My first shaving soap is a success!

[Soapman Ryan]

I made the soap and it was nice. I used:
100% KOH
25% lye concentration
5% superfat
Stearic acid 52%
Coconut oil 48%
Glycerin at 30% of the oil weight.

After "cooking", I pressed into tubs and after curing it cured quite hard. I'm pretty sure if I were to take it out of the tubs it would stand on its own and be a cutt-able bar.

My question, MdC shave soap is MUCH softer, like a hard cream based soap.
What could I do to tweak this recipe to make if softer, more towards a hard cream type shave soap?

 

[songwind]

Ryan, mine came out very soft, even softer than mdc, which is left to cure for a few months. I'd say it was a similar consistency to Castle Forbes.

 

[Soapman Ryan]

Ryan, mine came out very soft, even softer than mdc, which is left to cure for a few months. I'd say it was a similar consistency to Castle Forbes.

When I made mine I did a small test batch, 200 grams of oils.
I "cooked" mine for 1 hour. How long did you keep yours in the crockpot?
I did another test batch tonight and only cooked it for 20 min, like DeeAnna stated she did hers. Maybe this may help.

 

[songwind]

Mine definitely has never been finished turning to soap after 20 minutes. I think I end up leaving mine in around an hour.

 

[DeeAnna]

Maybe the difference in the time to saponify to a zap-free state is that I add the lye (KOH or KOH/NaOH blend) to just the coconut oil, stir and cook to a pudding-like trace, and only then add the stearic. This 2 step method may allow the saponification to go a little faster compared with the case when one adds the lye to a blend of coconut oil and stearic.

Basically I'm HP'ing the coconut oil, the slowest ingredient to saponify, with an excess of lye, added heat, and very good mixing. These factors will drive the saponification reaction of the coconut oil to happen as quickly as possible.

When one adds lye to a mixture of CO and stearic, the overall saponification reaction will be slower for 2 reasons. The stearic reacts instantly with the lye so a large part of the lye is removed from "action" so to speak. The stearic also thickens and dilutes the soap batter, so it will be harder for the the remaining lye molecules to "meet up" with the coconut oil so they can saponify.

 

[Soapman Ryan]

Maybe the difference in the time to saponify to a zap-free state is that I add the lye (KOH or KOH/NaOH blend) to just the coconut oil, stir and cook to a pudding-like trace, and only then add the stearic. This 2 step method may allow the saponification to go a little faster compared with the case when one adds the lye to a blend of coconut oil and stearic.

Basically I'm HP'ing the coconut oil, the slowest ingredient to saponify, with an excess of lye, added heat, and very good mixing. These factors will drive the saponification reaction of the coconut oil to happen as quickly as possible.

When one adds lye to a mixture of CO and stearic, the overall saponification reaction will be slower for 2 reasons. The stearic reacts instantly with the lye so a large part of the lye is removed from "action" so to speak. The stearic also thickens and dilutes the soap batter, so it will be harder for the the remaining lye molecules to "meet up" with the coconut oil so they can saponify.

That makes sense, I did it the exact way you did it deeAnna. I just added the KOH to the coconut oil until it got to to a pudding-like trace. I then added the stearic acid and followed it with a 20 min. cook. This must be how come the soap is zap proof in 20 min. After turning the crock pot off, allowing the soap to cool, I then added the glycerin and essential oils.
p.s.- DeeAnna, I love your explanations. This gave me the ability to print your method so I could follow it to the tee.

 

[DeeAnna]

You're a sweetie, Ryan -- thanks! Glad I could help.

I think the stages this soap batter goes through with the KOH are pretty cool -- there's the initial curdled-milk look, the frothy little bubble stage that never shows up with NaOH, the creamy appearance of egg nog (without the whiskey, unfortunately), and finally an official Thanksgiving-turkey-gravy consistency. Neat....!

 

[shunt2011]

Well, I finally got around to making this and all I can say is wow. My husband has tried it out and is very pleased. I actually had to go online and order more Stearic so that I can make more. Going to share it with other family members and maybe even consider selling it in a set with my other manly products. Thanks again to all of you who have tested this.

 

[chubasco]

I decided to try soapmaking and used this as my first recipe (or the version posted on badgerandblade.com, which is basically the same). I put it in a Pringles can as a mold, and since it is a soft soap I am not sure when I can safely peel the can off so the soap retains its shape. It is harder today than it was last night, but I don't know if it is hard enough to keep its shape.

Any tips on how long to leave it in the mold?

 

[grayceworks]

This recipe will never get firm enough to really be "firm" but will always be very pliable, and even sticky in the centers. (This is normal... I double-checked with the recipe-poster over on B&B when I had questions -- he's very helpful!)

