One thing that does surprise me, having read about it today on a particular shaving forum well known to us, is that Mama Bear's is so well loved. (The fact that it is touted as handmade is another matter)
My first shaving soap is a success!
- Thread starter songwind
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As much as I love Mama Bear her soaps are MP. But she has done a fantastic job with her marketing and building a loyal customer base.
FlybyStardancer
Well-Known Member
I finally did it! Made the shaving soap today! Did an 80/20 mix of KOH and NaOH. I ended up putting soap in two lotion sticks, and then made the rest into a very rough log to cool. Used my little sampler bottle of BB Tobacco and Bay Leaf to scent it.it was only about 1.7% of the oil weight, but that seems to be plenty so far.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Mama Bear soaps do have quite a following. I think the larger component of her success is timing - she was active selling soaps when there were not a lot available. Her scents are also very good. The fact of the matter is there's a lot of guys who do not demand a lot from their soaps. Maybe they have ultra gentle razors and blades, maybe they even use the mainstream multi-blade cartridges. If so and compared to canned goo a M&P is probably several steps towards nirvana. It's only when we push the envelope searching for a more perfect shave does a performant soap really shine.
The forums are also a component. On some shave forums, some ladies have demigod status, protected and venerated because of their support for the forum. It's hard to have a critical discussion about a soap when everyone loves the soaper for who she is.
It's very likely the same as vendors note/talk about with bar soap. Not a week goes by without someone lamenting how their soap is so carefully crafted, how much they care about their ingredients and process, and someone else maybe in the next booth draws a crowd with colors and packaging.
Some people would not know good soap if it bit them on the nose. For those people I am happy they are happy with a myriad of clear brightly colored slivers with boundless scents. There are demanding shavers though, and those shavers are not swayed.
ETA: I do need to be clear - the soaps from the "grand ladies" of that forum are good. When they were first made available they were among the best available to US shavers more than likely. They helped with a movement and they deserve their status.
The forums are also a component. On some shave forums, some ladies have demigod status, protected and venerated because of their support for the forum. It's hard to have a critical discussion about a soap when everyone loves the soaper for who she is.
It's very likely the same as vendors note/talk about with bar soap. Not a week goes by without someone lamenting how their soap is so carefully crafted, how much they care about their ingredients and process, and someone else maybe in the next booth draws a crowd with colors and packaging.
Some people would not know good soap if it bit them on the nose. For those people I am happy they are happy with a myriad of clear brightly colored slivers with boundless scents. There are demanding shavers though, and those shavers are not swayed.
ETA: I do need to be clear - the soaps from the "grand ladies" of that forum are good. When they were first made available they were among the best available to US shavers more than likely. They helped with a movement and they deserve their status.
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I've noticed that many seem to choose a favorite shaving soap by scent. I've also seen the overwhelming attention paid to color and shape with regular bar soaps. There seems to be very little attention paid to the attributes of different formulas. It's mostly praise for scent and color. All very odd to me, since I don't give a hoot about color and I actually prefer no added scent.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Exactly. That's why I do scentless or all the same scent when working on the formula.
Because scent is so important to people I do an unscented soap that can either be sold that way or custom scented to the customer's preference. I am sold out right now except for some Sandalwood that is leftover from a wholesale account that has now gone out of business.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Because I pay for it I scent it all the way I like.
I like the idea though. I don't think any US suppliers do that.
I feel the same about mama bears, its the scents that sell it. Ive been wetshaving for 6 or 7 years and have half heartedly tried to make my own soaps a few times. Luckily I have friends in France who know I love MdC and bring me a jar once a year. So Im spoiled with MdC and MWF. Those are the two I like.
My French friends are going on a year long sailing trip and I am out of MdC. Im going to give this recipe a shot tonite, one with leftover glycerin from the bio I make and one without. '
First HP attempt!
My French friends are going on a year long sailing trip and I am out of MdC. Im going to give this recipe a shot tonite, one with leftover glycerin from the bio I make and one without. '
First HP attempt!
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Good luck!
Whoa.....
So I did an 8oz batch in the two stage saponification as DeeAnna did on page of this thread. I lost my thermometer so instead of a double boiler I put enough almost boiling water to fill my crock pot about an inch and put a pyrex bowl with the coconut oil in that. Then pretty much followed DeeAnnas instructions.
