Shave Soap Shaving Soap vs Shaving Cream

[Bearpaw]

I’m a total newbie here…

I would really like to make a shaving cream, as opposed to a shaving soap.

I have Carrie Siebert’s book “How to Make Shaving Soap”, and will be using here recipe #1 as my starting point.

It calls for 80% stearic acid and 20% coconut oil. Her dual lye is 60% KOH and 40% NaOH at a 33% concentration.

My question is… if I want to get a product that resembles a shaving cream rather than a soap, should I drop the lye concentration to something like 15%, by increasing the water amount?

 

[AliOop]

Welcome! You may want to check out the threads here on "cream soap." You can type that into the search bar to find them.

 

[Bearpaw]

I’ve been doing some more research… including reading a lot of the cream soap threads… However, for cream soap I understand that there is a very long cure time - in the order of 6 to 12 months.

As I want to eventually sell this product this approach would not be really suitable.

I think I’m really going to need to play with a few recipes and see what happens through trial and error… just waiting for my ingredients to arrive.

 

[Bearpaw]

Can I please have some assistance with reworking a formula.

The formula I have is as follows:

Phase A
Water 42%
Glycerin 24%

Phase B
Potassium Stearate 10%
Sodium Stearate 8%

Phase C
Coconut Oil 16%

Method:

1. Heat phase A to 74C, then add phase B
2. Warm phase C to 74C
3. When both phases are fully homogenous add phase C to AB
4. Emulsify and cool to room temperature with mixing
5. Adjust for water loss

How would I need to formulate this if I have access to the following ingredients:

• Water
• Glycerin
• Stearic Acid
• KOH
• NaOH
• Coconut Oil

A possible methodology I have come across is the following:

1. Melt half the stearic acid into the coconut oil
2. Dissolve alkalis in water and add to stearic acid and coconut oil mixture
3. Once saponified add remaining stearic acid and glycerine to form a creamy paste
4. Warm water to 45C and quickly stir into paste
5. Add fragrance and preservative

Does this sound feasible for a shelf stable product?

 

[ewhitake]

Have you tried asking advice at Chemist Corner? You can’s get great formulation advice there

 

[AliOop]

Honestly, I would not do separate additions of stearic acid. Once it meets the lye solution, it will saponify almost immediately, making it hard to incorporate additional ingredients. I have better success using a high water/low lye concentration (20%), and adding some sodium lactate to enhance fluidity for pouring, and some nice oils for superfatting. Good luck! Shave soap can be frustrating and fun!

ETA: other than those changes, your recipe looks fine for a starter. I like Carrie's book, but admit that I prefer the recipes with some added butters/oils, rather than straight CO and stearic.

 

[DeeAnna]

... I prefer the recipes with some added butters/oils, rather than straight CO and stearic.

The coconut oil and stearic recipe was an attempt to duplicate the Martin de Candre shaving soap.

The infamous thread "My first shaving soap is a success" by @songwind was their attempt to reproduce this MdC soap. See: https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/my-first-shaving-soap-is-a-success.34264/

If you slog your way through this whole thread, you'll see an evolution of thinking about soft shaving soaps (croaps) starting with this coconut and stearic recipe. It's well worth a read if a person is wanting to learn about shave soaps, even though it's a massive thread.

I'm still fine with using stearic acid to make shave soap, but I respect why others prefer to use nut butters instead.

Using more water to get a softer "croap" or shaving cream texture is fine, but the problem is water evaporates so it's not a great solution. Typically cream soaps (shave soap is a type of cream soap) will also include some glycerin to give long term softness.

 

[AliOop]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. That Songwind thread is what motivated me to buy Carrie's book, which I found to be a great help. My current recipe does include stearic, CO, and glycerin, along with some butter (usually kokum). I do like to use enough water to make it more pourable. It ends up firmer than LS paste, but softer than bar soap, if that makes sense?

 

[Bearpaw]

Wow… its been two months since my first posts and I have only now been able to start my project.

Made my fist ever soap yesterday… using a simple 80% Stearic Acid 20% Coconut oil base with a 10% addition of glycerin after saponification.

My first soap was a 60/40 ratio of KOH to NaOH, second one is 85/15 and third will be 100% KOH…. Want to understand what changing the ratio does to the soap.

Question: I’m assuming that as the KOH percentage increases the soap will soften. Will the soaps all harden over time or will they remain soft? That is, will a 100% KOH soap become “hard” over time?

I’m using a 2:1 water:lye solution.

Next step will be to take the water:lye solution to 5:66:1.

I’m aiming for a cream like consistency…. Will adding 10% of the oil weight of glycerin after saponification keep the cream soft or will the water eventually evaporate out?

 

[Bearpaw]

Ok… so the 5.66:1 ratio is done and is looking very much like a cream and also has the consistency similar to a commercial product I am using as my base.

Recipe so far is:

80% Stearic Acid
20% Coconut Oil
85:15 KOH:NaoH lye with a 5% superfat
Lye to Water ratio is 1:5.66

I’m now wanting to add Aloe Vera… Assuming that I will need to add this after saponification in order to retain the soothing benefits…

Have access to Aloe Vera in a powder form which may be best as I don’t really want to thin the cream out more. Any suggestions?

Then I would love to add some honey… possibly in with the lye water?

 

[Bearpaw]

And then one more question… preservatives…. What should I add to protect against mould, yeast and bacteria… seeing this product will be exposed to moisture and fingers?

 

[MelissaG]

There are alot of preservatives out there Some are artificial, some are closer to natural. All of them are based on ph and heat. I suggest getting a ph tester to find out what it is then look at whats viable for that ph range. Germall plus, for example, is artificial. Meaning, man made. Optiphen and Optiphen plus are closer to natural. Phenonip is another. There are others. Many actually. But things like price matter, as well as effects. Maybe try looking those up as a start. Germall is cheapest but that doesn't make it the best. I tend to choose Optiphen or Optiphen plus but that's personal preference.