My first shaving soap is a success!

Lee:
thanks for posting the info about the tubs. I'm planning on making a couple of batches of shave soap for the purposes of Christmas gifts. I'm also thinking of making a batch as facial soap for the ladies (I sent some unscented tallow shave soap (superfatted with coconut oil) to my brother in law and his wife tried it on her face ... interestingly she really liked it).

Cheers-
Dave

Didn't see you here Dave, welcome to the place where the knowledge is.

I've only been rapped across the knuckles a couple times since being here, these folks are very good about sharing (and putting up with us!)

For the soaps I ship I ended up using the tins I spoke about earlier:



It's hard to make it out but these also have cellophane shrink-wrap sealing them. They fit in a small flat rate box where the tubs do not. I think you probably saw the poll on B&B about tubs vs tins. A lot of people prefer the tubs but since I give my soap away they can be happy with what they get. :razz:

(For the more observant - yes I know neither of my labels meets FDA guidelines yet. As these are free samples I am exempt but still will get them fixed.)

ETA: I think maybe I sent you one of these now that I think about it.

Hehe 7 pot of 235g, peppermint lavander. Bentonite super shave soap. I will try on saterday morning.

Have you tired it before you made a batch a size? If you want to tweak it, that's a lot of soap to get through.

I made 2x100g pots and I have not made much headway in to them, using them pretty much 90% of the time.

Preparing my christmas gifts. I probably get some 4 oz tins for next time. If it does last has long as i believe, i may only make a new batch next year! I did lots of research before selecting specifics of this recipe.

Looking forward to a change to TOBS.

My output for 1000 g of oil is around 1600g with glycerine, bentonite, eo, water and Koh. I am curious of the water loss during curing. This is why i am happy to have weighted these little pots . Will report back with info.

Also, first time using Koh, and it was zap free when in my jars. I just love HP my recipes.

Reporting that this is one of the best shaving soap i have used. The bubbles were small and dense, it wasn't drying at all, left it longer on a preshave. Also did a test by leaving the foam on my brush, came back 45 minutes latter and it was very similar to what was loaded.

I love this thread!!! Than you sooo much for the shared recipes. I have taken plenty of notes and I will try them myself and post my comments.

I do not have stearic acid so I need to order it. Some suppliers consider stearic acid the same product as triestearine eventhough they have different CAS number and it seems quite difficult to find stearic acid where I am from (Spain) but quite ease to find the second one. Could you please have a look at the product indication and be so kind of telling me the CAS number of the product you are using to make this soap recipe?

Cheers

Verotxu

That's interesting ... I looked up the difference and I think what we call Stearic Acid is Stearin (your tristearine). Stearic Acid (Octadecanoic acid) has a molecular formula of C18H36O2 while Stearin is a triclinic form of stearic acid and has a molecular formula of C57H110O6. Stearin is almost exactly three molecules of stearic acid and since the lye will cleave these apart anyway, weight for weight I'll bet they are interchangeable (technically one would use 95% as much of stearic acid as stearin).

That being said, stearin is odorless and stearic acid is oily/pungent so I'm willing to bet that what you find as triestearine is CAS number 555-43-1 and what I am using.

Don;t spend money till DeeAnna verifies but I'm pretty sure that's right.

Nice explanation, Lee! I can't resist adding a bit of a chemistry lesson to Lee's info:

Triglycerides are fats that have three fatty acid "fingers" attached to a glycerin "backbone". If you could look at any given fat molecule, you would see a varying assortment of fatty acids attached to each glycerin. A single molecule of lard, for example, might have stearic, oleic, and palmitic fingers, or two stearic and one oleic, or three palmitic, etc.

Tristearin would be a purified fat with molecules that mostly have three (tri) stearic acid (stearin) fingers attached to the glycerin. If you look at the picture here -- http://www.chemicalbook.com/CASEN_555-43-1.htm -- the glycerin is in the center with the untidy OH (hydroxyl) pieces sticking out. The tidy stearic acid fingers extend outward from there.

I am not quite certain how tristearin would be made commercially. If it is a product separated from natural fats, it would have a variable composition, much like commercial stearic acid, which is often roughly half stearic and half palmitic acid. If the tristearin is artificially created, it might be quite pure. I would expect, in either case, for tristearin to be a waxy solid at room temperature. (Lee??)

