# Shaving soap



## deighturp (Feb 3, 2018)

Hello all, bad news for me and my shaving soap.  After making my shaving soap and letting it cure, and then packing it up to look nice and pretty.  I passed it out as Christmas gifts.  Now starting to get feed back.  It doesn't lather that well.  I've noticed it my self (in using it) but maybe I was just hoping it was just me.  I can apply it to my face and by the time I've finished that side the lather on the other side is almost all gone.  OK the question is; can I do anything with the bars I have left?  Like re-batch and add more something to make the lather last longer?


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## IrishLass (Feb 3, 2018)

Can you tell us more about your formula?


IrishLass


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## deighturp (Feb 5, 2018)

Not sure why you need the formula, but here it is.  


9.6 oz. Coconut oil
9.6 oz. Palm oil
3.2 oz. Castor oil
4.8 oz. Sunflower oil
3.2 oz. Olive oil
1.6 oz. Cocoa butter
4.6 oz. Lye (about a 5% discount)
9.2 oz. water
2 Tbs. of Bentonite Clay
1 to 1.4 oz. of fragrance or essential oil


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## SudsanSoaps (Feb 5, 2018)

Off the top of my head I think you want a 50%-65% stearic/palmitic content for a good shave soap. 

This is the thread a lot of people share when someone wonders about shave soap. It’s a long thread but has a lot of good information. My first shaving soap is a success!
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/index.php?threads/My-first-shaving-soap-is-a-success!.34264/


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## shunt2011 (Feb 5, 2018)

You need some steric acid in your soap at at least 50%. That’s what makes lather last and stable. Are you using NAOH or KOH.  

Reading the post above will give great insight on great shave soap.  Also, most don’t add clay to their shave soap. It’s not really needed ore recommended by many.  I’ve never used it in shave soap after a lot of research.


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## IrishLass (Feb 5, 2018)

deighturp said:


> Not sure why you need the formula, but here it is.
> 
> 
> 9.6 oz. Coconut oil
> ...



Thank you!   I asked about your formula because it is 100% impossible to troubleshoot why a soap is behaving badly without knowing the formula. Specific amounts of different oils/fats, you see, play a very crucial role in how a soap performs. For example, adding too much coconut oil to a shave soap can add lots of bubbly lather, but without the addition of enough high stearic/palmitic fats to act as a supporting balance to all the bubbly lather from the coconut oil, the overall lather won't be very long-lasting....which looks exactly like what is going on in your soap, according your formula.

Your formula as-is would make a great general-purpose bath soap, but for a great shave soap which demands long-lasting lather, good protection/cushion and slip, you'll need to have a lot more stearic/palmitic in it. I would shoot for bringing your total stearic/palmitic content (as per the fatty acid profile) up to _at least_ a combined total of 35%.

Hopefully, more of our self-described crazy, wet-shaving dudes will chime in soon with their advice.


IrishLass


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## psfred (Feb 6, 2018)

I agree with IrishLass.  My personal shave soap recipes start with 40 or 50% Stearic acid or soy wax, with 30 to 40% lard or tallow and 10% coconut oil, then lanolin, cocoa butter, and shea butter in some combination for the remaining 10%.  You also need 60% KOH to make it easy to lather.

All that said, as long as the soap is slick on the skin, it will work for shaving.  It just won't make nice lasting lather for shaving, and that means you may need to re-apply lather repeatedly to get the job done.

Look for a total of stearic and palmitic acids of 50% or more of the fatty acids -- with the KOH this will produce a soap with very good lather that lasts indefinitely.

I would avoid olive oil and anything with a similar fatty acid profile, those unsaturated fatty acids that make nice bath soap tend to kill shaving lather.


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## deighturp (Feb 9, 2018)

Thanks for the answers for my next batch I will take that all in to consideration.  But, the question is; can I do anything with the bars I have left? Like re-batch and add more something to make the lather last longer?


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## toxikon (Feb 9, 2018)

Judging by your recipe, you made a general-use bar soap, not a shaving soap. So I'd just use up the remaining bars as body/face soap. Definitely take a read through that long shaving soap thread, you can make a beautiful soft shaving puck with those recipes.


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## psfred (Feb 10, 2018)

You could re-batch with a equal amount of stearic acid and the appropriate amount of lye for the stearic acid, but then you are going to have a huge amount of maybe good maybe not shave soap.  

I second the idea of using it for bath soap and trying again.  We all have batches of soap that don't turn out quite like we intended, sometimes very much unlike what we intended, and it's not always possible to "convert" them to the desired product.


