Shave Soap in a Cup?

[KiwiMoose]

Have been pondering this...

Can I make shave soap and mold it IN a cup? And keep it in there to cure? I have these cool 'old skool' enamel mugs that I thought would be really cute to market as 'soap in a cup'. But will the enamel-encased metal be 'dicing with DOS'? If so - would a ceramic cup be ok? Or is curing the soap in the cup a bad idea all round?

Your thoughts please.

 

[SeaSuds]

Have been pondering this...

Can I make shave soap and mold it IN a cup? And keep it in there to cure? I have these cool 'old skool' enamel mugs that I thought would be really cute to market as 'soap in a cup'. But will the enamel-encased metal be 'dicing with DOS'? If so - would a ceramic cup be ok? Or is curing the soap in the cup a bad idea all round?

Your thoughts please.
View attachment 43101

I cured mine in ceramic bowls straight from the pot but have earmarked enamel bowls a bit shallower than your cup from a catering company so will await replies to your question with interest too

I cured mine in ceramic bowls straight from the pot but have earmarked enamel bowls a bit shallower than your cup from a catering company so will await replies to your question with interest too

ETA I was worried a cup may be a bit narrow to get a good swirl going

 

[BattleGnome]

Do you have a bar to test? I’d worry that the cup wouldn’t allow for the soap to dry out properly. You don’t want a soggy mess even if dos isn’t an issue

 

[SeaSuds]

In this long but wonderful thread many people have glooped their mixture straight into containers: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-first-shaving-soap-is-a-success.34264/

post number 36 has good photos and I could add that mine cured very well in their bowls and have been in use by my 'testers' (my family - male and female!) for a few weeks now, but I consider myself a beginner so my opinion doesn't really count. By the way KiwiMoose, beeswax wraps make a great cover to go over the cups

 

[DeeAnna]

Martin de Candre shave soap is put directly into containers. If memory serves me correctly, the containers aren't sealed tightly during the cure time.

I have low-sided glass mugs that once contained Old Spice shave soap used by my uncle. The soap was poured/glopped directly into the mugs.

If you don't like the idea of curing soap in the mugs, you can make pucks of the soap just a little smaller than the containers you intend to put them in, cure the pucks like regular bar soap, wrap the pucks in paper (again like regular bar soap), and put the wrapped pucks in the mugs. The user then unwraps the soap and presses the puck into the container.

The soap won't mold if the soap is pressed firmly into the container and the user takes a moment to drain any free water out of the mug after shaving.

The mugs and bowls I have or have seen that have been used for shave soap have wider mouths and/or low walls. A tall, narrow container is going to be tough to lather in.

 

[KiwiMoose]

The mugs and bowls I have or have seen that have been used for shave soap have wider mouths and/or low walls. A tall, narrow container is going to be tough to lather in.

I was looking at some wider-mouthed cups for the same reason - but DH specifically said that the cup needed a decent sized handle for 'man hands', and unfortunately the shallower and wider the cup, the smaller the handle. He said he would be wary of using a bowl because of the likelihood of it becoming slippery and therefore a potential dropping and breaking hazard. I saw some nice bowls that would have been great, however. He specifically mentioned the enamel mugs because he thought they were sufficiently 'manly' and rustic. All this from a man who uses shave foam in a can, LOL.
I guess it all comes down to each man's personal preference. SO - @sirtim100, @Zing and other males active on here - what are your thoughts?

 

[Obsidian]

I use these for my shave soap. I shave my legs in the tub and these aren't slippery at all.
Not sure if they would be considered manly or not but they are a great size for whipping soap.
https://www.amazon.com/KSEV-Plastic...ocphy=9029654&hvtargid=pla-362678085596&psc=1

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I use these for my shave soap

do those have solid legs or a space for the water to drain into? I don't see why they wouldn't work for a guy too--I liked the round bowl next to those too. I have gotten requests for shave soap but I have only made one batch for my DIL and it was a CP soap--she really likes it but I don't know if it would be a seller or not. my concern would be it setting in water all the time too

 

[Obsidian]

do those have solid legs or a space for the water to drain into? I don't see why they wouldn't work for a guy too--I liked the round bowl next to those too. I have gotten requests for shave soap but I have only made one batch for my DIL and it was a CP soap--she really likes it but I don't know if it would be a seller or not. my concern would be it setting in water all the time too

EDT. I like these better, they are heavier duty and they show the inside of the bowl in the ad.

https://www.amazon.com/3-Legged-Mol...ords=salsa+bowl+plastic&qid=1577501049&sr=8-3


The legs are solid. I actually got mine at the dollar store but the ones on Amazon look the same.
They are slightly textured on the outside for easy gripping.

After I use mine, I just tip it over for a few seconds to drain out any water.
I don't cover mine, it dries out just fine. My soap is pretty soft to begin with and its never went goopy.

