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Keeping shea butter balm homogonized and preventing grains - would a solubilizer work?
I’ve been having issues keeping grains out of a shea butter balm I have. I’ve made sure everything is melted and the mixture is thoroughly homogenized, and I cool it quickly. At first it’s great, and then slowly grains form from the shea butter.
Would a solubilizer or emulsifier prevent this? My first instinct is no, since there’s no water in this formula. If not, is there any other ingredient that could help keep the balm stable other than more wax?
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8 Replies
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Also, does anyone have experience with Softisan 378 for this purpose? I already use cera bellina in the formula, so that’s out of the runnings.
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I have not tested this, but someone said elsewhere that rapid cool down was key.
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You can try rapid cool down, or keep the heating temperature of the shea butter below 45oC.
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Switch to Kpangnan.
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@dmh0023 You need to temper your butters before manufacture. You can warm them at aprox. 60C for 15-20 min, and then add them to the process.
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I’ve used Softisan and yes I think it helps slightly. Softisan is itself grainy which is quite weird. But graininess doesn’t come through after melter and cooled.
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emma1985 said:I’ve used Softisan and yes I think it helps slightly. Softisan is itself grainy which is quite weird. But graininess doesn’t come through after melter and cooled.
Hi! I wanted to give everyone an update on this. I added in softisan as well as tempering the shea butter and haven’t had any issues with graininess since. I left a jar of the balm out in the sun repeatedly over the course of a couple weeks and it started to develop tiny ones, but for regular use I think it’s great. Thank you all so much for the help.
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Hi! I’m having similar issues with tallow and was hoping that adding some softisan would help with this issue. What ratios did you end up using for this purpose? I’ve seen recommendations ranging from 0.1% to 10% online. Thanks!
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