Thanks for the heads-up, the price is what’s kept me from buying any up until now.
Last edited:
A journal of a Cajun's life wet shaving
- Thread starter cajunrph
- Start date
I would like to but I have to go on the road to town for an echogram this afternoon.
Safe journeys
Stay calm! I am not a real doctor, but I did stay at the Holiday Inn Express last night......
The ingredient list for the Razor Emporium Heritage Shave Soap looks very common for non-tallow based shave soap. Except for a few additional ingredients that I have in my BSS #1 it is very much the same. The key to a good shave soap is to have high amounts of stearic acid and/or palmitic acid and this one of course have stearic acid as it's first ingredient. The coconut oil helps to get the lather "started" so you want some of that in there. All good so far. Shea Butter is further down on the list and a bit more expensive ingredient so I suspect quite a small amount like 5-10% of total oil/fat content. It is a pretty solid ingredient list and it probably lathers quite easily and you most likely get a good lather from this soap.
So to your main question regarding the softness. None of the oil/fat ingredients determines if this will be a hard or a soft soap. What determines the hardness of the soap is mostly due to the ratio of Potassium Hydroxide(KOH) <-> Sodium Hydroxide(NaOH) that is used to saponify the oils/fats. The higher the percentage KOH used the softer it will be and likewise the more NaOH you use the harder it will be.
Croaps as we refer to it here on B&B are nothing more than a soap that has a high percentage of KOH and lower NaOH. Of course the softer you make it the faster it gets used up, but it is also easier to lather. The reverse is true as well. For example, I made a NaOH only shave soap with the same ingredients as my BSS #1 and you would think I made a hockey puck. It is rock hard and it is hard to load a brush from it, but once you do it is just like my normal BSS #1. A soap made from only KOH would be like a soft cream. Now the oils/fats used does have an impact on the hardness as well, but if there is a lot of stearic/palmitic acid it will be a very hard soap if NaOH only is used. This is why most shave soaps are dual lye to help with lather ability.
The Razor Emporium Heritage probably has a good amount of KOH vs NaOH. My guess would be 80% KOH - 20% NaOH or more. My personal BSS #1 is 60% KOH - 40% NaOH and it does have a bit of malleability. Hope that answered your question.
I saw EJ 3ONE6 was too. I paused a bit at that. It was like half off.
- Thread starter
- #2,108
The GRUME is in the way, besides I have two sticks already. I'd imagine those will last far longer than the Heritage.
Thank you, my friend, have a great and blessed day.
Very well written my friend. If we look around us we can see that we are living in a world that is broken. A broken world filled with broken people. As we know broken things cannot fix broken things.
- Thread starter
- #2,111
It was very soft and left a nice slickness on the face after the shave. And my boars ate through it like a box of Little Debbie Swiss Roll cakes at a Jenny Craig convention. Thanks for the clarification on the softness. Today's soap ingredients are listed below:
Stay calm! I am not a real doctor, but I did stay at the Holiday Inn Express last night......
The ingredient list for the Razor Emporium Heritage Shave Soap looks very common for non-tallow based shave soap. Except for a few additional ingredients that I have in my BSS #1 it is very much the same. The key to a good shave soap is to have high amounts of stearic acid and/or palmitic acid and this one of course have stearic acid as it's first ingredient. The coconut oil helps to get the lather "started" so you want some of that in there. All good so far. Shea Butter is further down on the list and a bit more expensive ingredient so I suspect quite a small amount like 5-10% of total oil/fat content. It is a pretty solid ingredient list and it probably lathers quite easily and you most likely get a good lather from this soap.
So to your main question regarding the softness. None of the oil/fat ingredients determines if this will be a hard or a soft soap. What determines the hardness of the soap is mostly due to the ratio of Potassium Hydroxide(KOH) <-> Sodium Hydroxide(NaOH) that is used to saponify the oils/fats. The higher the percentage KOH used the softer it will be and likewise the more NaOH you use the harder it will be.
Croaps as we refer to it here on B&B are nothing more than a soap that has a high percentage of KOH and lower NaOH. Of course the softer you make it the faster it gets used up, but it is also easier to lather. The reverse is true as well. For example, I made a NaOH only shave soap with the same ingredients as my BSS #1 and you would think I made a hockey puck. It is rock hard and it is hard to load a brush from it, but once you do it is just like my normal BSS #1. A soap made from only KOH would be like a soft cream. Now the oils/fats used does have an impact on the hardness as well, but if there is a lot of stearic/palmitic acid it will be a very hard soap if NaOH only is used. This is why most shave soaps are dual lye to help with lather ability.
The Razor Emporium Heritage probably has a good amount of KOH vs NaOH. My guess would be 80% KOH - 20% NaOH or more. My personal BSS #1 is 60% KOH - 40% NaOH and it does have a bit of malleability. Hope that answered your question.
