List all your VDH experiments here....

[MarvinKW]

Placed deluxe VDH puck into shallow, wide plastic container--perfect for brush loading--and melted it in the microwave. Then added 4 pumps of Mrs. Meyers lavender liquid hand soap, stirred, and left it to cool and set up. Not sure that it did much as I can only smell a trace of lavender. Oh well, I'm still able to whip up some mighty fine lather with this soap without any problem.

[Vickers]

Veg der Hagen

(special "thank you!" to luvmysuper for inspiration)

Stuff you need:

- 2.5 ounce puck of Van der Hagen shave soap (I used the "Deluxe" version, which contains aloe vera and shea butter)
- clear container (I used a custard dish)
- microwave oven
- shave/coffee mug
- something to stir with (I used a bamboo skewer, just so I wouldn't have to wash anything)
- glycerine
- refrigerator (optional)

1. Put a few good squirts (2 ounces or so) of Lilac Vegetal in a clear container (I used a custard dish). It needs to be clear so you can see when it starts boiling. Microwave on High until it starts boiling, which should be pretty quick, like 10 to 15 seconds. Do this a few times until it no longer boils after that same amount of time. This cooks the alcohol off and concentrates it.

Bonus: after the last microwave session, look at it from the top, and you will see swirly paisley patterns. GROOVY!!!

2. Get a puck of Van der Hagen Deluxe and cut it up into little pieces into a shave mug, or any wide-mouth coffee mug. Microwave on High for about 15 seconds, then stir around. Microwave a few more seconds until it is all liquid.

3. Pour the concentrated Lilac Vegetal mixture into the mug containing the melted soap, and then give it a nice long squirt of glycerine. Stir around for several minutes with a wooden kebab skewer or a wooden ice pop stick, or something you don't have to clean.

4. Once it starts to set up, put it in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

5. You're done!

[Johnny Dale]

One time I mixed a puck of VDH and Col. Conk Almond together in a small plastic bowl. Came out very nice!

[pipskicks]

Since I now don't look a newbie, a member graciously gave me a ton of soaps :) so I finally had the guts to risk ruining a puck and adding a scent.

I took a puck of I believe the see-through glycerin VDH puck, and I cut a quarter of the puck off, it melted easily in the microwave, I sprayed some CK cologne (my gf got me a bunch of testers from Sephora with a coupon to get a full bottle of one, but I have tons of the samples left). I mixed it around and put it in the fridge, everything went very smooth, I'll have to see after it solidifies how the actual soap will work :)

[SuperChris]

Col. Van der Conk's Deluxe Bay Rum: melted a puck of VdH Deluxe in with a puck of Col Conk's Bay Rum in a rubber maid container, works greats, kinda smells like Dr Pepper

[pipskicks]

Since I now don't look a newbie, a member graciously gave me a ton of soaps :) so I finally had the guts to risk ruining a puck and adding a scent.

I took a puck of I believe the see-through glycerin VDH puck, and I cut a quarter of the puck off, it melted easily in the microwave, I sprayed some CK cologne (my gf got me a bunch of testers from Sephora with a coupon to get a full bottle of one, but I have tons of the samples left). I mixed it around and put it in the fridge, everything went very smooth, I'll have to see after it solidifies how the actual soap will work :)

Didn't have many other scented soaps, definitely didn't want to try with more expensive ones, so I used this puck and melted a quarter of it in the microwave. Did 10 seconds, then 5 seconds and it was completely liquid, added CK cologne from a tested bottle, maybe 3-4 sprays tops. Now it smells STRONGLY like CK cologne, very interesting :)

With this simple of a procedure, I can't wait to try other scents and have fun experimenting :)

[JetsMets#1fan]

Cool thread, I was skeptical of posting my experiment at first cuz I thought I was going to come across as a tool, lol.

Long story short, I opened the pantry saw a bottle of olive oil and for some reason the first thing that popped in my head was "add it to the vdh soap" thinking it'd be good for the skin.

On my way to the bathroom to get the soap I saw my body wash, a paraben free shea butter & oatmeal joint that smells and feels really good... So I thought "add that as well."

I mean, what's the worse that could happen? You ruin a $1.50 puck of soap...

Well, I poured about a spoonful of olive oil and about 4 spoons of the body wash in a cup and stirred them pretty good, then I melted the soap in the microwave, took it out and poured my olive oil/shea butter concoction on it; stirred it pretty good until the -new- color of the soap was even, let it harden and boom, I got me a custom soap! Lol...

By doing this I changed the dreaded -pinkish- color of the vdh soap to a sand like color which is pretty cool and I also change the scent of the soap to be a lot more like, yup, you guessed it, shea butter.

