How much glycerin needs to be in a shaving soap recipe?

How much Glycerin needs to be in a shaving soap recipe?
Let's say I created a recipe and was able to calculate how much Glycerin it will produce by the ammount of oils, but there is so much Stearic acid that is not going to produce any, so I need to add extra.
But to really add extra glycerin to what I want in my recipe, I have no idea what a good range is.
Like what is too little and what his too much?
Anyone know what is a good range so I at least know a range to work in?
Now without going all technical on all the different types of shave soaps out there, what's a good range for a recipe that has around 50% Stearic acid and around 40% Tallow or Palm oil.

What are your thoughts on it, from having read the Songwind thread on shaving soap?

I read into 25 pages and was done with it. Too much talk revolved around 1 specific recipe and many people just adding whatever. Would be more interesting is I was making that specific recipe. I may try it at a later date, but for the moment, I'm working on a different recipe.

The one I made had 15% (of oil weight) in glycerin. Seemed to work well, but I don't have any base of comparison since I've just made it once.

If you took the time to read it you would have seen how the recipe changes and additives (including glycerine) are discussed, with feedback on the performance changes from recipe changes.

But hey, why bother investing your own time to read it when you can just ask for it on a silver platter?

The Efficacious Gentleman said:

If you took the time to read it you would have seen how the recipe changes and additives (including glycerine) are discussed, with feedback on the performance changes from recipe changes.

But hey, why bother investing your own time to read it when you can just ask for it on a silver platter?

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I read 25 pages of it and if it was helpful to the 1 question I had, I wouldnt be asking here would I?
Obviously it's going to change when you change the recipe.. every random persons batch of shave soap is not the data I'm asking about. People love the $2 crap you buy at the store, so how does thier shaving soap they made make any difference when I haven't tried it?
was asking for a specific detail which obviously no one knows.
You think you can just point everyone to that thread on someone's first shaving soap and it's like a bible for all questions?
Then you come at me with the Silver platter statements because I asked a question and didn't care for the thread you told me to read.. I see you're when of those people. Every forum has That Guy..

You talk to me like I never read anything or do my own resrarch.. I spent hundreds of hours reading about soap making and shaving soap and when there is a question I'm not sure about, I ask or if I want more opinions on a subject, I ask.
What is the forum for? For you to tell people what to do and how to do it? And if not, you're gonna be like that..
I even printed out and filled a 3" binder with soap making information from all over, but hey. Why read anything when I can just ask for it right?..

That question was answered in that thread. Maybe not within the first 25 pages, but it is answered. There are many recipes, it's true, and a lot of experienced shavers tried them and gave feedback, as I said, on what those changes did - if you're serious about formulating your own recipe or (and it's possible) this recipe that you want to make could be made better, that sort of feedback is invaluable.

You have done a lot of research, but there is a whole lot of rubbish out there. That thread is a gold mine and is very much worth the time to read. But you don't have to, that is your choice. But it is a mistake not to read it, and you are doing yourself a disservice by not doing it.

Took me a week to read it I think. Yes there were pages that I didn't learn much from but it gives a very good idea of about what you should be looking for in a shave soap. For that matter I think 95% of the recipes in that thread will probly make excellent shave soap. I used one to base my first shave soap off. Made some mistakes making it and ended up with a 15-20% SF as far as I can calculate and I've had the best shaves yet. No more rash and bumps.


Edit: Helpful hint, if you're on app for this forum. At the top of each page is a space that you can search the entire thread for a certain word or phrase, i.e. glycerine.

PatrickH said:

How much Glycerin needs to be in a shaving soap recipe?

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Although one will most likely want to add some glycerin if using a large amount of straight stearic acid in their recipe (since there is no natural glycerin produced from straight stearic in the lye reaction), there's no easy, one-size-fits-all answer to this question, unfortunately. Good, old-fashioned 'trial and error' on a personal level is the order of the day because there's so much of this that rides on personal preference, i.e., not only will it will depend on ones recipe in terms of what one is personally satisfied with in regards to the effect they see that X-amount of glycerin has on the sustainability/longevity of the lather of their recipe, but also on ones personal skin-type/skin-preferences, because of how glycerin personally feels to each individuals skin. Some find it to help tremendously with a conditioning feel, while others find it can feel too uncomfortably sticky/tacky.

If it helps at all, my first shaving formula- which was an NaOH-only CP formula that contained tallow and butters as my source of stearic (instead of using straight stearic acid as an additive)- I used only 10% glycerin and it worked well for my hubby. Then I went and did an overhaul of my recipe in order to include straight stearic acid to bump my stearic up in order to eliminate the need for clay, and also to include some KOH in order to make it easier/quicker to lather. To my overhauled formula with the new addition of 28% straight stearic acid, my hubby finds that he likes 20% glycerin in it.


IrishLass