- Reduces appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Loaded with skin loving antioxidants like flavanols
- Increases elasticity of skin
- Reduces appearance of scars
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Rich in antioxidants, omega 6, fatty acids, vitamin C, and magnesium
- Caffeine in chocolate helps reduce puffiness and visibly firms skin
Mini hand soaps I recently made and colored with organic cocoa powder.
I love this list of benefits and I personally love using natural colorants in my soap recipes. I feel good about adding ingredients that are natural and have healthy skin benefits. I use organic coca powder in my soaps not only for the skin benefits but when I want to achieve the color brown. Depending on how much you use, you can produce anywhere from a light to a deeply rich brown.
How to add chocolate to your soap batter.
There are many ways to add cocoa powder to your soap batter. I like adding it at trace, meaning after your lye is added and mixed into warmed butters and oils. I typically add 1-2 TBS of cocoa powder to a portion of my batter (depending on how dark I want that part of the batter to be), I then add this chocolate portion to my main batter. Sometimes I create swirls or add it as a line of chocolate.
Chocolate mini hand soaps added to the bottom of a loaf of Christmas soap.
Try adding cocoa powder directly to your batter if you want a grainier texture. It is not necessary to pre-mix your cocoa powder but if you want a perfectly smooth texture, you can add it to a carrier oil. Try adding 1 TBS of cocoa powder to 2 TBS of sweet almond oil or avocado oil. You will not only create a smooth texture but you will be adding to your super fat. Cocoa powder dissolves easily in a carrier oil and should not accelerate your soap recipe.
Reindeer soaps colored with chocolate. The ear and antler embeds, in addition to the top part of their faces were colored with cocoa powder.
How does chocolate feel and look like when using soap?
Chocolate will feel very silky in soap, meaning that when you get your bar wet, the lather will create big silky soft bubbles. I love the slippery feel that chocolate gives to soap and I especially love the way my skin feels after using it. If you use a lot of chocolate, you will get brown bubbles and brown lather. I do not mind this and hope that my customers do not either. To me, seeing the chocolate is knowing that it is there and that you are going to actually feel a skin benefit. This is the whole point of using it, right!?
Swirls of chocolate and rose kaolin clay contrast perfectly in this bar of Chocolate Wild handmade soap.
I have not tried adding chocolate to my lye water or melting a chocolate bar. If I do, I will let you know how it turns out.
If you have tried using chocolate in your soap recipe, how did it turn out? Let me know how you've added chocolate to your latest handmade recipe, I'd love to hear from you!