Combining shea in M&P

[bells4shells]

Alrighty, I'm messing with my SFIC soap while I'm waiting for my soaping oils to arrive. I got some of the regular white (opaque) soap, but this didn't have the shea in it like I normally get it. Instead I added my own shea (5%) and melted it with the batch in short spurts in the microwave. The soap did not get above 170 degrees and it looked ultra smooth. However, I noticed that after I poured, I saw little 'grease' spots forming on the backs of my soap as it was cooling.

Is there a better way to get the shea so it stays combined and doesn't leave grease spots? I'm still waiting for it to cool, but I can see it now... butter spots that have hardened on the top of the mold.... I'm sure I could just wipe them off and it'll be fine, but I was curious if there's a better way to combine the two. TIA

[prairieannie]

I melt my MP soap in a presto pot. When it gets melted you can see those butter spots and just keep stirring them in. It can take a bit of time to make sure everything is well mixed, and if you add too much butter it's gonna be greasy anyway. I never go over 3T per pound of base on butters for that reason.

[bells4shells]

Hey, thanks for the response! You know, I totally forgot that I had put some jojoba beads in also... and dumb me, I put it in too hot, so they all melted. I'm wondering if that's what it was instead of the butter? After it was all cooled, they were really tiny clear dots, but I wiped em and they stayed, so I don't know if it's the jojoba that resolidified a bit maybe? I didn't put much shea in. I did a batch that was 24 oz and only put in 1.2 oz of butter which was pry about 1TB 1/2.