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Home made shaving soap

just out of curiosity, has anyone tried to make a cream yet?

I made an attempt last year... it was so bad I got rid of the recipe. It was harsh to the skin even after resting a few months. I just couldnt get myself to throw the stuff out... last week, I pull it out just for fun... it's not bad now. Not mounds of lather, but a very slick, soapy, protective coating that can take a LOT of water. I had a good shave but it was the weirdest "cream" I had ever tried.
 
Do you guys use a stick blender? The instant mashed potatoes makes me think stirring would be better if I'm cooking it for two hours?
 
just out of curiosity, has anyone tried to make a cream yet?

I made an attempt last year... it was so bad I got rid of the recipe. It was harsh to the skin even after resting a few months. I just couldnt get myself to throw the stuff out... last week, I pull it out just for fun... it's not bad now. Not mounds of lather, but a very slick, soapy, protective coating that can take a LOT of water. I had a good shave but it was the weirdest "cream" I had ever tried.

Not tried that however it's on my list of things to try.

Do you guys use a stick blender? The instant mashed potatoes makes me think stirring would be better if I'm cooking it for two hours?

No, it really doesn't seem to need it - especially with a smaller batch. When I did a 5# batch I did once but I don't think it was any easier. Just another thing to clean up after. And as mentioned in the other forum, two hours is a "fool proof" cook time. Cooking longer is not bad however as you learn you will know when it's cooked.
 
Success! Today, no stick blending and two hours later the consistency was perfect.

For some reason I chose my full sized crock pot instead of the little 1.5qt I had been using. Glad I did. Even though the recipe was only about two inches worth in the crock pot, at the 45 minute mark, it bubbled to the top and over a little? I had been stirring about every fifteen minutes up to that point, and the overflow happened about five minutes after a stir. When I stirred it all down and scraped up what I could salvage, it stayed down for the rest of the cook. Was this 45 minute reaction the gelling? It did look like Vaseline, and then eventually cooked into a mashed potato look.
 
The batch I am making this weekend is 40% Stearic Acid, 25% Castor Oil, 10% Shea Butter, 10% Mango Butter, 5% Avocado Oil, 5%Meadowfoam Oil, 5% Evening Primrose Oil. Planning on using KOH and adding Glycerin after trace. Any thoughts on this, any changes that absolutely need to be made?

Dang, that is a lot of castor oil. My next recipe I will increase my castor oil percentages to see what effects it has. Thanks for sharing some of your views [MENTION=82607]jondeplin[/MENTION] Your shave soap is amazing! I looked around for Meadowfoam Oil and Evening Primrose Oil but could not find any so my soaps use Kokum, Mango seed and Shea butters instead.
 
just out of curiosity rockclimber, how's the soap without the coconut oil? I haven't attempted that yet.

Here is something different everyone can try. I couldn't get my hands on CRSW's Oliva so I tried to make my own. I'd be willing to bet it's nothing like the original but it has it's own qualities.. I did like the shave, but it needed a long, long rest time. It was not great the first time I tried it.. after 90 days of drying, it's quite nice and can take a lot of water. It does feel a bit different than a normal shaving soap. And no, the lather does not collapse from using Olive Oil

KOH/Naoh: 70/30
Stearic 42.5%
Olive Oil 42.5%
Cocoa Butter 10%
Castor Oil 5%
Use Aloe Leaf Juice instead of water
I set the lye calculator to only leave 2% superfat, and at the end of the cook I added 3% melted shea butter and 5% glycerine
 
Dang, that is a lot of castor oil. My next recipe I will increase my castor oil percentages to see what effects it has. Thanks for sharing some of your views @jondeplin Your shave soap is amazing! I looked around for Meadowfoam Oil and Evening Primrose Oil but could not find any so my soaps use Kokum, Mango seed and Shea butters instead.

The meadowfoam and evening primrose don't bring a ton to to the lather other than a bit of slickness, they are there for my dry skin issues more than anything. I still use a fair amount of castor, just not the 25% as it got really sticky.
 
The meadowfoam and evening primrose don't bring a ton to to the lather other than a bit of slickness, they are there for my dry skin issues more than anything. I still use a fair amount of castor, just not the 25% as it got really sticky.

Your soap lathers so easily that I don't see it being a problem for anyone. I am really drawn to your soaps because of all the butters and moisturizing oils you put in there, really top notch shave soap. Your scents are some of the best in the game as well so Dr. Jon's will always have a place in my shave den.
I don't think I will experiment with castor oil being in the 25% range but probably move from 5% to 10% to see if there is a big difference. I am trying to keep my stearic at 50% so castor oil will have to replace something else in the recipe, my kokum butter or avocado oil, etc. I see that MdC uses none of these and is great so I guess more experimentation is in order, fun fun! :thumbup:


just out of curiosity rockclimber, how's the soap without the coconut oil? I haven't attempted that yet.

I cannot comment on the soap as it is against the rules but I can comment on the ingredients. Without coconut oil you end up with creaminess off the charts and no bubbly so the lather is very creamy but difficult to whip up in hard water. I ended up putting 15% coconut oil back in for the next batch if that information helps you out any.
 
Against the rules to comment on soap... what craziness is that in a soap forum?
Phanbois have in the past gotten their knickers in a knot whining about "reviews" of soaps made by people who are not paid vendors. So, it's just safer to avoid it.
 
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