My first shaving soap is a success!

[DeeAnna]

I typically use 3% of the lavender/rosemary/mint blend. I used a clove/orange blend with a lighter hand for safety's sake.

 

[toxikon]

Toxikon, my favorite handwashing soap contains egg yolks. My SIL also says it is her favorite of my soap recipes for handwashing as well. It does have a smooth and silky feeling lather. There is something about it that just feels luxurious on my hands, so I can imagine it would have a similar feel to the skin that requires shaving.

I'd love to know how it turns out in a shaving soap.

I did end up using a tempered egg yolk in my shaving soap batch! I have no comparison, but the lather is lovely. Once I get a proper shave brush (I'm just using a makeup brush right now lol) I will post a photo of the soap and the lather!

 

[DeeAnna]

Tisserand in Essential Oil Safety reports that bog myrtle (myrica gale) has no known hazards and no particular contraindications about its use. So it appears to be reasonably safe to use as an essential oil goes.

 

[DanielCoffey]

Thanks for looking that up.

I know the local CP soap shop in Scotland uses it in their hand-soaps when they can get it. Part of their business model is to source oils locally so at the moment it is off the menu so to speak, but we can easily get it online from elsewhere.

 

[Dahila]

Has anyone added activated charcoal to their soap? I was just browsing on West Coast shaving and saw that there was an activated charcoal soap but, it's sold out. I am wondering if the charcoal dulls the blade at all.

Think what activated charcoal brings to soap, and you will get your answer. I do not think it will be suitable for shaving bar

 

[shunt2011]

Has anyone added activated charcoal to their soap? I was just browsing on West Coast shaving and saw that there was an activated charcoal soap but, it's sold out. I am wondering if the charcoal dulls the blade at all.

I don't think I'd add charcoal to my shave soap either. It can be a bit gritty and it just doesn't need it. (my opinion only).

 

[earlene]

AC is supposed to be insoluble in water and organic solvents, but you could heat the water & partially dissolve it and then filter out the precipitate, although I am not sure what purpose that would serve in shaving soap.

 

[DeeAnna]

Activated carbon is insoluble -- that means it won't dissolve. If you put AC in water, hot or cold, you'll probably see the water will become darker, but that's just because the finest particles won't settle and will remain suspended in the water. Not the same thing as solubility.

 

[earlene]

Activated carbon is insoluble -- that means it won't dissolve. If you put AC in water, hot or cold, you'll probably see the water will become darker, but that's just because the finest particles won't settle and will remain suspended in the water. Not the same thing as solubility.

Good to have that verified since we do use it for poison absorption. I was confused by something I read about an experiment someone tried using AC that they thought had dissolved. The explanation was that it had formed a colloidal that precipitated out with filter paper. (I may not be explaining this as well as could be.) But apparently the size of the filter paper made a difference and when it was a fine enough filter, the solution came out totally clear, which I expect means that no AC was actually dissolved and that the person had simply not interpreted the results correctly in their earlier experiment.

 

[DanielCoffey]

I want to offer a huge thanks to everyone that has contributed to this thread over the years. I have ploughed through the posts, scribbled notes, bought a crockpot and made a batch today.

So far as I can tell just from staring at it in its little pots as it cools, it worked perfectly. Zapless of course, firming up as it gets cooler and deliciously scented (DeeAnna's recommended Lavender/Rosemary/Wild Mint blend).

I settled on 45% Stearic Acid, 25% Coconut Oil, 20% Tallow, 5% Lanolin, 5% Shea Butter, 5% super-fatted, 11% Glycerin and just KOH of course. The only additive was 0.5% tetrasodium EDTA.

Based on just 400g of oils, the total batch weight was 722g and it yielded 670g of product after water loss in the crock pot. It is certainly firm once cooled and I have no idea yet how it will lather. I have promised to set it aside for a week to settle.

I will of course post pictures and an opinion of its first shave.

 

[DeeAnna]

A true solution cannot be separated by simple filtration, so right there is a clue that the experimenter was not dealing with activated carbon as a solution. Certain types of solid materials such as AC can become colloidal under the right circumstances, however.

A colloid is not a solution, like sugar dissolved in water is a solution. You can think of it instead as a type of emulsion, where particles or droplets of one material are suspended in another. A colloid can be composed of liquids, gases, or even solids. A colloid can form due to small particle size and/or weak chemical or electrical charges on the material(s) involved. It can be a real challenge to separate a colloid from the liquid in which the colloid is suspended, which I think is probably what the experimenter was struggling with.

