Shaving soap numero 2

[roryk]

So I made my first shaving soap a couple weeks ago and turned out useable but had a thin bubbly lather. I did equal parts Stearic, Tallow, and Coconut, with all KOH.
In order to make a nicer lather though, and more conditioning, I wanted to try this recipe:

45% Tallow
25% Stearic Acid
15% Coconut
10% Argan
5% Castor
60/40 KOH/NaH
tbsp clay
Bergamot EO

Thoughts? For some reason soapcalc is still giving me only 33 conditioning

 

[Susie]

This is totally not related to your question, but I just made soap with Bergamot, Cedarwood, and Frankincense, and it smells absolutely awesome for a man.

 

[IrishLass]

Hi Rory- how much did you superfat your first batch, and did you happen to add any glycerine to it? Both will help with conditioning, and the glycerin will also help with sustaining lather.

Your second recipe looks like a more superior recipe to me than your first, although you might get some ribbing from some of our resident crazy wet shaving dudes about the addition of clay (fair warning ).


IrishLass

 

[roryk]

Hi Rory- how much did you superfat your first batch, and did you happen to add any glycerine to it? Both will help with conditioning, and the glycerin will also help with sustaining lather.

Your second recipe looks like a more superior recipe to me than your first, although you might get some ribbing from some of our resident crazy wet shaving dudes about the addition of clay (fair warning ).


IrishLass

Thank you! My original superfat was about 8%, but given the size of the batch (1lb) i did that in part as a safety pillow. This time I am doing two lbs with 5% SF.
I am considering adding a sprinkling of some Moroccan red clay I have haha. I was thinking castor was a suitable replacement for glycerine yes? As far as lather is concerned. Is there any benefit to using both glycerine and castor in a recipe? I've seen your responses on lots of threads here, Thank you for your help!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Castor and glycerin are not "either or" ingredients in shaving soaps - when using triglycerides for soaping, some glycerine is set free from the fatty acids and is in the soap. As we tend to use not a small amount of a fatty acid instead of just oils, that glycerine is missing and should be put back in. That is regardless of the slickness question -

People add Eiter clay or glycerine for slickness. Whether or not clay damages blades, both clay and glycerine will do the job. Now, as some people won't use clay-containing soaps in the belief (rightly or wrongly) that it will damage razors leads me to using glycerine. The end result is the same and no one refuses to use a soap with added glycerine for slickness.

I would still do a 1lb at the very most. You can still do a 5% or even lower SF at that amount more than safely when working in whole grams. My test batches are usually 100grams but my scale does 0.1g. Any recipe that you haven't tried is a test recipe!

 

[IrishLass]

. I was thinking castor was a suitable replacement for glycerine yes? As far as lather is concerned. Is there any benefit to using both glycerine and castor in a recipe? I've seen your responses on lots of threads here, Thank you for your help!

I use both castor and glycerin in mine. As the good Gent said- they are not an either /or.....at least not for me. I find that that they do different things in my soap.


IrishLass

 

[Ivanstein]

Personally, I like the feel of using Sodium Lactate in lieu of glycerine. The after shave feel is still well conditioned and moisturized, but not as...sticky I suppose would be the word.

However, a good dose of glycerine makes a slicker and more cushioned shave than SL, all other things equal.

Maybe both used in a shave soap at appropriate proportions would work well.

I guess I know what I am doing this weekend...

 

[roryk]

Well the recipe was a qualified success. I waited a few days after cutting and tested out the malformed end piece, not rock hard, but solid with a tiny bit of give when I squeezed. Good full creamy lather, and quite thirsty too. Though when I left it lathered and came back 15min later, it was a bit brittle like over whipped egg whites.
While the shave was great (no nicks, smooth glide, close shave) my face was left feeling somewhat dry and a bit irritated (though that could be the camphor). SF was 7% and I did HP obviously, so maybe glycerine would be a smart addition to this recipe. Thanks for the replies.