Women's shaving bar soap

[Delynnr]

Okay - know there are a ton of threads on here that talking about shaving soap. However, I can't seem to find anything that addresses what I want. Maybe I am just not searching right? Maybe it has been a killer week and my brains are fried... either way

I want to create a bar soap that would be better for shaving my legs. I don't want a men's shaving soap! I want a soap that will be moisturizing, give a little slip to the razor to make it a nicer experience and I would like to be able to use it on my entire body as well.

I have some recipes that I have formulated that are moisturizing. I know that I am likely going to add a little bit of clay to my general recipe and up the avocado oil a bit. I am contemplating tallow as well. However I thought I would put the question to the experts! Have you guys made a bar soap that is nice on your legs? I really hate shaving and anything to make it less of an annoying PITA would be lovely!

btw - salt bars are BAD for shaving. I was really tired a few weeks ago and grabbed my salt bar (which I normally love as it is lightly exfoliating) and used that to shave with. Not a wise choice! :lolno:

 

[Obsidian]

Ever shave your arm pits with a salt bar? Its a really bad idea too lol. I like my 100% lard bar for shaving, it's creamy, moisturizing and really slippery. I've been considering trying a mens type cream shaving soap for my legs, the lather looks fantastic.

 

[squigglz]

Dunno, I use a "man's" shaving soap, as you'd call it, on my various areas to shave and it works just fine I'm not dried out, or anything... You could try adding some moisturizing oils or butters, I guess, but shaving soap tends to be very VERY high in steraic acid (probably spelled that wrong) for the stable lather, which is, iirc, not inherently moisturizing.

 

[sistrum]

What I look for in a good combo bath and leg shaving bar is something where the lather will stay on my legs until I'm done and not have to relather in the middle of shaving. I find a tallow and or lard bar to work well. The combo I like is 30% tallow, 20% lard, 15% PKO, 30%rice ran and 5% castor. Switching the lard and tallow is fine. Or add some sal butter. The point is to have a higher steric amount or what ever you use to enhance the creamy part of your lather.

Keeping your lye constration at 33% or a little higher will help the lathering and keep it from drying until your done.
Super fat for me is still at 5% because of the lard but that's up to you. Soap is not really a moisturizer and I like to use lotion because of all the extra goodies you can add but with this formula on me it's not a must do.

Good luck and let us know what you come up with. Sissy

 

[dagmar88]

I ditched shaving soap and just use commercial hair conditioner instead now :shh:

 

[danahuff]

I made one. It didn't sell. I think I sold one bar of it. But I like it, so I will probably make it again for myself when it runs out. Here was my recipe:

40% olive
30% coconut oil
22% palm
8% castor

I also used bentonite clay for slip. Oh, and I scented it with a chocolate FO and used baking chocolate to color it. Makes brown bubbles, but it's very nice.

 

[Robert]

I would like to be able to use it on my entire body as well.

For shaving it or washing it?

I don't have a recipe for shaving soap, but can tell you the general principle. You need it to make lather easily, but then to be very creamy and a bit waxlike. So the soap has to have two aspects that are usually in opposition to each other. You need the C12 (lauric) soap to make the suds fast--commercial shaving creams have some SLS for that--but you don't want the puffy foam typical of soaps high in C12 content. You need excess fatty acid, and of that a high proportion of high melting C18 (stearic), although that tends to fight the sudsiness of the C12. So your ideal is a superfatted soap with a lot of saturated C12 & C18 and as little as possible in between. It's not easy to get that starting with unfractionated fats & oils, but you can approximate it with tallow & palm kernel or coconut.

If you want to see a mass market bar soap like that, unless they've changed it (and maybe they have, it's been many years since I've used it), that would be Safeguard. Shortly after it was introduced in the 1960s as P&G's competition for Dial (then a high-tallow, low sudsing antibacterial soap), they decided they to "improve" the lather without compromising its mildness, so they added stearic acid. The result was something that made a compact kind of lather, almost like jelly, that if you allowed to dry in the soap dish would leave a skeleton-lace of former suds.

And of course anything else you can improve slip with like clay is a bonus.

 

[Skatergirl46]

Funny, I just finished showering and shaving my legs with one of my body bars. I used one that is very creamy and has nice lather. It worked great. I have also used another of mine that is a similar recipe and has some clay in it.

 

[new12soap]

I use a "men's" shaving soap on my legs, I guess I just think of shaving soap as unisex just like commercial shaving cream with the possible exception of scent. You want all the same characteristics, good stable fluffy lather that lasts, conditioning, and slip. Re-read the shaving soap threads and then just think of your fave scent in it. Tallow is always a good ingredient for a shave soap as it is high in stearic. And yes, I also use them as all-over body soap.

And yeah salt bars are BAD for shaving! But... sugar scrub is excellent! If you use a sugar scrub and scrub away until the sugar is completely dissolved then shave with the remaining residue (some scrubs are more creamy, some are soapy, both work), you have already exfoliated and your legs will be smoooooooooth!

 

[Delynnr]

Dunno, I use a "man's" shaving soap..

I guess by "mens" I mean something that has tons of volume and looks like whipped cream. I don't need that - I just want something that will feel good to shave with and won't be drying on either my legs or the rest of my body.

What I look for in a good combo bath and leg shaving bar is something where the lather will stay on my legs until I'm done and not have to relather in the middle of shaving. I find a tallow and or lard bar to work well.

Thanks - I think I will incorporate several suggestions including yours! I am mostly making this for myself - but will probably give some to my mom and sister as well. I will have to lie to my sister as she freaks at the thought of tallow or lard in soap. I have no clue why - she eats meat and wears leather.

I made one. It didn't sell. I think I sold one bar of it. But I like it, so I will probably make it again for myself when it runs out. ....... Oh, and I scented it with a chocolate FO and used baking chocolate to color it. Makes brown bubbles, but it's very nice.

Oh - I love the chocolate idea!!! As I said I really hate shaving - so ANYTHING to make it better is good for me!

For shaving it or washing it?

Oh wow - can't even imagine shaving my entire body!!!! As I said above I despise shaving my legs as it is! Thanks for your suggestions though. I am going to mix several of the above ideas into one.