Questions on making whipped shea....

[7Angela7]

Do you melt the shea to a liquid?

Can you melt it in the microwave or do you have to use a double boiler?

When do you add the oils or other ingredients? When it's liquid or it starts to firm up?

When do you start to whip and for how long?

Sorry for the dumb questions. I try to search the board & google to see if I can come up with an answer before asking, but I can't find any info on this at all.

Thanks for the help!

[Gene]

Did you read this thread?

http://www.candletech.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97

Personally,I don't melt my shea (unrefined) just warm it a little on low or defrost in the micro until soft

[Ann M]

I don't melt my shea either. I just use it at room temp or soften just a bit in the microwave if it is too hard. I add all of my ingredients at the same time. I put it all in my mixing bowl and use the whisk attachment. I just let it whip and whip until the consistency is like frosting. It usually takes about 30 minutes, but I have had it take a bit longer and also a bit shorter. It just depends.

One problem that some people have is grainess. I have had this happen one time and it was from some shea that felt grainy from the start. I had to melt it all down and do the freeze, whip, freeze, whip, etc... method. Fortunately this did get rid of the grainess, but it was a pain. I now only use AK unrefined shea and have had no problems.

Good luck. Whipped shea is fun to make and really pretty easy.

Ann

[Kimberly]

I DO melt my shea. I tried it a couple times by just warming it and it was grainy. Melting it completly,until it is clear,seems to cure that.

I take my melted butters out of the microwave, transfer them to my steel mixer bowl ...add my other oils...then pop it into the freezer for a bit. I check it periodically...as it sets up...I scrape the sides down. Once it iis almost back to solid...I scrape the bowl again then put it in the mixer and let it whip on low for a few min then turn it to high until I get the volume I want.

[Crafty1_AJ]

I also very gently melt my shea over very low heat until just barely liquified. Then I add my liquid oil(s), whip until cooler, then add my eo and vitamin E and continue to whip until nearly doubled in volume. When it's opaque and has set up, but still softish, I jar it up. I never have trouble with grainy whipped body butter.

HTH!

[siberia]

I tried melting mine along with the various tempering suggestions and always ended up with grains. I don't really mind the grains but wont sell product that has them. The grains will melt with body heat and disappear into your skin.

So now, I never melt mine. I just let it come to room temperature and then whip the heck out of it. Nary a grain in site.

[Michi]

I've done it both ways, same end result. It just takes longer if you completely melt the hard butters.

Also, I noticed that my shea butter I keep in my car, melted one day when we were having a warm spell, and now it's grainy. It's fine, but just look "ugly" now. :undecided

BUT, that same batch of butter, is one that I completely melted the hard butters and then used an ice bath to set it up while mixing, so not really sure what the actual cause of the graininess is???

I really think it's hard to try and whip shea in it's natural form, so even if it's just slightly warmed it would be easier IMO.

Oh and I only use AK unrefined also.

[slow-burn]

I do mine a tad different, I melt the shea and other hard butters completely, then pop into the freezer. Scrape the sides as it thickens up, to get a good chill thru it all. I don't like large chunks so I try not to freeze too much. After it is out of the freezer, I then add my liquid oils and whip. For me, this has generated a fluffier frosting type consistency, and the warmer room temp oils, help add to the semi frozen butters.