I used to work in an industrial wastewater treatment plant where we routinely flocculated colloidal solids (forced them to clump into larger chunks) so they would settle out of our waste water to make it cleaner. After the initial stages of cleaning, we passed the wastewater through an activated carbon bed to remove even more chemicals. So I have some familiarity with this kind of thing.

Good to have that verified since we do use it for poison absorption. I was confused by something I read about an experiment someone tried using AC that they thought had dissolved. The explanation was that it had formed a colloidal that precipitated out with filter paper. (I may not be explaining this as well as could be.) But apparently the size of the filter paper made a difference and when it was a fine enough filter, the solution came out totally clear, which I expect means that no AC was actually dissolved and that the person had simply not interpreted the results correctly in their earlier experiment.

 

[dudeitsashley]

Here is my batch! I used the original recipe but added 5% mango butter and lowered the coconut oil. This is my fiancé's favorite recipe so far.

 

[Saponomancer]

View attachment 24291 Here is my batch! I used the original recipe but added 5% mango butter and lowered the coconut oil. This is my fiancé's favorite recipe so far.

That looks fantastic

 

[MiniBee]

Thank you to all of you for the great information in this thread. I have read thru the whole thing. I did scan through again for an answer to my question and I can not find one. I have made my first batch of the shaving soap with a few adjustments and put the soap in plastic jars. My question is should I leave the lid off for a while for extra curing or would it better to cap them?

 

[DanielCoffey]

I don't think it really matters. Some folks roll the soap in parchment and cut it into pucks, slice and air-dry. Others put it onto tubs and leave the top on.

Providing the soap passes the zap test (and if you measured everything accurately and cooked for more than 30 mins, it should), it seems a short rest for up to a week means this HP soap is ready to use. Some people stated it was a little drying on the face for the first few days but that all measurable improvements happened within the first week.

I too have just made a batch and I put it in containers with lids. I left it a week and have just had the first two shaves with it. I will be doing a write up in the next day or so.

 

[WeaversPort]

This is going to sound crazy but how can you shave your legs daily? It takes me a week and a half to start getting some long enough stubble to shave and a little bit longer still before I actually do it. Does your shaving soap offer that much protection?

I envy you. I'm from the sasquatch part of the gene pool.. The only thing saving me is my hair is rather light in color.

I'm almost not looking forward to being able to shave again.. It has been kind of nice going full yeti the past year!

 

[IrishLass]

Thank you to all of you for the great information in this thread. I have read thru the whole thing. I did scan through again for an answer to my question and I can not find one. I have made my first batch of the shaving soap with a few adjustments and put the soap in plastic jars. My question is should I leave the lid off for a while for extra curing or would it better to cap them?

Speaking only for myself- I never, ever cover fresh soap, including my shave croap. Where my shave croap is concerned, I let it cure just like my regular CP or HP, because the excess water need to go somewhere.
Better it go to the air than to get trapped by the lid of my container where it will form droplets of moisture.

IrishLass

 

[MiniBee]

I don't think it really matters. Some folks roll the soap in parchment and cut it into pucks, slice and air-dry. Others put it onto tubs and leave the top on.

Providing the soap passes the zap test (and if you measured everything accurately and cooked for more than 30 mins, it should), it seems a short rest for up to a week means this HP soap is ready to use. Some people stated it was a little drying on the face for the first few days but that all measurable improvements happened within the first week.

I too have just made a batch and I put it in containers with lids. I left it a week and have just had the first two shaves with it. I will be doing a write up in the next day or so.

Thank you Daniel. Can't wait for your write up.

 

[MiniBee]

Speaking only for myself- I never, ever cover fresh soap, including my shave croap. Where my shave croap is concerned, I let it cure just like my regular CP or HP, because the excess water need to go somewhere.
Better it go to the air than to get trapped by the lid of my container where it will form droplets of moisture.

IrishLass

Thank you IrishLass. This is the first HP batch I have done. I have always been a CP soaper and I am so use to letting the soap cure for 4-6 weeks.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I agree with IL and must disagree with Daniel - Don't cover it anything like tightly. For the first few weeks I leave mine (square pots) with the lids twisted to make essentially an 8 pointed star, allowing the air to move.

Like any soap which is not liquid, it will always get better with age. These soaps are stunning from the beginning, but only get better and better with more time.