This is a couple of my test batches I came up with. Would love to know what you think
Test A: 50% raw cocoa butter (using up some I don't like) 20% organic coconut oil 20% grapeseed oil (using up what I have) 10% unrefined shea butter
This made a wickid hard bar but I feel it stunk, don't know if it was the cocoa butter or eo I used but it smells awful. However the lather is awesome and rinces clean.
Test B: 50% extra virgin olive oil 25% organic coconut oil 18.75% unrefined shea butter 6.25% jojoba oil
Went with a fo instead of eo here. Smells wonderful, lathers awesome, but is very soft.. plan on allowing to cure a bit longer but I don't see it hardening much more..
Test C.. 50% lard 20% organic coconut oil 20% extra virgin olive oil 10% grapeseed oil ( still in the mold) we shall see
While we believe there is no positively wrong choice for oils we look for a balanced impact on the final bars. As you have noted the softest soap has 50% olive oil (which makes a very soft bar and must take 6 to 8 weeks before getting really hard). The hardest bar has 50% cocoa butter. Cocoa butter and coconut oil can make bars so hard that sharp corners feel more like razor blades.
So.... if you want a more balanced bar of soap you will need to look at a more balanced oil mixture. Having said that, there is no feeling like the one of clearing out the cupboard and using up what is left over from other projects.
On another note, so far all have taken on the color of the darkest oil used.. I was counting on the one with lard being more of a white color, but its still in the mold doing its thing, only threw it together a couple hours ago
Oh it was, I just didn't care for the scent. I added a bit of tea tree oil and it just didn't work well with that much cocoa butter.. However it makes for an excellent shaving bar.. not one nik so far I most always follow with a sugar scrub and have been getting away with using less ( kinda bad since I dont get to experiment with those much anymore). I came up with what I think is an orginal formula for a scrub thats amazing
I was concerned the tallowey smell would come through but it did not.. For lack of any other colorants on hand I used regular food coloring (the bubbles are still white) This lathers like crazy, smells awesome, and seems like its going to be a nice hard bar, but not too hard... I think I'm on the right track to make some splendid products