Shave Soap Shaving Soap vs Shaving Cream

[Bearpaw]

I’m a total newbie here…

I would really like to make a shaving cream, as opposed to a shaving soap.

I have Carrie Siebert’s book “How to Make Shaving Soap”, and will be using here recipe #1 as my starting point.

It calls for 80% stearic acid and 20% coconut oil. Her dual lye is 60% KOH and 40% NaOH at a 33% concentration.

My question is… if I want to get a product that resembles a shaving cream rather than a soap, should I drop the lye concentration to something like 15%, by increasing the water amount?

 

[AliOop]

Welcome! You may want to check out the threads here on "cream soap." You can type that into the search bar to find them.

 

[Bearpaw]

I’ve been doing some more research… including reading a lot of the cream soap threads… However, for cream soap I understand that there is a very long cure time - in the order of 6 to 12 months.

As I want to eventually sell this product this approach would not be really suitable.

I think I’m really going to need to play with a few recipes and see what happens through trial and error… just waiting for my ingredients to arrive.

 

[Bearpaw]

Can I please have some assistance with reworking a formula.

The formula I have is as follows:

Phase A
Water 42%
Glycerin 24%

Phase B
Potassium Stearate 10%
Sodium Stearate 8%

Phase C
Coconut Oil 16%

Method:

1. Heat phase A to 74C, then add phase B
2. Warm phase C to 74C
3. When both phases are fully homogenous add phase C to AB
4. Emulsify and cool to room temperature with mixing
5. Adjust for water loss

How would I need to formulate this if I have access to the following ingredients:

• Water
• Glycerin
• Stearic Acid
• KOH
• NaOH
• Coconut Oil

A possible methodology I have come across is the following:

1. Melt half the stearic acid into the coconut oil
2. Dissolve alkalis in water and add to stearic acid and coconut oil mixture
3. Once saponified add remaining stearic acid and glycerine to form a creamy paste
4. Warm water to 45C and quickly stir into paste
5. Add fragrance and preservative

Does this sound feasible for a shelf stable product?