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

I’ve poured shaving soap into a mug before and my friend loved it. I got my husband an apothecary mug that has the knob on the side and he likes it a lot. Wide mouth for whipping and shallow. I make my pucks of soap to fit right into the mug and he drains any water out before he puts it away. It’s pretty hard soap though and I’ve never seen it get soft.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I'd love some mugs like that @SideDoorSoaps! But they look expensive, and while I'm in testing stage I might fill up all my cheapies and send them out to testers to see a) if they like the cups, and more importantly b) if they like shave soap!

 

[SideDoorSoaps]

His was $18. It is a nice mug. I got it from West Coast Shaving here in the US awhile back but looking at prices now, they are more spendy. Maybe you meet a potter and eventually work something out!

 

[Zing]

I All this from a man who uses shave foam in a can, LOL.
I guess it all comes down to each man's personal preference. SO - @sirtim100, @Zing and other males active on here - what are your thoughts?

lol, your DH has put a lot of thought into this! I have used short wide mason jars for shaving soap. Personally I like the look of an enamel campfire cup. My 2 cents, asked and answered .

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

My husband has been using a wide mouth mason jar 8 oz. no drain holes. You shouldn’t be wetting your brush so much that there is standing water when you are done and if it’s dual lye you don’t want it to dry out completely anyway. @KiwiMoose I think you will be fine with that cup. It’s coated in enamel. And you can put your shave soap directly into it just like you intended. Will save you a step. If selling get a pvc pipe the right diameter to sell refills, although shave soap lasts a surprisingly long time.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

They take longer to cure if you leave them in. About 16 weeks if you leave it in the cup. But what I did do is line the cup and pour it then took it out to cure once it set and then used melt and pour in the bottom to "glue" the cured soap back in the cup.

 

[beckster51]

I make a KOH shaving soap that is pliable in a vertical mold. I cut it and let it cure just like any other CP soap. I purchased some wide, very low-sided plastic jars with lids that the pucks fit perfectly in when pressed into them. It works great, is a very budget friendly container, and after I gift them, they can continued to be used for whipping up a lather if the person desires not to buy another container. My husband likes them because he uses it in the shower, and there is no hazard from breaking glass or ceramics. I find men are very fussy about which container they use, and I tend to let them pick their own.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...You shouldn’t be wetting your brush so much that there is standing water when you are done..."

That's true, but some men shave in the shower. And beginners don't always have the technique down. It never hurts to explain, just to be safe.

 

[Zgrumpyoldman]

I can not believe this is going to be my first post. I have not introduced my self yet,I have a headache already and it feels so stuffy, hence my name.
One of the most annoying things when curing soaps in a container or a mug, that when soaps cure, they loose water and will shrink. Try to load your shaving brush with a loose soap in a container, really unpleasant experience. you will be swirling your brush on the soap and the soap will swirl also. But If you made your shaving soap with minimum 60% KOH, then during curing times,"every few days" and as it is loosing water, you can re-mold your shaving soap and press it again and again in the container of your choice. Also, in most cases, after curing, you can heat up the soap and make it reshape it self after shrinking.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I can not believe this is going to be my first post. I have not introduced my self yet,I have a headache already and it feels so stuffy, hence my name.
One of the most annoying things when curing soaps in a container or a mug, that when soaps cure, they loose water and will shrink. Try to load your shaving brush with a loose soap in a container, really unpleasant experience. you will be swirling your brush on the soap and the soap will swirl also. But If you made your shaving soap with minimum 60% KOH, then during curing times,"every few days" and as it is loosing water, you can re-mold your shaving soap and press it again and again in the container of your choice. Also, in most cases, after curing, you can heat up the soap and make it reshape it self after shrinking.

Thanks Grumpy! I had wondered that about putting pucks into cups - that they would swirl around with the brush, which is why i liked the idea of curing it in there - to help it 'stick'. I will take your comment on board and include that as part of testing questions.
Don't forget to introduce yourself on the introductions thread!

 

[sirtim100]

Well, @KiwiMoose I can bore you to death with my vast range of experiences and failed experiments on this one.

You definitely can cure CP shave soaps in mugs, no problem at all. I've done it and there's an Austrian girl who makes some great soaps poured direct into a mug. If you want, I'll look for her link.

I don't hold much with all the concern about breaking ceramic mugs, I draw the line with glass though.

It depends a lot on your technique: I use some kind of a container to hold the soap (enamel mug, deep ceramic dishes, which are dirt cheap in Spain, metal tin) and there I load the brush, then the hard work goes into another mug where I make the lather.

The issue with the container is finding the balance between depth and width. Too deep and narrow, you can't ram your brush in there, too shallow and too wide and the soap pours over the side like a nasty attack of rabies. I've used an enamel mug that looks great for throwing into the dirt before shooting Lee Van Cleef between the eyes, but the depth, the depth. I've also used some deep ceramic dishes, rough and tough, used in Spanish kitchens since the emperor Hadrian and they're brilliant because they have a slightly rough finish under the glaze that's fantastic for coaxing out the lather (another point to consider: mug too smooth, lather not so abundant). Their only drawback is being too shallow.

I'm half dead from gym frenzy and work right now, so I'm not making much sense. Let me get some sleep and I'll happily write more on the subject. It's where I'm going right now in soapmaking, so it's very interesting to me.