Fireside
Well-Known Member
Thanks Ali! You don't mind if I call you Ali do you? Now I have to go find some shaving brushes. I'm sure there's something on here about that.
Glycerin ("or lack thereof") in dual lye shaving soap
- Thread starter Fireside
- Start date
Help Support Soapmaking Forum:
I ordered a couple of these to go with the shaving soaps that were gifts to several men in the family. I also kept one for shaving my own legs. After 2.5 years, it is a little thinner from loss of bristles here and there, but it still works very well. Of course, this is the only shaving brush I've ever owned, so maybe it's actually terrible, lol. But it works well enough for my needs. My SIL still uses his daily, as well.
Fireside
Well-Known Member
Thanks again Ali! You've been a tremendous help during this inaugural shaving soap endeavor of mine. They look like great brushes. If they're good enough for British royalty, they're good enough for me. And I like that the bristles aren't made from animals. I was hoping shaving brushes would be a little less expensive but as a friend's dad (an Air Force colonel stationed in Germany) said to me a long time ago when I was reluctant to order an expensive menu item for a meal he was paying for, "Macht nichts. It's only money."
Wow, I didn't remember that they were so expensive, and it's even $2 less now than what I paid for them. But I do remember that I searched for a long time to find something that wasn't in the $150+ range, nor in the $5-going-to-fall-apart range. Hopefully they last well for you.
Last edited:
I have a decent collection of shaving brushes, and here's what - the one I love and use the most is of the '$5-going-to-fall-apart' range. It gives me the perfect combination of comfortable to the hand design and soft synthetic bristles that feel good on the skin, while still being able to lather hard soap pucks properly. Got it from a local drug store and been using it for years now, still going strong. I also have expensive ones I just don't like using for one reason or another. And, of course - cheap ones that are not quite good. It's all about luck, I guess - there are plenty of options nowadays
Fireside
Well-Known Member
I ended up getting a bunch of "$5-[potentially]-going-to-fall-apart" brushes ($5.99, actually, plus tax) because I don't even know if the people I'm going to give this soap to will like it or will like shaving in this manner. If they do end up liking the soap and they don't like the brush I included or if it ends up falling apart, they can replace it with a better brush. I always read the one star reviews for a product before I read the five star reviews to see what people who really hated something hated about it. I also take one star reviews with a grain of salt. By far most of the reviews for the brush I chose were four and five star so I went with that and hope I get lucky (they don't arrive until Monday). If my guy ends up liking my soap and using a brush I might splurge and get him a Royal Family brush. Thanks for your input, Ekuzo; it confirms that inexpensive doesn't always mean cheap.
That sounds great! Can you share a link?
Fireside
Well-Known Member
Thank you!! I've added that to my Amazon list so that when my current one does get too raggedy, or if I make more shaving soap gifts, I can find it later. 
Exactly - that, and also YMMV applies to almost everything
Fireside
Well-Known Member
Once they arrive and I'll let you know if they seem worth the $5.95 price tag.
I was going to ask what "YMMV" means but I just looked it up. You're right...I hope my brushes come from a choice batch and produce good "mileage."
I also try to read both good and bad reviews! The browser I use for most shopping is Firefox, and they recently provided an optional ai tool for scanning and evaluating reviews that works on Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. I've just left it open so it appears to the side whenever I'm on Amazon. It gives a score of A through F to indicate mostly reliable to mostly unreliable (i.e., fake) reviews. However, as the Firefox description points out, an F grade does NOT mean that a product is bad, just that a majority of the reviews are suspicious! I find it handy as more info is always helpful. Here is a screenshot of the Review Checker for the brushes you linked (which again, does not mean that the brushes are poor quality at all!):
Fireside
Well-Known Member
The brushes arrived. Only six of the eight that I ordered came but I got that resolved. The one I tested seems pretty substantial. Of course, this being the first shaving brush I have ever handled doesn't give me anything to compare it to. But I did a lot of lathering with it and no bristles have fallen out yet. The handle feels solid. I even applied some of my soap to my face with it to see if the bristles felt rough, which I maybe shouldn't have done because the soap is only four days old and now my face feels a little warm but, you know...science. The bristles do not feel rough on the face. Here is a picture of the brush with some of my soap on it and the box it came in:
My initial assessment: they are worth the $5.95 price tag.
