# shaving soap - bubble "staying power"



## martissoap (Jun 29, 2010)

Within the last year I have added shaving soap to my line - it's wonderful soap, I use it daily. I have had a few shave-guru's (guys who are totally into the handmade shaving soaps, mugs, and brushes big-time... and have used many kinds) let me know my soap is wonderful for the skin but doesn't keep the foam as long as they would like. 

Now... castor oil is the key to a foamy lather (rather than just bubbles). Any advice on creating a foamy lather that has longer "staying power?" Right now the recipe is about 20% castor... maybe just a higher percentage?

Thanks in advance.


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## IrishLass (Jun 29, 2010)

According to the die-hard mug-n-brush shaving dudes over on the Badger and Blade website (yes- there's a forum dedicated to shaving gurus!), a good shaving soap lather is one that will not collapse for at least 10 minutes. It's a great site to research when trying to formulate a good shaving soap.

I use 24% castor in mine, and on the advice of a fellow shaving soap maker, I add 10% ppo of vegetable glycerin to increase the longevity factor in my formula. I add it as an extra, add-on thing- i.e.- it's not included in my oil/fat calculations. 

Anyway, it seems to work quite well in my formula because my shaving lather lasts for _at least _15 minutes. I say 'at least' because..... well...... because it's very _boring_ watching and measuring lather by the clock, if you know what I mean  :wink: . So, when my lather showed absolutely no signs of petering out by the time 15 minutes had gone by (5 minutes _over_ what the gurus say is acceptable), I figured I had a winner and didn't bother watching any longer.  

I won't give away my exact formula, but I'm more than happy to share the 'bare bones' of it: 

My total liquid oil amount comes to 34% (that includes the castor amount). My hard fats, which include a good % of beef tallow, a combo of high stearic butters, and a tiny amount of coconut oil (I keep the CO under 10%), comes to a total of 66%. I then add the total oil/fat amount up and add 10% of vegetable glycerin ppo. 

I also make mine with coconut milk as part of my liquid amount and some clay.

When worked up properly as per the directions on the Badger and Blade site, my shaving lather is thick and foamy, just like it came out of a Barbasol can of shaving cream. My hubby loves it (he's a mug and brush dude, too.)

IrishLass


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## carebear (Jun 29, 2010)

IrishLass said:
			
		

> According to the die-hard mug-n-brush shaving dudes over on the Badger and Blade website (yes- there's a forum dedicated to shaving gurus!), a good shaving soap lather is one that will not collapse for at least 10 minutes. It's a great site to research when trying to formulate a good shaving soap.
> 
> I use 24% castor in mine, and on the advice of a fellow shaving soap maker, I add 10% ppo of vegetable glycerin to increase the longevity factor in my formula. I add it as an extra, add-on thing- i.e.- it's not included in my oil/fat calculations.
> 
> ...


thank you so much for sharing that information.


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## martissoap (Jun 29, 2010)

Glycerin at trace... that sounds very do-able.  I have a large jug as I use it when I make liquid soap - don't usually add to my CP because it's already a natural byproduct.   Someone recently told me adding sugar helps to stabalize the bubble as well.  Any type of sugar - honey, beer, regular, etc... (at trace or as in the case of beer, in the lye mixture).  I wonder if your coconut milk adds that same sugar to help stabalize...   perhaps I should try both.  My coconut oil is about 20% as well... could possibly drop it.  I add stearic acid (soybean derived) at trace to help harden - don't think that hurts.  

Well.. I feel like I have some avenues to explore now - glycerin and sugars... thank you so much!!


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## IrishLass (Jul 1, 2010)

You're welcome to both of you.   



> Glycerin at trace... that sounds very do-able. I have a large jug as I use it when I make liquid soap - don't usually add to my CP because it's already a natural byproduct.



I don't add glycerin to my regular CP either, but having that bit extra in a specialty soap like shaving soap really helps to achieve the goal of creating that long-lasting, stable lather which the shave meisters seek after.



> I wonder if your coconut milk adds that same sugar to help stabalize... perhaps I should try both.



I use both in my shaving soap. Well, actually, I use sugar in pretty much _all _my formulas as a given, but I specifically added the coconut milk to my shaving soap formula because of its dense, creamy qualities. From all that I read over on Badger & Blade, a good shaving soap lather seems to be one that is heavy on dense/creamy/stable/conditioning side, but very light on fluffy/bubbly side. In my other formulas, coconut milk does a really good job of adding a dense, creamy factor to my soaps. It even cuts down on my fluffy/bubbly lather unless I adjust my formula here and there to compensate, so it seemed a perfect candidate for me to use in my shaving soap formula (and it is!   ). 

That's also why I decided to go very light on the coconut oil. Too much fluffy/bubbly lather was the opposite of what I was after. I wanted to add only just enough CO to kinda prop up my creamy/stable lather in a subtle fashion-  to kinda have it act as a support to the creamy qualities without obnoxiously taking them over. 




> I add stearic acid (soybean derived) at trace to help harden - don't think that hurts.



Stearic acid is a _great_ addition to shaving soaps. I haven't used it as an additive myself, but I do make sure to use butters in my shaving formula that contain a very high stearic amount. The total stearic acid content in my shaving soap is 20%.

