How to Make Triple Butter Soap For A Hard + Gentle Bar
This triple butter soap is made with a blend of shea butter, cocoa butter, and mango butter, which work together to create a bar that’s incredibly moisturizing and gentle on the skin. It’s also packed with coconut oil and olive oil, which help to create a rich lather that will leave your skin feeling clean and refreshed.
If you’re looking for a cold process soap recipe that lasts a long time in the shower and is super nourishing, this is the one.
Triple Butter Soap Recipe
Equipment
- safety equipment (goggles, gloves, mask)
Ingredients
- 4.07 ounces lye
- 10 ounces water
- 4 ounces cocoa butter
- 4 ounces shea butter
- 4 ounces mango butter
- 8 ounces coconut oil
- 9 ounces olive oil
- fragrance of your choice
- 1-2 teaspoons sodium lactate (optional, will make bar very hard)
Instructions
- Make lye water, set aside. Measure out the lye and the water in separate, non-reactive containers, using a digital scale. Combine the lye and the water and stir until dissolved. The lye solution will heat up as the result of a chemical reaction. Be careful of fumes, heat, and the corrosive solution. Set the cup aside to cool in a very safe place.
- Melt butters and oil, set aside. Measure out the oils in separate containers and place them in a pot.Melt over medium low heat until fully melted and about 130-140 degrees. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
- Check temperatures and prep. Check the temperature of both solutions after an hour or so. Before proceeding, they should be around 90-100 degrees. It is best if they are within ten degrees of each other. Add the sodium lactate, if using, to the cooled lye water. Before blending, have your soap mold, and any fragrance oil or color ready. I recommend mixing the color with a small amount of oils for easy blending. Put on gloves and googles.
- Blend To Trace. Pour the lye solution into the melted butters + oil and blend with a stick blender until you reach trace. Trace is reached when the soap forms a batter and the stick blender leaves a trail when dragged across the top of the pot. This recipe comes to trace very quickly.
- Add fragrance (optional). Once trace is reached, add any fragrance you are using. Work quickly!
- Fill mold. Pour soap batter into mold, using a spatula. This will harden too quickly for a swirl, but you can make a simple design on top using a spoon if you'd like.
- Cure. Place soap mold in fridge to prevent partial gel, or wrap in blankets and place in turned-off oven to force a full gel. Let cure for overnight to 24 hours, but no longer.
- Cut. Turn out the loaf of soap and slice into bars. Allow to bars to cure in a well-ventilated space for at least 2 weeks before using. This soap will harden quickly, but it will still last longer if you let it cure.
Notes
It’s gentle enough for everyday use, but it still feels luxurious and moisturizing. Plus, it lasts forever in the shower, which is a major bonus in my book. I made a big batch a few months ago, and I’m still working my way through it. And the best part? My family loves it too, and all ages can use it.
What You’ll Need to Make Triple Butter Soap
Here are a few tools and ingredients from this recipe that you’ll want to take a closer look at:
- Lye. This is the key ingredient in soap making. It’s what causes the chemical reaction (saponification) that turns oils and butters into soap. Lye can be found at some hardware stores or online, but it’s important to handle it with care as it’s extremely caustic.
- Digital scale. Measuring by weight is essential in soap-making to ensure the correct proportions of lye and oils. A digital scale will give you the most accurate measurements.
- Stick blender (immersion blender). This tool is a soapmaker’s best friend! It helps to quickly emulsify the oils and lye water, bringing the soap to trace much faster than stirring by hand.
- Soap mold. You can use a variety of molds for your soap, from simple loaf molds to more intricate designs. But for this recipe, use a simple loaf mold! Silicone molds are easy to use and release the soap cleanly.
This soap recipe isn’t too complicated, but these tools and ingredients will help you achieve the best results. Once you have everything you need, you’ll be well on your way to making beautiful, long-lasting soap.
Can I use other types of oils or butters in this recipe?
Feel free to experiment with different oils and butters. Check out my soap oils properties chart to help you pick appropriately. But be aware that at that point you are creating your own recipe. Run your recipe through a lye calculator to ensure you’re using the correct amount of lye for your chosen oils.
My soap batter traced really quickly! What did I do wrong?
Don’t worry, that’s perfectly normal! The high amount of butters in this recipe can cause it to accelerate trace. Just be sure to have your mold ready and work quickly to pour your soap before it gets too thick.
So there you have it – everything you need to know to make your own batch of luxurious triple butter soap. It may seem a little intimidating at first, but with the right tools, ingredients, and a little patience, you’ll be a soap-making pro in no time. And trust me, once you experience the creamy lather and gentle cleansing of this homemade soap, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought.
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.