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 11, 2018)

Quite by accident, I think I found your recipe on David Fisher's Site (The Spruce):

https://www.thespruce.com/shaving-soap-recipe-517138

This is a real head-scratcher! LOL I've found David Fisher's recipes to be tried & true, so I'm wondering if the lather would improve with a longer cure? Also, IME, this type of shaving soap needs a period of "breaking in" and will improve over time. Just out of curiosity, did you make "pucks" to fit mugs?



deighturp said:


> ...can I do anything with the bars I have left?  Like re-batch and add more something to make the lather last longer?


You can. You need to grate up the soap; weigh into a 8-cup Pyrex; add 1 ounce water per 24 oz. wt. gratings; stir gratings with a gloved hand to wet all the pieces. Nuke 5 minutes at #5 (half power) or 10 minutes at #3 (Defrost). Allow to rest in the microwave for 5 minutes. (Repeat if needed.) Then, if it's sufficiently molten, add an ounce of Noxema (Original) Cream per 24 oz wt. of gratings. Give it a good stir for 1 full minute, then mold up.

Noxema (Original) Cream Ingredients: Stearic Acid, Linseed Oil and Soybean Oil, etc. (antibacterial humectants to seal moisture in),

http://smartlabel.noxzema.com/product/2739155/nonFoodIngredients

ETA: Don't take your eyes off the Pyrex while melting in the microwave... you want the soap to melt without bubbling up too much. If the soap starts rising , turn the MW off and let the soap rest before giving it another shot.

HTH


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## earlene (Feb 11, 2018)

If you do use a microwave oven, be very cautious.  They are not all created equal and not all of them have all those extra lower power settings.  If you've never melted soap in one, start with shorter times settings.  I also find that covering the container with clear plastic wrap helps keep the soap fluid better than if left uncovered while micro-waving.

*Zany*, I have not heard of using _Noxzema_ for re-batching soap before.  That's interesting.  Where did you learn this technique?  It did not come up in a Google search when I looked out of curiosity.


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## Zany_in_CO (Feb 11, 2018)

*Earlene*, It's my "secret ingredient"! LOL I came up with it in 2007 when I first made shaving soap for DH when his favorite aerosol Noxema Shaving Creme was no longer available. My thought was to use it for that Noxema fragrance.  I tweaked my formula once a year for 3 years until it was just right. DH is a wet shaver. From the first use, this shave soap gave him a close shave; he no longer comes down to breakfast with tissue bits on his face; no more Five O'Clock Shadow (heavy beard); and he can shave his whole face without having to rinse his shaver more than once. It's a good thing.

I use it too. When I shared a puck with a soaping buddy, she said, _"I don't have to shave my legs as often!"_ To which I replied, _"Me either! I'm glad you mentioned that. I thought it was just my imagination!"
_
I suggested Noxema for D's shaving soap cuz my shave soap contains similar ingredients:

Water, Aloe Vera Extract (soothing)
Coconut Oil (lather & hardness)
Olive Oil (holds moisture close to skin)
Palm Oil (high oleic and palmitc acids)
Avocado Oil (close shave) 
Castor Oil (lather & conditioning)
Cocoa Butter (moisturizer; skin softener)
Bentonite Clay (slickery; smooth glide)
Noxema (Original) Cream: Stearic Acid, Linseed Oil and Soybean Oil (antibacterial humectants to seal moisture in)
Vitamin E (skin loving antioxidant)
Fragrance.

*Deighturp:* Sorry for the hijack


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## earlene (Feb 11, 2018)

Zany_in_CO said:


> *Earlene*, It's my "secret ingredient"! LOL I came up with it in 2007 when I first made shaving soap for DH ...



It always catches my eye when someone mentions _Noxzema_ because it's all I ever use to wash my face.  I even posted about it here when it became so hard to find in stores where I live.  I do not use the cold cream variety, though.  I use the lotion-type variety, of which there are more than one formula, but anyway.  It always catches my eye.  BTW, there is a 'Z' in Noxzema.  I had to force myself to learn to spell it correctly because leaving out that 'z' is just too easy.

Anyway, it's great you found a way to create a shaving soap that you and your DH love so much.


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## deighturp (Feb 15, 2018)

This is a real head-scratcher! LOL I've found David Fisher's recipes to be tried & true, so I'm wondering if the lather would improve with a longer cure? Also, IME, this type of shaving soap needs a period of "breaking in" and will improve over time. Just out of curiosity, did you make "pucks" to fit mugs?

The "shaving soap" I made was in September and I used 3" PVC pipe.  They made nice 'pucks' to fix in mugs and look real nice too.  Just wish they produced better lather.  I think I will try and make completely new shaving soap and use this stuff as bath soap.


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