The oils
| Oil | Share |
|---|---|
| Stearic Acid (triple-pressed, ~50:50 C16/C18) | 50.0 % |
| Coconut Oil | 20.0 % |
| Shea Butter | 15.0 % |
| Castor Oil | 10.0 % |
| Olive Oil (virgin / refined / olive oil) | 5.0 % |
How it is made
| Process | Cold process |
| Alkali | NaOH + KOH |
| Superfat | 2 % |
| Water | 50 % of the oils |
| Iodine value | 23 |
| INS | 188 |
What the numbers say
Hardness 75 above 29–54
Cleansing 15 12–22
Conditioning 25 below 44–69
Bubbly lather 23 14–46
Creamy lather 69 above 16–48
Computed from the fatty acids of the fats above. The bands are what the craft has settled on, not chemistry — a bar outside one is not wrong.
Try it differently
17 variationsThe same soap with one thing moved. Each opens in the calculator ready to change again.
- made with KOH
- 1 % superfat
- 4 % superfat
- made with KOH and 1 % superfat
- made with KOH and 4 % superfat
- Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH and Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH and Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
- 1 % superfat and Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- 1 % superfat and Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
- 4 % superfat and Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- 4 % superfat and Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH, 1 % superfat, and Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH, 1 % superfat, and Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH, 4 % superfat, and Cocoa Butter (Theobroma Oil) instead of Shea Butter
- made with KOH, 4 % superfat, and Kokum Butter instead of Shea Butter
Where these proportions come from
Craft convention: a softer, higher-stearic shaving soap between a hard puck and a cream, at the top of the usual stearic range.
A canonical formulation: the proportions the craft has settled on for this kind of soap. Not transcribed from a document, and not copied from anywhere.