I used glycerin that my buddy has leftover from his biodiesel making and I at this point..... an hour after the cook..... I couldnt be more impressed.
I scooped the soap into two bowls and added 2.5 grams of Thieves Oil EO blend that a 10 year old neighbor made for me.
I couldnt wait because I get impatient. So I loaded my go to Vie Long horsehair brush just to see if anything would happen
It stayed like that for 30 min until I cleaned up.
Im going tweak a bit and Id really like to try it without glycerin. Im so glad I joined this site and tried my first HP!
So I did an 8oz batch in the two stage saponification as DeeAnna did on page of this thread. I lost my thermometer so instead of a double boiler I put enough almost boiling water to fill my crock pot about an inch and put a pyrex bowl with the coconut oil in that. Then pretty much followed DeeAnnas instructions.
I used glycerin that my buddy has leftover from his biodiesel making and I at this point..... an hour after the cook..... I couldnt be more impressed.
I scooped the soap into two bowls and added 2.5 grams of Thieves Oil EO blend that a 10 year old neighbor made for me.
I couldnt wait because I get impatient. So I loaded my go to Vie Long horsehair brush just to see if anything would happen
It stayed like that for 30 min until I cleaned up.
Im going tweak a bit and Id really like to try it without glycerin. Im so glad I joined this site and tried my first HP!
Looks good. If you make it without glycerine, don't forget to put something else in to make up for it
That is very impressive!
Shaved with it this morning, the unscented batch. Im sure it will only improve with time but it was still a great shave. A tad drying, could be the low quality glycerin from the biodiesel. Ill try a few batches with lanolin and castor and some store bought glycerin. Pretty damn excited.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
Drying on the skin, or dry on the shave? This will take a bit more water than you might be used to. Glycerin is a humectant and needs a bit of water to really behave.
Do experiment for yourself, but I don;t think you will find you need/want castor in the long run.
I always use my batch the next day, I hold onto most of the soap I give away at least a week. At a month I think this stuff is as good as it will get (or reasonably speaking ... the gains from aging drop way off after a while)
It was drying on the skin, just barely. I washed my face with it. I rarely shave with glycerin soaps, so thank you for the tips on the water.
Im doing a full control batch today with regular glycerin and then a lanolin attempt. I really like lanolin so Im hoping for that. Castor Im not attached to at all.
Gonna try adding some tallow as well.
Thanks all
Im doing a full control batch today with regular glycerin and then a lanolin attempt. I really like lanolin so Im hoping for that. Castor Im not attached to at all.
Gonna try adding some tallow as well.
Thanks all
Even though this has 15% added glycerine, it is not a glycerine soap as such - glycerine soap is one from a melt and pour base (such as mama bear) whereas these are just soaps with added glycerine.
As Lee said, these often take more water than one would think. My first batch had just 7% added glycerine and when I bumped it up to 15% I found that it took a lot more water to get it working well
As Lee said, these often take more water than one would think. My first batch had just 7% added glycerine and when I bumped it up to 15% I found that it took a lot more water to get it working well
So now I have enough soap for a at least two years....
I made a batch with some beef tallow that looks to be lathering well so far.
And a batch with lanolin that feels much slicker in my hand. Have to wait for my beard to grow in a bit to test it.
AND!!! The original NaOH lard based soap that seized on me and lead me to this site was rebatched yesterday. Today it lathered up very well.
HP is really fun and fast, not sure why it took me so long to try it out.
Thanks all.
I made a batch with some beef tallow that looks to be lathering well so far.
And a batch with lanolin that feels much slicker in my hand. Have to wait for my beard to grow in a bit to test it.
AND!!! The original NaOH lard based soap that seized on me and lead me to this site was rebatched yesterday. Today it lathered up very well.
HP is really fun and fast, not sure why it took me so long to try it out.
Thanks all.
LBussy
Well-Known Member
When making shave soap I do 1 lb batches and get 4 good sized tins.
When developing my recipe I did 100g batches in small screw-top food storage containers set in a pan of simmering water. I had to measure pretty accurately, but it was a great way to test different recipes and the containers then doubled as containers for the soap.
boyago
Well-Known Member
For me, waiting for beard growth is one of the more frustrating parts of tuning in a recipe. It's easy to pump out a few soaps a day but wanting to shave a few times with each to give em a chance before getting back to cooking was pretty frustrating.
