encorporate w/o deflating. Only takes a few minutes.

Yup, you are right. It is better with more Jojoba. This time I used 2.5 oz shea, 1 oz Jojoba, 5 drops Tea Tree, and FO. I used your method, SoapBuddy. I whipped, put in freezer, whipped, put in freezer, whipped some more and then spooned into jar. It works great! Thank you for your help.

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Haven

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I need help myself. This is a recipe i found online. I was hoping it would get more creamy and harder but it soft like whipped cream. Is body butter supposed to be like whipped cream? What can i add to make it more cream like, (like a hand or foot cream). This is whipped but when applied to skin oily. My first batch with the White Tea and Ginger was better than my 2nd Cumumber and melon scent. Can anyone suggest what i should add to give it a more creamier consistency?

pprox. 60% Shea Butter
Approx. 40% Natural Oils
(You can use any of our fixed/carrier oils like Soy, Sweet Almond, Grapeseed, Avocado, etc.).
Corn Starch (optional, but some feel it cuts down on the "greasy" feeling).
Any lotion safe fragrance oil, or you can use all natural essential oils instead if you prefer.
Mica Powders can be used to give the butter a little shimmer or color (optional).

Basic recipe for a one pound batch:
10 oz. Shea Butter
6 oz. Fixed Oils (you can use all one, or use 2 oz. each of 3 different oils)
2 tsp. Corn Starch (can add more if desired)
.5 oz. fragrance oil (3% should be plenty, but you can add up to 1 oz for 6.25%)



* In a large pyrex measuring bowl, melt your shea butter in a pan of water (double boiler method) on the stove. Once melted, add your oils, fragrance oil and corn starch. Stir very well.

* Remove the pyrex bowl and set it inside of a large metal bowl filled with ice water for a cold water bath. This will help cool the butter faster and is much easier than having to keep putting it in the freezer in between whipping.

* Using a hand mixer, whip the butter continually for several minutes just like you would frosting. It will begin to cool and as you keep mixing, it will start to look like whipped cream. Once the butter has solidified and has the right whipped texture (it will have peaks on top just like cool whip!), spoon it into your jars and you are finished!

chibbyrivera,
Body Butters tend to be greasy since they are made with only oils or butters. The corn starch helps a little bit, but it won't be like a lotion or a cream as it has no emulsifiers.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

You need to look at the properties of the butters and oils you'd like to use - some are heavier oils than others (ie Avocado Oil), some soak into the skin more easily than others (ie Plum Kernel Oil). Plus take into account your own skin type - what suits you might be too heavy or light for someone else.

You could also add a % of cyclomethicone (silicone) - some don't like it but I personally find it allows the butter/cream to glide onto your skin and helps with a lovely silky skin after feel - also cuts down the greasy element. I'd only add 1% though, you don't want too much.

Knowing the properties of the oils and butters you use is important - you need to know this for the different skin types people have but also in how they combine together. Unfortunately it's a matter of some research to find all the info but it's a great education and it'll allow you make more educated decisions on how and why you use something.

To get a more cream like feel, you need to be making a cream - that invovles an emulisifier, deionised water and, very importantly, a preserative.

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Thanks guys! Can i put the whipped butter into cream jars for gifts? Would this be an appropriate container for whipped butter?

You can put whipped butters into jars. Just make sure the jars stay away from heat as the whipped texture could deflate.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.