Cocoa Butter Shampoo Bar (Shampoo Bar Base Recipe #4)

Cocoa Butter adds an extra rich moisturizing element that is great for drier hair.

Cocoa Butter Shampoo Bar (2lb/32oz batch):

Lye: 3.97oz

Water (distilled or purified is best): 9-11oz

Cocoa Butter: 3.2oz (10%)

Castor Oil: 4.48oz (14%)

Olive Oil: 24.32oz (76%)

For notes and instructions, see my Basic Supplies and Resources: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-supplies-and-resources/ and Basic Soap Making Instruction pages: https://truelovesoap.com/basic-soap-making-instructions

You will need to heat your oils a bit more in order to melt the cocoa butter, so allow for more cooling time for the oils.

A few variations to try

Cocoa Butter & Silk Shampoo Bar: Replace 1-2oz of distilled water with hydrolyzed silk aminos before adding the lye. Follow general soap making instructions. When soap has reached trace hand stir in a blend of .6oz spearmint essential oil, .5oz fir needle essential oil and .4 lemongrass essential oil. Pour into mold(s). Another option is to use powdered silk aminos instead of adding to the distilled water- add before the essential oils, sprinkle all around the soap batter so dry chunks of silk don’t form in the oil, then hand stir in.

Sage Oil & Tea Tree Shampoo Bar: 4-6 weeks in advance infuse olive oil with sage leaf. Follow general soap making instructions. Hand stir in 1.5oz of tea tree essential oil. Pour into mold(s).

Marshmallow & Dandelion Shampoo Bar: 4-6 weeks in advance infuse olive oil with a blend of marshmallow and dandelion root. Follow general soap making instructions. Add in 1.5oz essential oil blend if desired (I make this bar unscented).

Cambrian Clay & Himalayan Salt: Stir in 1-2 tbsp of Cambrian clay into distilled water before adding the lye. Follow general soap making instructions. Once soap has reached trace, hand stir in 16oz of Himalayan Salt. Scoop into mold(s), this batter will be quite thick once the salt is added, also good to have extra molds on hand as this also increases the volume of soap. Add in 1.5oz essential oil blend if desired (I make this bar unscented).

Or: Think of this base recipe as a blank canvas and create the bar combination that is perfect for you!