Aqua(Water/Eau), Stearic Acid, Cocos Nucifera(Coconut) Oil, Potassium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Myristic Acid, Fragrance(Parfum), Lanolin, Maris Sal(Dead Sea Salt), Aloe Barbadensis(Aloe Vera) Extract, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, Linalool.
This one is much harder than the RE soap and would likely last much longer. No Tallow in this one but it is harder, must be due to the ration of KOH to NAOH, KOH is listed first. Thanks for the lesson.
- Thread starter
- #2,112
Yep looks like NaOH is higher up on the ingredient list so just like you said it is a harder soap. Otherwise similar with some trace ingredients being different.
Prayer, planning and a little luck can go a long way, my friend.
I saw that - $1 a stick!
I was really tempted.
Then I did a back of the envelope calculation of how much soap I have, and realized that at about 50 shaves per 4oz jar, I'm good for 14 years, 3 months, 2 days and a bit of extra buffing on that last day (assuming I keep a goatee).
Give or take.
Oh, yeah. And that's excluding the kilo of Cella Red I just picked up a week ago.
Good luck!
Thank You. They also hung a Holter monitor on me for 72hrs. I’ll get my results late next month.
- Thread starter
- #2,118
300+ Shaves in 2024 181 of 300+
July 2024 GRUME 12/31
Shave Date 7/17/2024
Razor: 1957 Fat Bottomed Tech
Blade: Tiger Platinum (2)
Pre-Shave: Leaf Pre-Shave Oil, Neutragena facial cleansing bar.
Soap PAA Black Shroud
Brush: Yaqi Caramel two band Badger.
Post-shave: Alum Bock, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Mother Bear Winter Balm, Nivea Cooling Balm, PAA Black Shroud.
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(1), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.
Notes:
I haven't used my PAA soaps in a loooooooooooooooooooonnnnggg time and with the Woodhue inspired Black Shroud being one of my favorite scents, today's shave was long overdue. PAA soaps are on the thirstier end of the soap spectrum, therefore I made sure to incorporate plenty of water into my lather while I was face lathering. This resulted in a very creamy darn near perfect lather today. Too bad ole Doug, or whatever his real name, is an arsehole, his soaps are quality soaps. Three passes without any touch-ups and the results are great, like most of my shaves have been lately. And the scent is a good'un with some stamina and spousal approval. All is well in the land.
One blade left in the Tiger Tuck and I'll move on to a more desirable blade for a tuck or two. I have the Gillette Platinum I shaved with at my Mom's on the magnet and it will get the start after I'm done with the Tiger Tuck, after that we shall see, eventually I want to rid myself of the subpar blades and get on to the better blades. The Tigers work for two shaves for me, so I am not torturing myself by using them up, fortunately, I have not come across a blade that isn't good for at least 2 shaves.
'Tis all, be blessed and have grand shaves.
July 2024 GRUME 12/31
Shave Date 7/17/2024
Razor: 1957 Fat Bottomed Tech
Blade: Tiger Platinum (2)
Pre-Shave: Leaf Pre-Shave Oil, Neutragena facial cleansing bar.
Soap PAA Black Shroud
Brush: Yaqi Caramel two band Badger.
Post-shave: Alum Bock, Thayer's Witch Hazel, Mother Bear Winter Balm, Nivea Cooling Balm, PAA Black Shroud.
Rating: 28/30 10 for Comfort, 10 for cuts and weepers(1), 8 for smoothness, neck stubble, BBS on the face, and DFS+++ neck.
Notes:
I haven't used my PAA soaps in a loooooooooooooooooooonnnnggg time and with the Woodhue inspired Black Shroud being one of my favorite scents, today's shave was long overdue. PAA soaps are on the thirstier end of the soap spectrum, therefore I made sure to incorporate plenty of water into my lather while I was face lathering. This resulted in a very creamy darn near perfect lather today. Too bad ole Doug, or whatever his real name, is an arsehole, his soaps are quality soaps. Three passes without any touch-ups and the results are great, like most of my shaves have been lately. And the scent is a good'un with some stamina and spousal approval. All is well in the land.
One blade left in the Tiger Tuck and I'll move on to a more desirable blade for a tuck or two. I have the Gillette Platinum I shaved with at my Mom's on the magnet and it will get the start after I'm done with the Tiger Tuck, after that we shall see, eventually I want to rid myself of the subpar blades and get on to the better blades. The Tigers work for two shaves for me, so I am not torturing myself by using them up, fortunately, I have not come across a blade that isn't good for at least 2 shaves.
'Tis all, be blessed and have grand shaves.
Hopefully it's nothing serious.
Don't hold back. How do you really feel?
