Benefits of Clay in a soap

[Mr Daniel]

I have discovered a local soap company called Good Fortune Soap Company. Their website is goodfortunesoap.com
They have a few different types of soap, but one they offer is a clay soap.

What are the benefits of clay? I know wet clay is slippery but I can't remember it being slicker than a good lathering soap like Arko.

 

[malocchio]

1. https://www.thesage.com/catalog/products/Clay-Bentonite.html ....also ,see this site for French clay and Moroccan clay.

 

[spidey9]

Clay adds slickness. Unfortunately, a lot of boutique soap makers think that they can add clay to their bath soaps and that makes it shaving soap. Problem is, most of these soaps are olive oil based, which does not make a good lather. I see that their "3 in 1" soaps contain olive oil, but I could not find an ingredient list for the clay shaving soap.

Almost none of the well known shaving soaps contain clay.

--Bob

 

[Vespasian]

I've not liked any clay-bearing soap I've tried, and I've retired every one to the shower. But that's just me.

 

[tankerjohn]

Stirling shaving soaps contain clay and are some of the slickest, best lathering soaps out there.

 

[JaredB]

Stirling shaving soaps contain clay and are some of the slickest, best lathering soaps out there.

What he said. I had heard so many bad things here about shaving soaps with clay, I was leary about trying Stirling in the beginning. Super slippery soap.

 

[Txdoc]

Mike's contains koalin clay. Most folks agree it is a pretty good soap (myself included).

 

[Mostho]

PannaCrema contains clay.
Clay and similar adds slickness.
Lovely.

 

[Steve56]

La Savonnerie du Moulin soaps contain clay IIRC and are as good a shaving soap as you'll find.

Adding clay won't make a bad soap into a good one, or a bath soap into a shaving soap. If a knowledeable soapmaker adds clay for a reason, I'm perfectly fine with that.

Cheers, Steve

 

[Mr Daniel]

When I get the chance to go to their store I will pick some up and report back. I have noticed that most soaps don't have it but I didn't know that Sterling and Mikes had it.

 

[aldomarino]

I have discovered a local soap company called Good Fortune Soap Company. Their website is goodfortunesoap.com
They have a few different types of soap, but one they offer is a clay soap.

What are the benefits of clay? I know wet clay is slippery but I can't remember it being slicker than a good lathering soap like Arko.

I put a little bentonite clay in my homemade melt-and-pour shaving soap. I've learned from trial and error. A little bit helps give good glide, and a great thick lather. Too much gives you even more lather, but has a bit of a drying effect. But just the right about of clay, and a wee bit more glycerin, and then you've really got something. Soap formulations are like anything else around here....YMMV. I've not tried it, but I'd be hesitant to use clay in a shaving soap if I was using a cartridge, as it would probably just add to the gook-between-the-blades thing.

 

[john parker]

Only one that I tried that I know had clay in it was C&S #88. And I could smell what I believed to be the clay. Did not care for that.

 

[j-mt]

Clay is awesome and I hate that it has the stigma it does. When used properly it can offer a lot of benefits in a single package vs. the various oils/cosmetics other soaps use to account for them. Here's a few things:

Clay adds slickness by creating a barrier on your skin. It also helps to stand hair up for easier cutting.

Clay adds weight to your lather by suspending water within it. This creates cushion through density.

Clay won't break down, which helps to add longevity to lather.

Various types of clay (beyond your standard Bentonite and White Kaolin) have minerals that can be beneficial to your skin (eg: help with inflammation, detox, etc.).

Clay helps to wash lather/slime away.

It's not going to save a bad soap. It can also have a detrimental effect on lather and/or your skin in the wrong quantity. My reasoning behind why you don't see clay too often is two fold. One, long established soaps are based on recipes that pre-date the use of clay in shaving soap. Two, the stigma that clay is only added to a poor performing/bath soap has kept a lot of artisans from using it in their recipes.

 

[paintflinger]

Clay adds slickness. Unfortunately, a lot of boutique soap makers think that they can add clay to their bath soaps and that makes it shaving soap. Problem is, most of these soaps are olive oil based, which does not make a good lather. I see that their "3 in 1" soaps contain olive oil, but I could not find an ingredient list for the clay shaving soap.

Almost none of the well known shaving soaps contain clay.

--Bob

I'll disagree with you on this one. A good portion of the beloved artisan soap makers here have clay in their soaps or versions of their soaps.

 

[williabe]

Mike's contains koalin clay. Most folks agree it is a pretty good soap (myself included).

Love Mikes and Stirling soaps. Some of the slickest in my den...

 

[FL shaver]

Was going to mention Benton Clay, but....
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/437261-Benton-Clay-What-s-New
The old soaps were slick!

 

[Gabeson]

Mike's contains koalin clay. Most folks agree it is a pretty good soap (myself included).

I was going to mention Mike's soaps. His soaps are extremely well regarded, very nice quality, artisan soaps. He uses Koalin Clay, and Mike knows what he's doing - his soaps lather incredibly well, and the post shave is always wonderful.

 

[SHAVEWIZARD420]

Ogallala soaps have bentonite clay in them and I think they are good. I also have some I got from an ebay vendor that had kanolin clay and they wernt bad either. you just have to watch out for the olive oil as the main ingredient. its ok to have olive oil in the soap, but its usually avoided if its one of the main ingredients.

 

[spidey9]

True. However, Stirling soaps contain clay and in my opinion they are the slickest soaps I have ever used.

I never noticed that - and I'm a huge fan of Stirling soaps.

Anyway, poor choice of words on my part. I meant the established non-artisan soaps, such as TOBS, MWF, Valobra, etc. Some artisan soaps are pretty well known, especially around these parts.

--Bob

 

[Big Jim]

I put a little bentonite clay in my homemade melt-and-pour shaving soap. I've learned from trial and error. A little bit helps give good glide, and a great thick lather. Too much gives you even more lather, but has a bit of a drying effect. But just the right about of clay, and a wee bit more glycerin, and then you've really got something. Soap formulations are like anything else around here....YMMV. I've not tried it, but I'd be hesitant to use clay in a shaving soap if I was using a cartridge, as it would probably just add to the gook-between-the-blades thing.

I've been thinking about adding bentonite clay to my melt and pour homemade soap and I'm wondering how much to use. I usually just make up a single mug batch, adding fragrance oil to suite my taste. That's usually a 3.5 to 4 oz batch (measured with a small food / postal scale). From some recipes I've found, I'm thinking about a half teaspoon of bentonite per batch. Is that about right?