I didn't need to shave tonight but I did anyways just to try it out and the latherability of the soap remains unchanged, the smell is better, subjectively speaking of course, and btw I didn't hate the smell of the soap to begin with, and the lather feels much slicker than before.

My shave was pretty good as usual and my skin feels good as well, so I think I "enhanced" the soap.

[FreshVintage]

I'm so glad I found this thread, I'm really disliking the smell of the VDH soap that came with the set and have a little weekend project now! Question is, should I make an Old Spice soap (to go in my recently acquired Old Spice mug) or a lavender scented soap?

[banditman]

I'm so glad I found this thread, I'm really disliking the smell of the VDH soap that came with the set and have a little weekend project now! Question is, should I make an Old Spice soap (to go in my recently acquired Old Spice mug) or a lavender scented soap?

I'd say go lavender. When I would do this, I'd melt the VDH and then add about 12 drops of Lavender EO plus an equal number of drops of glycerine. Makes a very nice mix if you like lavender.

[kingfisher]

I'm amazed that this thread is still alive after all this time!

Good work, guys. Some of you have really raised the bar in the experimentation!

VEG der Hagen?!? Really?? That one scared me, Vickers.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I add about 6-8 drops of glycerine per VDH Deluxe puck (and about 6 drops of Clubman Citrus Musk), before I melt it (nuke), extra lubercation, cushion, glide
and scent .

“Laughter is the [shaving lather]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker

[FreshVintage]

Hmm, how crucial is the glycerin? I'm just trying to improve the puck with stuff I already have around the house. Also, I was debating putting a squeeze of Cremo in there since it works well in a super-lather, has anyone tried that?

[Pkrankow]

I add about 6-8 drops of glycerine per VDH Deluxe puck (and about 6 drops of Clubman Citrus Musk), before I melt it (nuke), extra lubercation, cushion, glide
and scent .

“Laughter is the [shaving lather]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker

Drops? You can add tablespoons of glycerine to a melted puck!

Phil

[kingfisher]

Hmm, how crucial is the glycerin? I'm just trying to improve the puck with stuff I already have around the house. Also, I was debating putting a squeeze of Cremo in there since it works well in a super-lather, has anyone tried that?

Glycerin isn't crucial. There's already a bunch of it in the puck. Cremo might be a great addition. Give it a try and report back to us.

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

Drops? You can add tablespoons of glycerine to a melted puck!

Phil

Phil:
Not tablespoons, but drops and then I mix it up and then let it resolidifying (with the Citrus Musk too), after melting... alchemy at it's best!!

“Laughter is the [shaving lather]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker

[phattonez]

I'm confused. Do people not like the Van Der Hagen shave soap aroma? I really like the smell. Granted, I've only ever smelled this and Proraso White, so maybe there are some really nice shave soaps that I've missed out on?

[Vickers]

I'm confused. Do people not like the Van Der Hagen shave soap aroma? I really like the smell. Granted, I've only ever smelled this and Proraso White, so maybe there are some really nice shave soaps that I've missed out on?

I like the smell of all the scented VdH soaps, but the one I used was mild enough that adding another fragrance wouldn't clash.

[phattonez]

I like the smell of all the scented VdH soaps, but the one I used was mild enough that adding another fragrance wouldn't clash.

Since I like the smell and the price, but have sensitive skin (so am currently using Proraso White), does VDH with glycerin provide a comfortable shave? I've seen it on Amazon and wanted to know how it compares to Proraso White.

[TheVez2]

I'm confused. Do people not like the Van Der Hagen shave soap aroma? I really like the smell. Granted, I've only ever smelled this and Proraso White, so maybe there are some really nice shave soaps that I've missed out on?

I cannot stand the scent of VDH by itself. But it is a solid performer at a great price, so it makes experimentation fun. I will not use VDH straight, but I've made some great smelling blends with it that all work great.

[Pkrankow]

Phil:
Not tablespoons, but drops and then I mix it up and then let it resolidifying (with the Citrus Musk too), after melting... alchemy at it's best!!

“Laughter is the [shaving lather]...that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart”. Mort Walker

You misunderstand. I understand that you used drops, but that is like introducing the glycerine to the soap and not really changing anything as it is diluted across many shaves. The soap will still solidify with much more glycerine added.

With another melt and pour soap I doubled the volume of the soap by adding glycerine. The soap performs great (dramatic improvement even), solidified just fine, and since the only additive in that case was glycerine, smell the same. The odd thing is I have a couple soaps from that maker and one scent tore me up, underperformed, no cushion, etc. but the other scents are fine.

Phil