French soap (MdC) References at the end.

[Draugr Rekkr]

Okay so the recipe is super simple. This will be a small batch of about 100g of oil.

I don't have a crock pot or a double boiler so I improvised. I cranked up the heat and way I go.

It worked! Did I mention I've never done a HP soap.

Added the KOH and that happened fast.. I was going to use auto mixer but I didn't really have enough in there to do it properly so I went and hand whisked it. Came together really fast.!

I don't know why but it started to crumble..

The double boiler didn't work for this case so I through it straight in the pot (possible mistake?).

Heat goes back up and I'm keeping an eye on it for anything unusual (not that I would know what that would be so I'm just trying to make sure it doesn't burn). Can soap burn?

Repoured and looks a little better this time.

Few hours later and it works! Not as much slip as I expected but I just added a little bentonite clay since I use throw away blades for my straight razor.

One to two hours after whiping it up with a fake bristle brush. 12 hours and a shower later. Still good.

Conclusion:
There's some bubbles in the bars of soap now that it's set up but I don't really know if that's normal or how to remove them. Either way I think it was a success and I'm happy with how it turned out. I look forward to making it a bit better or at lest find a way to get the soap to come out less like cooked rice first time.

Special thanks goes to @IrishLass for linking the thread to me.

Thank you too @songwind for starting the thread as well as @DeeAnna for the inspiration for the double boiler.

References:

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-first-shaving-soap-is-a-success.34264/

P.s. If anyone has any ideas on what I did wrong and how I can fix it then please let me know.

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

For some reason the photos beyond the first on won't show.. But they show when I try to edit it.. Help?

 

[KiwiMoose]

For some reason the photos beyond the first on won't show.. But they show when I try to edit it.. Help?

If I click on the photos with crosses through them, it takes me to photo bucket where I can see them.

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

If I click on the photos with crosses through them, it takes me to photo bucket where I can see them.

That's at least something

 

[Obsidian]

When I try to view them on photobucket, it says the album is private.

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

When I try to view them on photobucket, it says the album is private.

Fixedish

 

[Obsidian]

Looks good but please, never use glass again. The lye can cause it to break. Use a stainless bowl instead or pick up a used crock pot at goodwill.

The stearic is the reason it moved so fast when you added the lye. Thats why recipes with stearic have to be HP.

Good that you cooked it again, it wasn't ready the first time you poured. It was probably still caustic.

You might be able to get more slip if you add some cocoa butter or lanolin after the cook. I use cocoa butter at 5% but would like to try lanolin.

Did you add any glycerin? Thats pretty important when using stearic. That might be another reason for reduced slip.

 

[IrishLass]

I don't have a crockpot either. Instead of cooking my shave soap on my stovetop, I cook it in the oven in a covered stainless steel pot, which is a lot better than on the stovetop because the heat is evenly distributed, although I do use my stovetop to melt my oils/fats first. Any oven-safe stainless steel pot will do provided it's big enough for your batch and also has an oven-safe lid. When I say 'oven-safe'- I mean that my stainless pot and lid don't have plastic handles on them that can't handle the temp that I set my oven to, which happens to be 200F/93C.

Before I start soaping, I first melt my stearic acid separately on its own in an oven-safe dish since it's such a bugger to melt. To do that, I set my oven to 250F/121C and get it to melting while I'm prepping my other ingredients.

Once my stearic is completely melted and everything is prepped and my other oils fats are melted (I melt my other oils/fats in my stainless soaping pot on the stovetop), I add my completely melted, hot stearic acid to the melted oils/fats in the soaping pot, keeping the soaping pot on the stovetop burner set on low to med-low for the time being, and I turn my oven down to 200F/93C.

While my soaping pot on the stovetop, I adjust the heat from low to med-low to bring the temp of my oils/stearic up to 200F/121C before adding my lyes to them (I use both NaOH and KOH in my shave soap). I've found the hotter temp helps to keep the stearic from re-solidifying too badly when I add my cooler lyes. Although my batter does turn a little rice-y when I add the lyes at first, a good hand-whisking for a few minutes on the heat gets everything nice and smooth. Once it's smooth and is at a med-thick trace, I cover my pot and put it in my oven for the cook. It usually takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours in the oven to completely saponify to zaplessness.

RE: crumblies: The crumblies are pretty common with hot process soap. Once hot processed soap hits the air, the outside parts that are exposed to the air harden up fast, forming hardened bits of soap. To keep them at a minimum, you have to work fast to get the batter into the mold before too much air gets to it.

RE: air bubbles: Air bubbles in the finished soap are also common because of how thick the batter gets- it's so easy to create little pockets of air in the thick batter when stirring. To reduce them, I bang my mold on the counter after pouring.


IrishLass

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

Looks good but please, never use glass again. The lye can cause it to break. Use a stainless bowl instead or pick up a used crock pot at goodwill.

The stearic is the reason it moved so fast when you added the lye. Thats why recipes with stearic have to be HP.

Good that you cooked it again, it wasn't ready the first time you poured. It was probably still caustic.

You might be able to get more slip if you add some cocoa butter or lanolin after the cook. I use cocoa butter at 5% but would like to try lanolin.

