Critique this shave-soap recipe...(REVISED RECIPE)

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IanT

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First directed attempt at making a shave soap, previously I used my regular cp but that was before i discovered wetshaving... soooo

Anyone made these (im talking the reeeeeal stuff thatll pass the 10min foam test) before and care to take a gander.....

here is the recipe I thought up:

How does that sound for a shave soap? (screencap from soapmaker3)









Thaaaanks :)
 
This looks good to me. When I did my research on shaving soaps on this forum, it suggested that castor oil and high stearic acid were essential to producing a creamy stable lather. That you have here. If you want to up the stearic even more from what you get from the cocoa butter, you could add a little palm or some stearic acid as an additive.

Let us know how it turns out!
 
You have a decent start there. I second what Judy said, you gotta have the stearic for the stable lather, and you have a pretty good start with the cocoa and shea butters. I'd be inclined to add some more stearic though, about 3% and subtract some of the lard. If doing cp you will have to soap at about 120 F (sorry I don't know celcius if that is what you use), and I'd use a weeker lye solution as well to counteract all the stearic and prevent a super fast trace.
 
Looks like a pretty good start to me, too. It's actually not too far off in properties compared to my own shaving soap, the only major differences being that my stearic content is 20%, my ricinoleic is 22% and my oleic is 31%. The rest of my fatty acid profile matches yours with only a point or 2 difference here and there. Like xraygrl, I'd be inclined to bring your stearic up 3%, too, but who knows- your 17% might be just enough to do the trick. Let us know how it comes out!

IrishLass :)
 
IrishLass said:
Looks like a pretty good start to me, too. It's actually not too far off in properties compared to my own shaving soap, the only major differences being that my stearic content is 20%, my ricinoleic is 22% and my oleic is 31%. The rest of my fatty acid profile matches yours with only a point or 2 difference here and there. Like xraygrl, I'd be inclined to bring your stearic up 3%, too, but who knows- your 17% might be just enough to do the trick. Let us know how it comes out!

IrishLass :)

sweeet...

I kinda tested a few of shave soaps (just to get a basis of what to expect/compare as far as lather etc)

now to get the stearic higher, whats the best way? Just add stearic acid? I have some I use for lotion-thickening, but I thought it was quite hard to work with in soaps etc...

I think the silk would be cool too, never used that in soap but I ve also heard that one is quite nice :)
 
Ian, I get shivers when I see soapmaker...

looks like a good recipe!
 
Howdy Ian,

I saw the cross post to B&B. I've been experimenting with cream shaving soaps for about a year now. I know people love olive oil in soap over here, but the wetshavers aren't so enamored with it. I'ld ditch it. I'ld maybe cut down on the Shea butter, and cocoa butter and add a bit of stearic acid. You can just nuke it to melt it. Unless you want a soft soap I wouldn't add any KOH. If you want a cream go 75 to 95% KOH. I use Kaolin clay in my creams. It not only helps the slick, but I think it holds the FO's and EO's better as well. What does the sugar and silk do for it?? The rest of the recipe looks great.
 
Deda said:
SudsyKat said:
Deda said:
Ian, I get shivers when I see soapmaker...

looks like a good recipe!

Deda - how come you get shivers???

It's such a great program.

lol shivers of loooooove ;)

I am absolutely in love with this program, as you can see I havent really input prices etc because im scared to see what I spend on this stuff in the testing phase lol, I figure Ill really take care of the inventory side of the program once I do decide to start selling stuff (not talking about shave soap at this point...those are just for me :), just the cp stuff Ive been doing since I started here)



Howdy Ian,

I saw the cross post to B&B. I've been experimenting with cream shaving soaps for about a year now. I know people love olive oil in soap over here, but the wetshavers aren't so enamored with it. I'ld ditch it. I'ld maybe cut down on the Shea butter, and cocoa butter and add a bit of stearic acid. You can just nuke it to melt it. Unless you want a soft soap I wouldn't add any KOH. If you want a cream go 75 to 95% KOH. I use Kaolin clay in my creams. It not only helps the slick, but I think it holds the FO's and EO's better as well. What does the sugar and silk do for it?? The rest of the recipe looks great.

Yeah its so crazy, I found that place on google... went over, registered, gathered so much info, bought my first razor, blades, the works... and I found out a few members here post etc lol i was like waaaaaooooahh small world! lol!!! crazy stuff!!!

thanks for the advice!! I figure its a heavy oil, like not a saturated heavy but mass-wise, and the unsaps mean it probably would screw with the lather because itd be heavier, less likely to fluff... is that what it does??? just my postulation... lol

as far as the sugar and silk, I just thought maybe for an extra bit of lather (sugar) and the silk because of the amino acids/proteins it adds... not sure how much actually makes it through the lye monster but ive heard it sworn by for CP soaps, so i figure ill give it a try (i figure im going to add it to a recipe i know first to see if i notice any differences ... then decide yae/nae on using it)

ive never worked with silk before so it should be interesting lol... i think its added to the lye solution...

Im kind of excited to try it ! :)

alright im going to mess with the recipe and will post the update soon, and when i get around to making it ill be sure to post :)
 
Alright, Hows this look now???

Stearic Acid up to 30% when you count additional+inherent Stearic content...

nixed OO, upped Castor and Lard...



Im going to give this a go tomorrow and see how it does :)

Now as far as making soaps with KOH, havent even started on that route yet, thats a whollllle 'nother ballgame... I wonder if CP soap with NaOH can be made comparably?
 
Too cool, Ian. I use kaolin and silk in shave soap, and the lather is glossy, like meringue. The stearic conversation got me to wondering about stability, because my percentage is so much lower than yours. DH says it's plenty stable as it is. I use palm where you are using lard, and good amount of cocoa butter, but even so SM3 says stearic is only 6.6 with Fluffy 4.6; Stable Lather 6.1; Moisturizing 6.4.

Can't wait to hear how it comes out. Post pics of the lather if you get a chance.
 
soapbuddy said:
Too much stearic acid by itself could make your soap seize. Just a heads up.

Didn't know that. I've never used added stearic. For future reference, how much is too much? And evidently you can't sleep either, huh soapbuddy? :wink:
 
BakingNana said:
soapbuddy said:
Too much stearic acid by itself could make your soap seize. Just a heads up.

Didn't know that. I've never used added stearic. For future reference, how much is too much? And evidently you can't sleep either, huh soapbuddy? :wink:
I put that recipe aside since it didn't work. As soon as I find it, I'll post how much extra stearic I used.
 
Does this recipe make a real soft bar? Maybe real shaving soaps are quite soft?

Did you make it, Ian? How'd it turn out?
 
Ian,

I noticed that you have stearic listed as an extra additive there. Just a heads up in case you are not aware, stearic has to be calculated in with your oils as it has a sap value.
 

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