Cocoa Butter
Luxury hardening butter with a natural chocolate scent. Adds hardness and a creamy lather.
INCI: THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER
ButtersVeganPalm-FreeFeatured
Expert-reviewedPublished Mar 2026Updated Mar 2026
SAP (NaOH)
0.1370
SAP (KOH)
0.1930
Recommended Max
15%
Comedogenic
?/5
Cost Tier
Mid-Range
Cocoa Butter (THEOBROMA CACAO SEED BUTTER) is a soap-making butter used in handmade soap recipes. Its SAP values are 0.1370 for NaOH and 0.1930 for KOH, which helps dial in accurate lye amounts.
Typical usage stays below 15% of total oils. In practice, it is beginner-friendly in balanced formulas, vegan, palm-free.
Cocoa Butter has an NaOH SAP value of 0.13700 and a KOH SAP value of 0.19300, meaning approximately 137g of sodium hydroxide saponifies 1kg of this oil. It is typically used at 0–15.00% of total oil weight in cold process soap recipes.
Fatty Acid Profile
Palmitic (25.0%)
Stearic (35.0%)
Oleic (35.0%)
Linoleic (3.0%)
Soap Qualities Contributed
Hardness
61(29–54)
Cleansing
0(12–22)
Conditioning
38(44–69)
Bubbly Lather
0(14–46)
Creamy Lather
61(16–48)
Longevity
61(5–35)
Shaded areas show the ideal range for balanced soap. Values outside these ranges may still produce good soap depending on the overall formula.
Formulation Guidance
Recommended range:0% — 15%
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Recipes using Cocoa Butter
Triple Butter Luxury
An ultra-rich bar with three butters: shea, cocoa, and mango. This is a showcase bar — silky lather, incredible skin feel, and a beautiful hard bar. The 7% superfat leaves plenty of unsaponified butter on the skin.
Published Mar 19, 2026
Luxury Silk Bar
A rich, creamy bar loaded with butters for maximum skin feel. Cocoa butter and shea provide a silky, non-greasy lather. Coconut adds the cleansing power while olive keeps it gentle. A true luxury experience.
Published Mar 19, 2026
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Kpangnan Butter
Kpangnan Butter is a soap-making butter used in handmade soap that supports hardness and creamy lather while leans mild, conditioning, and skin-friendly. Typical usage stays below 30% of total oils. It is vegan and palm-free.
Kokum Butter
Exotic high-stearic butter. Adds extreme hardness and a non-greasy feel. Use to replace palm.
Shea Butter
Rich skin-loving butter. Adds conditioning and a creamy feel without being greasy.
Sal Butter
Indian butter with high stearic content. Makes very hard bars — great cocoa butter sub.