Did you add any glycerin? Thats pretty important when using stearic. That might be another reason for reduced slip.

You don't have to worry about me using glass again. I'm not going to be doing that anymore.

I have lanolin and Shea butter and I used them both in my current attempt but I added them at the start and added glycerin towards the end. I might make another mini batch and see if it make a difference adding them later on.

I don't have a crockpot either. Instead of cooking my shave soap on my stovetop, I cook it in the oven in a covered stainless steel pot, which is a lot better than on the stovetop because the heat is evenly distributed, although I do use my stovetop to melt my oils/fats first. Any oven-safe stainless steel pot will do provided it's big enough for your batch and also has an oven-safe lid. When I say 'oven-safe'- I mean that my stainless pot and lid don't have plastic handles on them that can't handle the temp that I set my oven to, which happens to be 200F/93C.

Before I start soaping, I first melt my stearic acid separately on its own in an oven-safe dish since it's such a bugger to melt. To do that, I set my oven to 250F/121C and get it to melting while I'm prepping my other ingredients.

Once my stearic is completely melted and everything is prepped and my other oils fats are melted (I melt my other oils/fats in my stainless soaping pot on the stovetop), I add my completely melted, hot stearic acid to the melted oils/fats in the soaping pot, keeping the soaping pot on the stovetop burner set on low to med-low for the time being, and I turn my oven down to 200F/93C.

While my soaping pot on the stovetop, I adjust the heat from low to med-low to bring the temp of my oils/stearic up to 200F/121C before adding my lyes to them (I use both NaOH and KOH in my shave soap). I've found the hotter temp helps to keep the stearic from re-solidifying too badly when I add my cooler lyes. Although my batter does turn a little rice-y when I add the lyes at first, a good hand-whisking for a few minutes on the heat gets everything nice and smooth. Once it's smooth and is at a med-thick trace, I cover my pot and put it in my oven for the cook. It usually takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours in the oven to completely saponify to zaplessness.

RE: crumblies: The crumblies are pretty common with hot process soap. Once hot processed soap hits the air, the outside parts that are exposed to the air harden up fast, forming hardened bits of soap. To keep them at a minimum, you have to work fast to get the batter into the mold before too much air gets to it.

RE: air bubbles: Air bubbles in the finished soap are also common because of how thick the batter gets- it's so easy to create little pockets of air in the thick batter when stirring. To reduce them, I bang my mold on the counter after pouring.


IrishLass

At the moment I don't have any pots that are oven safe and I don't think I'm working at a high enough volume to warrant getting something specific for soaping but I will get a crockpot once I get to a recipe I'm happy with.

I'm definitely going to keep what you told me in mind when I start making shaving soap in bigger volume though. Thank you kindly

 

[KristaY]

Your lather looks fantastic! Exactly what I shoot for when I make shaving soap. I add glycerin at 11% to my water, then add the lye. I also add 2.5% butter (shea or cocoa) & 2.5% lanolin mixed with scent after the cook. I've tried adding bentonite or kaolin clay and my testers didn't like it as much. They tell me the glide (less drag) is dandy with the glycerin and lanolin.

On another note, I love your pic! My hubby is a HUGE archery hunter so I showed it to him. He said you probably dream of hunting mule deer like he dreams of hunting red stags, lol. Lots of archery people in my world so I can appreciate it!

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

Your lather looks fantastic! Exactly what I shoot for when I make shaving soap. I add glycerin at 11% to my water, then add the lye. I also add 2.5% butter (shea or cocoa) & 2.5% lanolin mixed with scent after the cook. I've tried adding bentonite or kaolin clay and my testers didn't like it as much. They tell me the glide (less drag) is dandy with the glycerin and lanolin.

On another note, I love your pic! My hubby is a HUGE archery hunter so I showed it to him. He said you probably dream of hunting mule deer like he dreams of hunting red stags, lol. Lots of archery people in my world so I can appreciate it!

Thank you for the compliment! I haven't quite got the exact % of the extras that I add to any shaving soap that I might make but I will try and keep a better record. I do want to try and find a recipe of my own that doesn't need any bentonite clay.

I love archery. That's a huge compliment and I hope that one day I get to go hunting. I've never had the chance but it's definitely one of my goals in life. For now I'm just a panzy target archery

 

[IrishLass]

At the moment I don't have any pots that are oven safe and I don't think I'm working at a high enough volume to warrant getting something specific for soaping but I will get a crockpot once I get to a recipe I'm happy with.

I'm definitely going to keep what you told me in mind when I start making shaving soap in bigger volume though. Thank you kindly

For what it's worth, my shave soap batches are very small- just 1 pound each.


IrishLass

 

[Mobjack Bay]

My son has been asking me to make him shave soap, but I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. With the recipe, all the great tips and your review of the recipe, I feel like I can give it a try and have success. Thanks!!!

P.S. do most people use cupcake liners?

For what it's worth, my shave soap batches are very small- just 1 pound each.

The last bit of info I needed. Perfect!

 

[Obsidian]

P.S. do most people use cupcake liners?

