adding glycerin to a shaving soap...

I think I heard about this on here. This might be a stupid question, but do they sell glycerin in solid form at all? I don't see how adding a liquid would work.

Also, how much should be added? About a quarter to an eighth of the amount of soap, I'm assuming?

If you can't get glycerin add some lotion that has glycerin in it. I use a dab of Corn Huskers Lotion on top of my Williams Shaving soap. This also works well during hunting season because of the lack of scent.

They sell glycerin laxative suppositories that are about 80% glycerin, but I don't know if they are solid or liquid on the inside. I'm not sure how they smell or what the other 20% is.

If you could melt you soap and one of those into it...

Dude, first of all DO NOT use laxatives in your shave cream/soap, that's just not the way to go about things!

Go to a local CVS store, to the women's beauty & moisturizer section and they sell bottles of pure glycerin.



It's like $3.

After loading up your brush on the soap puck. If you use a lather bowl, add a squirt of glycerine in the bottom of the bowl first. Then just lather up as per usual.

Or put a squirt of it atop the loaded brush for face latherers.


What I would also recommend is to just go out and get some Kiss My Face unscented shave cream. Put a dollup of that in the mix and you'll be loving life!

It was just a suggestion for a possible solid source of glycerin. I've never done it.

I just tried the Corn Huskers Lotion and Williams combo. I was very surprised. I've had both good and bad experiences with Williams. I might try some pure glycerin with Williams to compare to the CHL.

I don't know about finding a solid block of glycerin. I use the CVS brand shown above. If you are adding it to a glycerin based soap puck, just melt the puck in the microwave for about 20 secs., then pour about a capfull from the bottle and stir it up. Put it in the fridge to solidify. Bobs your uncle; good stuff. My Conk and Pirates Cove pucks perform much better after the addition.

As for the tallow based hard soaps don't put them in the microwave as I'm told the tallow will scorch. If you want to add glycerin to these products, just put a few drops straight into your lather while whipping.

Adding extra glycerin really does help an underperforming product improve. If you are satisfied w/ the slickness of a product it probably isn't necessary.

Here in the UK we can purchase pure glycerin soap made by 'Simple'. I have used it to make a 'superlather, ala Mantic, works great .

I can buy liquid glycerin at my local, small town, pharmacy. I have rejuvenated damaged glycerin-base shave soap using it or a glycerin rosewater mixture (popular as a hand cream). I usually melt my shave soap in its mug in a small pan of water over low heat. I mix in at least 1 ounce of glycerin, etc. and stir it thoroughly. After the soap cools it is occasionally too dry. If so, I add about a 1/4 inch of water to the mug and let it stand overnight. Sometimes I have to repeat this once. When finished my shave soap produces and great, slick lather.

BTW, if you are wondering how one damages shave soap, I've done it twice. Once I was melting and migrating the same soap cake over and over as I auditioned the contents of our china cabinet looking for a good shaving mug (ended up buying a latte cup at Target). That cake was melted at least 4 times. The other time I over-microwaved it and boiled the moisture away and separated the glycerin. Both times the above procedure rescued the soap.

I'd never heard of adding glycerin to the puck before (I've been adding it when I mixed everything in the bowl). Anyway, tried it directly on the puck this morning...LATHER EXPLOSION. This method's a keeper, definately.

I don't need to do any preparation of my beard prior to shaving and I don't get any razor burn or bumps on my neck since I started using a hand made soap called, Wild Carrot Complexion Soap, from A Wild Soap Bar, http://www.awildsoapbar.com/product.asp?productid=413473. Hand made soap has lots of natural glycerin in it, and this particular soap also has shea butter and goat milk in it (see ingredients below). I also have no need to put anything on my face after the shave (except water - filtered of course) because the shea butter absorbs into my skin and keeps my face moisturized. It is really easy to make lather from this soap and loads of it.


This is now the only product that I use for shaving because its performance is "Bravo! Bravo!". This soap comes in the shape of a regular bar of soap, so I mill it in my Mini Cuisinart and press it into a bowl. The Cuisinart makes milling the soap easy and fast (I cut the soap into about eight chunks prior to putting into the Cuisinart). You will see here on B&B that some of the members melt their soaps, or microwave them to fit into a specific bowl. This soap is made by the cold process method and therefore I didn't want to heat it. The cost is $5.50 to $6.00 (depending on where you get it) for a 4 oz. bar. If you try this soap, you may also find that you don't want to use anything else; or you may find that you use other products but compare them to this soap.

I might try that out. Question: would aftershave dry you out when you use this stuff? Right now I apply a balm after I slap it on (which I might not need if this moisturizes like you say) but I like aftershave for the disinfecting properties.

Using Arko soap/cream right now, and I don't remember if that brand is particularly drying for your skin.

mascarasnake21 said:

I might try that out. Question: would aftershave dry you out when you use this stuff? Right now I apply a balm after I slap it on (which I might not need if this moisturizes like you say) but I like aftershave for the disinfecting properties.

Using Arko soap/cream right now, and I don't remember if that brand is particularly drying for your skin.

Click to expand...

If this question is to me, I don't use aftershaves and therefore don't know if they dry out the skin or not. I do know that when I use this soap, my face is Baby Butt Smooth and Baby Butt Soft. I don't have a need for disinfecting. If I worried about keeping myself disinfected, I would never touch most things that are handled by people, especially money (paper money and coins). cough cough sneeze

Ok so do you guys just add water and some drops of glycerin to the puck and then face lather; or do you melt the puck then mix some glycerin while it's broken down? Which would be ideal (if the latter how much glycerin on average per puck?).

You can also customize your AS by mixing 1 or 2 drops of glycerine to your AS of choice. You get your preferred scent plus the moisturizing.

Vintage shaving kits often have a small bottle or stoppered vial for glycerine. I've seen it most often paired with a shaker or stoppered vial full of soap flakes.

The flakes were sold as "shaving powder" back before that description was used for razorless depilatory powders. I think Williams put out a product in that format, among others.

You can get 99+% Glycerin cheaply in a local pharmacy store.

What you do is use a bowl for this (it'll be harder without) is to load your brush with soap and add 5-6 drops of glycerin to bowl. Make lather as usual.

usually though, people mix creme + soap + glycerin (uberlather) or creme + soap (superlather)