Yep, we’re hosting ANOTHER swap! We like to swap soap and bath goodies, so if you do too (and you’re a nice person), we’d love for you to join us. Our community is small, cozy and a great place to interact with genuinely nice folk.  Some boards (the swap board included) are only viewable by registered members.

NEA

I’m in the market for 5lbs of good quality shea butter. The soap I made below is great looking, but it has an “off” smell, and it’s all because of the…shea. I thought unrefined shea had a seriously long shelf life (stored covered and reasonably cool). Guess I was wrong.

Of course there’s Agbanga Karite. I’ve never used their shea, but I their virgin palm kernel oil (it’s real “nutty”, though) and their virgin coconut oil. Never got to their shea.

I came across another company, Shea Radiance. I was very impressed with the site, and the friendliness of the owner. I emailed the company, just to say “Hi!”, and Funlayo Alabi sent a reply, within a half hour. She’s a warm sista, and I’d the opportunity to do business with her. So, I shall.

NEA

Can’t hide my for Coconut Oil! But I wasn’t feelin the 100% Coconut Oil/20% superfat soap. It was just…okay, and certainly not as good as some of my other soap (to me, anyway) recipes.

So, here’s my take on the standard: 70% Organic Coconut Oil, 15% Hempseed Oil, and 15% Unrefined Shea — 33% lye concentration. 15% superfat. It was cut 8 hours after pour — and I needed a little force to get the blade all the way down.

I used a square cardboard box with a lid, for a mold. This batch was 1lb of oils (I’ve never done a batch that small before). It’s unscented, with no colorant added.

NEA