Have fun soaping!

IrishLass


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## Jaaret (Jul 3, 2010)

*Great Info*

Great information! I used all of my soaps for shaving but this thread has really inspired me to make a specialty shaving soap. I use castor oil in most of my batches and like how it affects the lather. I also add clay to my batches quite a bit, kaolin being my favorite as it disperses nicely. (Some clays have a tendency to clump.) 

The value of a good shaving brush can't be underestimated here. I purchased a silver-tipped badger brush that feels wonderful on my face and helps to whip the soap into a thick lather. The wooden handle has a magnet embedded in it allowing it to hang from a special holder with the brush bristles facing down for thorough drying. 

Apart from lathering, I think scent is important in a good shaving soap. I current favorite is a Cedar & Fir Needle EO soap I recently made. It smells very woodsy and masculine, refreshing and clean.  Peppermint & Spearmint is also a great combo to give me an instant lift in the morning.


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## Tai777 (Jan 28, 2011)

*10% Vegetable Glycerin - How to calculate?*

Hi Everyone,

Please tell me how do I calculate 10% vegetable glycerin to add to my shaving soap?

Thank you in advance.

Tai :roll:


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## AmyW (Jan 28, 2011)

I've been thinking about a shaving soap too, and have seen mention of some sort of clay to help with "slip", or help the blade glide over the skin smoothly?


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## soapy123 (Jul 11, 2011)

The clay your thinking of is more then likely bentonite clay


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## soapbuddy (Jul 11, 2011)

Since it has such a high amount of castor, how do you get it out of the mold?


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## Hazel (Jul 11, 2011)

*Re: 10% Vegetable Glycerin - How to calculate?*



			
				Tai777 said:
			
		

> Hi Everyone,
> 
> Please tell me how do I calculate 10% vegetable glycerin to add to my shaving soap?
> 
> ...



I believe you could just calculate 10% from your oils. So if you have 32 oz of oils, then you'd want to add 3.2 oz of glycerin. But I could be wrong since I've never made shaving soap.


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## IrishLass (Jul 12, 2011)

soapbuddy said:
			
		

> Since it has such a high amount of castor, how do you get it out of the mold?



Quite easily, actually- the high amount of stearic in my formula acts as a good counter-balance to the soft qualities of the castor. I make sure to gel, too (I don't think it would be so easy if I didn't gel). I have another formula (not a shaving bar) that uses 23% castor and 65% tallow with the remaining being olive oil, and it's as hard as a rock and very easy to unmold.  

For my shaving soaps I use PVC molds lined with freezer paper. When I go to unmold it I use a drinking glass that I have on hand that just so happens to have the perfect diameter to fit perfectly inside of my PVC pipe. I use it to give my soap a little push and out it pops from my pipe, like those push-up ice cream pops. Then I just peel off the freezer paper. For my regular bar soaps I use collapsible wood molds lined with heat resistant mylar 'greased' with a tiny amount of mineral oil. They peel off my soap nice and smooth.


IrishLass


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## soapbuddy (Jul 12, 2011)

IrishLass said:
			
		

> soapbuddy said:
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I tried a higher amount of stearic in my formula, but it made the soap seize. I guess there's a fine line between it working and seizing.


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## SideDoorSoaps (Jul 13, 2011)

> I tried a higher amount of stearic in my formula, but it made the soap seize. I guess there's a fine line between it working and seizing.



I use stearic acid in my shaving soap and it certainly traces immediately, not quite seize point though. The last batch we forgot to add the clay and fragrance and had to use the whip to get it all incorporated and then piped it into the mold because it didn't pour any more!


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## MegaSoap (Aug 24, 2012)

*Re: 10% Vegetable Glycerin - How to calculate?*



			
				Hazel said:
			
		

> Tai777 said:
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I'm a little confused about this too.  It said to use 10% PPO of glycerin, so if you had 32 oz of oils, wouldn't you use 6.4 oz of glycerin?  Is it 10% of total oils or 10% PPO?  Can anyone shed some light on this please?  Can't wait to try my first shaving soap!

ETA: 6.4 oz seems like a lot!


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## IrishLass (Aug 25, 2012)

*Re: 10% Vegetable Glycerin - How to calculate?*



			
				MegaSoap said:
			
		

> Hazel said:
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> 
> ...



I'm so sorry for the confusion. I think that was my fault   , but in any case, Hazel is correct. You would want to add 3.2 ounces of glycerin for 32 oz of oil. Just add up the total amount of oils, whether in ounces or in grams, and then multiply that number by 10%.

32 oz X 10% = 3.2 oz

IrishLass


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## MegaSoap (Aug 31, 2012)

*Re: 10% Vegetable Glycerin - How to calculate?*



			
				IrishLass said:
			
		

> I'm so sorry for the confusion. I think that was my fault   , but in any case, Hazel is correct. You would want to add 3.2 ounces of glycerin for 32 oz of oil. Just add up the total amount of oils, whether in ounces or in grams, and then multiply that number by 10%.
> 
> 32 oz X 10% = 3.2 oz
> 
> IrishLass



that's ok!  thank you so much Aislinn!


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