My initial assessment: they are worth the $5.95 price tag.
The lather looks quite good for four-day-old shave soap. Thank you for the feedback on the brush, too!
Sorbitol is a great additive for bubbles also. I reduce the glycerin (to 10% oil weight) and add 3% sorbitol to oil weight.
I'm allergic to Shea but love Kokum, Illipe, Mango and Cupuacu butters.
I did make a shave soap once w/o the stearic and raised the butters quite high and couldn't tell the diff between the two, but it ends up being more expensive.
Lowering coconut and adding Mango can give you a creamier bubble also. And by using more hard butters, you can also up some nice oils a little to balance the hardness, which will also improve the creaminess. I like Avocado (infused), Pumpkin Seed and Jojoba (also infused).
You can have fun with additives, tussah silk (added to lye), allantoin [added to sodiums (citrate/gluc) and sorbitol after cook],
And lastly, sodium citrate (1% oil weight) and sodium gluconate (0.5% oil weight) can reduce the scum that forms from the lather on sinks.
I'm allergic to Shea but love Kokum, Illipe, Mango and Cupuacu butters.
I did make a shave soap once w/o the stearic and raised the butters quite high and couldn't tell the diff between the two, but it ends up being more expensive.
Lowering coconut and adding Mango can give you a creamier bubble also. And by using more hard butters, you can also up some nice oils a little to balance the hardness, which will also improve the creaminess. I like Avocado (infused), Pumpkin Seed and Jojoba (also infused).
You can have fun with additives, tussah silk (added to lye), allantoin [added to sodiums (citrate/gluc) and sorbitol after cook],
And lastly, sodium citrate (1% oil weight) and sodium gluconate (0.5% oil weight) can reduce the scum that forms from the lather on sinks.
Fireside
Well-Known Member
Great tips! If I do this again, I'll consider them. Question: what do you mean by "(infused)" avocado and jojoba oil?
I make a lot of skincare products for ppl with eczema.
A super easy and low cost way to get the benefits of healing plants is to infuse them in the oils you use.
You can fill a clean glass jar with dried chamomile, and calendula flowers, and let them infuse for a few weeks (or for a few hours in a warm oven if you don't have the time). Then strain out the matter and you have their benefits in the oil! There are lots of how-tos online.
You can do this with Chamomile, Calendula, Helichrysum, Comfrey Root and Leaves, Lemon Balm.. the list is endless!
Some ppl will say that the benefits will eaten up by the lye but I like to think some of them stay and they give great label appeal.
This also works for infusing natural colors in the oil you use also.
A super easy and low cost way to get the benefits of healing plants is to infuse them in the oils you use.
You can fill a clean glass jar with dried chamomile, and calendula flowers, and let them infuse for a few weeks (or for a few hours in a warm oven if you don't have the time). Then strain out the matter and you have their benefits in the oil! There are lots of how-tos online.
You can do this with Chamomile, Calendula, Helichrysum, Comfrey Root and Leaves, Lemon Balm.. the list is endless!
Some ppl will say that the benefits will eaten up by the lye but I like to think some of them stay and they give great label appeal.
This also works for infusing natural colors in the oil you use also.
Fireside
Well-Known Member
That's what I thought you meant. I have infused olive oil with calendula. I thought for your shaving soap you maybe infused with something specific to the shaving soap. It sounds like anything would work.
Yep, that's what's awesome about it! Calendula and Chamomile are my go-tos! I love infusing comfrey into my Avocado oil for shave soap b/c it help with healing cuts and other herbs/plants offer so many benefits also!