What you'll probably need to do is freeze it, and then unmold it, and cut almost immediately, it should still be soft enough to cut when frozen (mine was anyhow) and lay them out on parchment or wax paper to dry a bit.

Another thing I found out, is that if you wrap them up later in anything that doesn't "breathe" then they will get sticky again. Because of the high glycerin content. Best to just loosely wrap them in something like coffee filters after they're dry enough to touch.

BTW, I like your username. Chubasco -- strong wind -- I used to have a horse with that name, he was my favorite!

ETA: Even better, just glop it into the intended shaving mugs/bowls/containers right from the crockpot! (again, don't tightly cover or it will stay sticky) I get little bowls and cheap mugs from the dollar store for this. Then you don't have to mold at all.

 

[Ruthie]

I'm curious how tallow or palm w/ 10% or so added stearic would do. And maybe some castor oil or coconut for extra fluffiness. That's my next shaving-related soap goal.

Songwind, thank you for starting this thread. I'm just learning and collecting the supplies I need to experiment.

I was wondering if you had conducted this experiment and how it turned out.

 

[songwind]

Songwind, thank you for starting this thread. I'm just learning and collecting the supplies I need to experiment.

I was wondering if you had conducted this experiment and how it turned out.

I did. It didn't work nearly as well. I ended up modifying the recipe by adding shea butter, reducing the coconut and stearic, and using a mix of KOH and lye.

 

[MzMolly65]

Since you want a mixture of 15% NaOH and 85% KOH for the recipe, multiply the NaOH weight times 0.15. And multiply the KOH weight times 0.85. That will give you the correct weights of each lye to mix together to make the recipe with 15% NaOH and 85% KOH.

As old as this thread is I still can't help but comment.

SERIOUSLY???? DeeAnna, you are a soaping ROCK STAR! I'm so freaking impressed I want to be your apprentice *cue the music and the dancing mops*

 

[songwind]

SERIOUSLY???? DeeAnna, you are a soaping ROCK STAR! I'm so freaking impressed I want to be your apprentice *cue the music and the dancing mops*

I created a spreadsheet to calculate this for me based on the amount of soap I want to make and the percentage of KOH. It's very handy.

You can also calculate the weight of the solution by dividing the total amount of lye by the concentration percent you want. Then you subtract the total weight of lye from that to get the water.

Where w is the appropriate weight.

 

[MzMolly65]

I created a spreadsheet to calculate this for me based on the amount of soap I want to make and the percentage of KOH.

Brilliant. I admit I made a shaving soap that is so far .. less than impressive. It's a creamy lather and slippery but very dull compared to your outcome.

I'm definitely going to give your version a try. Would you care to update us on the latest version? I see your comment about lowering the CO and SA and adding some butter .. would love to know what your final verdict is.

 

[songwind]

I've sent it out for tests, to universally positive reviews. (They ranged from "it's a good shaving soap, but it didn't excite me," to downright enthusiam.) The only negative was on the texture. Even at 25% NaOH, the soap never got firmer than moderately stiff putty, and it proved difficult to work with for a lot of users.

So, I have increased the final lye balance to 50/50, and ended up with something nicely malleable but also definitely a soft soap rather than a stiff cream.

The butter-using recipe leaves the skin in very nice shape after shaving. Aftershave isn't necessary after a good shave, which is saying something - for my face, anyway.

 

[MAux]

I researched for many months before attempting my first cream HP shaving soap. I'm not sure why I never ran across this thread, but I have really enjoyed reading it. My soap is soft, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but now after reading this I feel much better about how it turned out. I'm anxiously awaiting on of my wholesalers response about my new soap.

 

[Belinda02]

Almost have all my supplies to make this soap. Local candle/soap store also has brushes with hand made handles. I am thrilled. Got my husbands birthday present all picked out. Yea

 

[Kyle 3 Pass]

Hi everyone!

I just signed up for the forum since I am going to start making my own Italian soft shave soaps. I have been scanning this thread and have gotten lots of helps and pointers.

It looks like stearic acid should be added to the batch after light trace has been reached with the oils. Would beef tallow be added with the oils in the first step stage or should i add it with the stearic acid after trace has been reached? I will be hot processing this.

My ingredients will be stearic acid, beef tallow, castor oil, coconut oil, shea butter, and glycerine.

 

[DeeAnna]

If you're doing a 2-step saponification, the tallow would go in the pot along with all the other fats.

The main reason why it's nice to add the stearic acid at trace is ease of mixing. You can get the fats well mixed and saponifying nicely first, then when the stearic does its usual misbehaving, you are only tussling with getting the stearic mixed in properly.

You could add the glycerin at any time; I tend to add it after the cook is done, but that's not written in stone either.