@TallTayl thank you for your response. And thanks for explaining potassium cocoate. Unfortunately I do not have the full recipe with the proportions, I just have what was listed on the ingredients on the back of the bottle. But I contacted the company and they told me they dont use preservatives and instead use sodium chloride for stabilizing. here is the product link: https://www.binarywerks.net/zuresh2012/CatalogItem.asp?ssl=on I will definitely try your suggestion of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, liquid and base oils and stearic acid. Thank you