You would use tristearin like you would use lard, tallow, palm, or other high-stearic fat. If I didn't have any other information to go on, I would guess the saponification value of tristearin would be close to commercial stearic acid. If the seller can provide a sap value, it would be best to use that number.

DeeAnna said:

I am not quite certain how tristearin would be made commercially. If it is a product separated from natural fats, it would have a variable composition, much like commercial stearic acid, which is often roughly half stearic and half palmitic acid. If the tristearin is artificially created, it might be quite pure. I would expect, in either case, for tristearin to be a waxy solid at room temperature. (Lee??)

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Hrmum, so that's interesting ... if you are saying Stearin is a triglyceride then the "common knowledge" that the SA we use has no glycerin is a fallacy. SA, if that's really what we are using has none but stearin does. Here is a pic of stearic acid:



And here is a pic of stearin:



The "SA" I use and see in stores is white, waxy, odorless (or smells like wax). It seems reasonable that what we call SA is actually stearin and therefore does actually contribute glycerin to the soap made from it?

If that's true DeeAnna I need to revise that paper I sent you.

LBussy said:

That's interesting ... I looked up the difference and I think what we call Stearic Acid is Stearin (your tristearine). Stearic Acid (Octadecanoic acid) has a molecular formula of C18H36O2 while Stearin is a triclinic form of stearic acid and has a molecular formula of C57H110O6. Stearin is almost exactly three molecules of stearic acid and since the lye will cleave these apart anyway, weight for weight I'll bet they are interchangeable (technically one would use 95% as much of stearic acid as stearin).

That being said, stearin is odorless and stearic acid is oily/pungent so I'm willing to bet that what you find as triestearine is CAS number 555-43-1 and what I am using.

Don;t spend money till DeeAnna verifies but I'm pretty sure that's right.

Click to expand...

Lee, I must be missing something. The commercial stearic acid I purchase comes as small, dry flakes. Upon melting, the S.A. is clear and mostly odorless.

"...Stearin is a triglyceride then the "common knowledge" that the SA we use has no glycerin is a fallacy..."

Stearic acid is a fatty acid, not a triglyceride. It definitely does not have any glycerin in it.

Tristearin is a fat -- a triglyceride. It DOES contain glycerin.

What may be confusing here might be the somewhat variable definition of the word stearin due to its original usage in history.

When a natural fat (say palm oil or lard) is melted and then slowly cooled, the higher molecular weight fats will turn solid first. If you can hold the fats at precisely the right temperature, you can filter out the solids.

The liquid part has historically been called "olein" because it contains liquid fat high in oleic acid and the solid part was called "stearin" because it contains solid fats high in stearic acid.

The stearin fraction was once a hot commodity for candle making. The olein fraction glutted the market and was sold cheaply to soap makers. The words stearin and olein might not be used as precisely as one might like due to their lingering original meanings.

It's a little like the word "lye", which can mean KOH or NaOH or a blend of both. The meaning is all about context. If you want precision, you need to spell it out. So stearic acid, tristearin, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, etc.

LBussy said:

Here is a pic of stearic acid:

And here is a pic of stearin:

Click to expand...

Now I'm confused. The second picture looks like the "Stearic Acid" that I purchase. The stuff on top/first pic doesn't look like anything I've ever used.

-Dave

Stearic acid looks a little different depending on the natural fats from which the product is made, the type of processing done on the ingredients, and the whether the product is flaked or prilled (beads). Don't get too literal about this, 'kay?

DeeAnna said:

Stearic acid looks a little different depending on the natural fats from which the product is made, the type of processing done on the ingredients, and the whether the product is flaked or prilled (beads). Don't get too literal about this, 'kay?

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The references also say that stearic acid has a pungent odor where stearin does not. I'm 99% certain what I have (that was labeled stearic acid) is stearin.

What oil will make a good superfat ? I have coconut , avocado , castor , and coco butter.

LBussy said:

The references also say that stearic acid has a pungent odor where stearin does not. I'm 99% certain what I have (that was labeled stearic acid) is stearin.

Click to expand...

The stuff I have is not very smelly ... hmmmm.

-Dave

LBussy said:

The references also say that stearic acid has a pungent odor where stearin does not. I'm 99% certain what I have (that was labeled stearic acid) is stearin.

Click to expand...

Hmm. Then why wouldn't it be labeled as such?

guygarr said:

What oil will make a good superfat ? I have coconut , avocado , castor , and coco butter.

Click to expand...

Of those I would probably go with cocoa butter but you will have to add it after the cook.