Wow. I can't wait to try this! But no clay, huh? I'd always heard that clay was a must-have in shaving soap.
I used clay in mine and I like the extra slip it provides.
Wow. I can't wait to try this! But no clay, huh? I'd always heard that clay was a must-have in shaving soap.
It's a soft soap, yes, but I don't think it needs a preservative, especially if you let it dry properly between uses. It's not like a liquid or true cream soap that has water added after the cook. The only reason why this soap is soft is that we're using KOH not NaOH. If we had been using NaOH, it would make a firm bar soap.
My batch is going on 4 weeks old now, and it has firmed up some but is still pliable like a soft wax. The soap does not crack or crumble. I use it as-is in the shower, but you could easily press it into a shaving mug or jar for use with a shaving brush.
I used clay in mine and I like the extra slip it provides.
How much did you use? In my regular shave soaps, I usually add about a tbsp per 20 ounce batch.
Oops--didn't read all the way through DeeAnna's post above. It sounds as though the product might be shippable with curing time. Has anyone else noticed anything different?Made two 8 oz batches of Songwind's recipe, as modified by DeeAnna (55/45 ratio) two days ago. Added a teaspoon of bentonite clay and half a tsp of oat powder to one, but followed the recipe exactly for the other. Agreed--the lather is wonderfully thick and creamy (although I can't seem to achieve the impressive billowy clouds of lather I see in the photos posted so far). Shave is very smooth on my legs. The batch with the clay and oat powder feels slightly more conditioning than the control batch--but neither feel quite as conditioning as another recipe I tried with hemp, castor, and butters. Still, very nice and the slight difference in afterfeel might be due to the fact that this soap is very fresh.
I'm curious to know how the soap behaves over time. After freezing and with the use of a liner in my column mold, I was able to cut the control batch into pucks, but they are very soft and sticky. I can't see shipping them in any form except a container. Those of you whose soap has had a few weeks or longer to cure--did you notice the soap hardening somewhat with curing? Did the quality of the shave change over time?
Thanks for the information! I wasn't using a washcloth, but a badgerhair shaving brush. However, I also didn't work the lather very long--only about 30-40 seconds, as I was trying to replicate the shaving habits of men I know who are not necessarily shaving enthusiasts. But that may not be my ideal market, anyway.basically, the lather you've seen has been made by a brush after a bit of vigorous whipping. It's unlikely that you'll get the same lather in a shower of running water when using a washcloth. Also, Songwind's recipe (a clone of Martin de Candre Shave soap "MdC") is a soft soap made in the Italian style. It's not supposed to be hard like a puck. Instead, it is poured from the crockpot directly into individual pots.
Some folks are trying to make a hard puck (which always wants clay,) but the puck will generally only use NaOH. My sense, however, is that a puck needn't be rock solid, and might benefit from a bit of KOH to soften it up a bit. You might also consider the notion that shave soap takes clay so that the razor glides smoothly, and that anything grainy, like oatmeal, might damage a razor and exfoliate, neither of which is ideal.
Though shavers often prefer one type of soap (cream, soft, puck, etc...,) it's important to note that we all seem to own and use every conceivable type. We even collect it. A friend just sent me a tub of Slovakian soft soap not because it's supposed to be great, but instead because I want soap from all over the world.
Shameless begging: isn't there a Greek shave soap maker that posts here? Send me a puck and I'll send you a bowl of my MdC!
Thirty seconds of a properly loaded brush should produce a good lather with Songwind's MdC recipe, but a minute, or longer would really whip nice. It's a soft soap and designed that to behave that way. Expecting a hard puck to produce lather that quickly will result in disappointment. Pucks are just different. Even Berlin Phil says so. It's not more complicated than that.
Have you watched any lathering videos on YouTube? The recurring themes are: to use a medium amount of hot water and adjust this as required; properly loading the brush with soap is critical but subject to a great deal of maniacally precise stylistic interpretation, including loading the brush upside down after shaking it three times; that it should be whipped for a long time either in a bowl, a scuttle or directly on the relevant body parts; and that you should consider the notion that making a lathering video is hysterically dull.
I've only ever made the MdC soft soap from this thread, but I'm about to try a hard puck. More than likely it will have a large percentage of tallow, some stearic acid, perhaps some Coconut oil, a small amount of lanolin, a bit of castor (which is probably a bad idea), some clay, and some combination of NaOH and KOH. It will be hot-processed, and probably called Mark's Wool Fat.
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