Teach Soap

In the BB "How to make lotion" booklet, the recipe states:
75% distilled Water
5% shea butter
7% sweet almond oil
4% avocado oil
5% emulsifying wax
4% stearic acid
*1% preservative (phenonip or germaben II)

1~ could I sub jojoba oil in place of avocado oil? or could I do 2% avocado oil & 2% jojoba oil, or 2% jojoba oil & 2% castor oil?
2~ could Sal butter be used in place of the shea butter? http://www.brambleberry.com/Sal-Butter-1-lb-P3204.aspx
3~ which emulsifying wax is best to use?
4~ I would prefer to use optiphen instead, as I don't want any parabens in my products. In this recipe, would optiphen work as well, and would I use it at the same ratio as the phenonip or germben II?

to continue....
in the part with the INCI labeling... if I do use the optiphen in place of the paraben preservatives, how would that list in the labeling?
sorry to be such a duh...

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JKM Creative Enterprises

You can sub another oil for the "oil" part and another butter for the "butter" part, but be aware that the lotion's consistency might not end up the same. I prefer Polawax as an emulsifier. I have had problems with other e-wax formulations from other places in the past. Depending on your ingredients, Optiphen might or might not work. This preservative does not work for me. It makes my lotion curdle. Recommended usage for Optiphen is use 0.5 - 1.5%. The INCI is: Phenoxyethanol (and) Caprylyl Glycol.
Not all preservatives are the same. Some work better in lower temps, some are light sensitive, some have a higher pH.

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

_________________
JKM Creative Enterprises

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

_________________
JKM Creative Enterprises

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