I've never seen it before but it looks like it worked well. I pout mine directly into shaving bowls or small tupperware containers.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I've never seen it before but it looks like it worked well. I pout mine directly into shaving bowls or small tupperware containers.

Do shaving bowls come in a standard diameter? I guess I could ask my son if he has one of those!

 

[Obsidian]

I think around 3" but you can use any small bowl you like.

I like the little black plastic salsa bowls from the dollar store. They are probably 4" across.

I have a couple vintage wooden shave bowls if you wants pics with measurements.

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

For what it's worth, my shave soap batches are very small- just 1 pound each.


IrishLass

I'm going to try making it again and seeing if I cook it longer if I can get it to harden up a bit. The soap has gone a bit soft and my desiccant is not pulling any water so it must be something else....

My son has been asking me to make him shave soap, but I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. With the recipe, all the great tips and your review of the recipe, I feel like I can give it a try and have success. Thanks!!!

P.S. do most people use cupcake liners

Hey that's a massive compliment thank you and trust me when I say if I can do it then anyone can. I'm stupid like a fox!

I use the muffen tray because it's easy to experiment with.

Do shaving bowls come in a standard diameter? I guess I could ask my son if he has one of those!

I use the Orange bowl in the middle but you can use anything that you feel can whip up a good lather. All these are picked up from op shops.

Made some changes this time round. Slight ones. I'm trying the soap with 3% super fating instead of 5%.

Round 2 for MdC Shaving soap

It's curing now but I'm feeling good about it this time. I cut the double boiler and went strait to the pot. I used my multimeter to keep an eye on the temp of the oil. From there I waited for it to melt and get to about the same temp as the lye water would get to when freshly made. Then just baby sat it for about 40 mins until there was no zap. I'm leaving it in the fridge overnight and then I'm going to put it with my other soaps

 

[IrishLass]

I'm going to try making it again and seeing if I cook it longer if I can get it to harden up a bit. The soap has gone a bit soft and my desiccant is not pulling any water so it must be something else....

Using all KOH for your lye makes for a softer soap. I don't know what level of hardness you prefer, but you may want to try doing what I do with my shave soaps- I use 80% KOH and 20% NaOH- a dual lye shave soap. I've tried using all KOH in my shave soap, but my hubby told me they were too soft for his liking. He prefers the extra bit of firmness that comes from me adding that 20% bit of NaOH.

When I first unmold, my soap is soft and pliable, very much like softened clay, but yet firm enough to be cut into pucks that hold their shape. When fully cured and beyond, the pucks are still pliable, but no longer like softened clay. They cure out to become more like firm clay that needs to be really worked to soften it up. I really like this firm, but still somewhat pliable consistency, because instead of having to try find a special-sized shave mug to accommodate the size of my pucks, each puck is able to be pressed form-fittingly into my hubby's shave mug, as needed. My hubby's shave mug is actually just an old repurposed coffee mug.

For what it's worth, I pour/glop my batter into a 2-pound capacity, 2-piece silicone column mold from Brambleberry)


IrishLass

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

deleted by me

 

[Draugr Rekkr]

Using all KOH for your lye makes for a softer soap. I don't know what level of hardness you prefer, but you may want to try doing what I do with my shave soaps- I use 80% KOH and 20% NaOH- a dual lye shave soap. I've tried using all KOH in my shave soap, but my hubby told me they were too soft for his liking. He prefers the extra bit of firmness that comes from me adding that 20% bit of NaOH.

When I first unmold, my soap is soft and pliable, very much like softened clay, but yet firm enough to be cut into pucks that hold their shape. When fully cured and beyond, the pucks are still pliable, but no longer like softened clay. They cure out to become more like firm clay that needs to be really worked to soften it up. I really like this firm, but still somewhat pliable consistency, because instead of having to try find a special-sized shave mug to accommodate the size of my pucks, each puck is able to be pressed form-fittingly into my hubby's shave mug, as needed. My hubby's shave mug is actually just an old repurposed coffee mug.

For what it's worth, I pour/glop my batter into a 2-pound capacity, 2-piece silicone column mold from Brambleberry)


IrishLass

From what I understood that is how it's meant to be (KOH makes soft soap) but now I'm not entirely convinced it's that cut and dry. The all KOH recipe that I made seems to produce a much harder puck than what should be expected but still pliable like what you would expect in a dual lye 4-1 KOH - NaOH mix. I'm assuming the stearic acid plays a big roll. The thing that is really interesting is that there is another process happening after the saponification has completed and the water has evaporated. What it is I'm not sure but I think it's some kind of soft crystallisation process (I'm no chemist it's just what I'm calling what I'm seeing) which is why I'm not pulling any water off any of my soap even though it should still technically be drying right after the cooking process. I know that it needs to cure but I thought that just involved the rest of the KOH reacting with the rest of the left over fat. But if that was the case then it should fail the zap test in any of the soft spots but it doesn't, as I said before if it was drying then it would show up in my silica gel beads (They change colour when in contact with water). I probably should run some controlled tests to see what might be happening.. At lest at a superficial level.

I'm going to try a dual lye process soon so it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

Draugr <3