MiniBee
Member
Thank you so much Craig. That is exactly what I'm doing. I can't wait to try it out.
Absolutely. About 5% is what I use. As a consumer of shaving soaps, and having made my own for several years, I find I prefer soap made from KOH.I will be using potassium hydroxide. Is superfatting/lye discount something to be considered for shaving soap?
It strikes me as a little on the heavy side. I use a little more CO to assist getting the lather whipped up. 25% is what I use.How does the recipe look to those of you not newbies to making shaving soap?
I use 11% of the oil weight in glycerin. More would not be horrible.I understand glycerin is another potential ingredient. How much of that is considered a good amount? Or is any at all considered a good thing?
It provides a very dense, stable lather.What is the purpose of the Stearic acid?
Yes, but not for why you would think. I know a good number of men might not really want to smear goat's milk on their faces. Beer might be okay. Remember it's not only about what makes a nice soap, but what will sell. Water works fine in my soap.Does it matter what kind of liquid is used? I make mostly goatsmilk soap, with an occasional beer or straight water (for the lovely EO blend that overheats really fast if I use anything BUT water!).Is goatsmilk a good thing to have in shaving soap?
No, but there's no need for the castor oil ... it contributes properties that are at odds with what a man wants in a shave soap. IMHO of course.Are there any other ingredients that might contribute to a lovely formula?
Here's one I put together some time back:Any links to a good tutorial on HP soap making? I did hie myself to a local thrift store and get a crock pot, so I'm at least that far along.
Maybe. A longer cure is nice, but I have used soap that's a week old. If I were selling I'd wait a month.Is curing time about the same for HP as CP, four to six weeks minimum?
Depends on the FO of course. Also, doing a HP you may lose more so you need to take that into consideration. This part will take some testing, but I'd start on the low side. One thing I dislike is my soap competing with my after shave or cologne.Fragrance levels? What percentage is recommended for shaving soap? I use about 6% for my "bath" soaps. Should that be a lesser amount for shaving soap, particularly for facial shaving soap?
Looks good. Post some lather pics when you have a Chance.I came across this thread a week or so ago at the suggestion of someone else (wish I could remember the thread) and ever since I've been waiting to find some time to make this recipe.
Well today was the day and I followed Windsong's exact recipe, although I only HP'd it for about 45min. I could have gone longer but it was looking done and I'm always in a hurry. Couldn't decide whether to add any fragrance or not... so I did both... I filled up two of the containers without and then added a combo of 2/5th Cedarwood EO and 3/5 Lemon EO... but only about 2/10th of an oz total... very faint smelling but I wanted to contrast it with the fragrance free. I can't wait to try them! -Many Thanks Windsong!
After reading thru the entire thread I have made my first attempt of Songwind's awesome shaving recipe. I did a few alterations from recommendations I found in the thread. 75 KOH/25 NaOH, added some shea and castor oil to the original recipe. Melted the oils and added the lye first, got it to a pudding like trace and then added the stearic acid (thank you Deanna for that suggestion). Reserved some of the shea for a super fat after the cook and I also added 15% glycerin and 1% sodium lactate at the very end. Scented it with just a simple Lavender Essential. Got it in some 8 oz jar and let it sit for a week so far. Let me just say WOW!!!! I love it. As Mark the Box Guy said " it lathers itself when I walk by it and wink." Thank you to all!!!
Enter your email address to join: