A second shaving soap test

[kc1ble]

I'm still looking for a hard puck to use so I tried another recipe yesterday. I also wanted to use some of the tallow I rendered last weekend. The recipe
33% Tallow
33% Stearic Acid
20% Coconut Oil
14% Castor Oil

35%NaOH
65%KOH

I did this HP and took it out of the mold this morning. It seemed quite soft, even softer than the SA/CO from Songwinds recipe. Hopefully it will cure out and stiffen up a lot. I will let it settle out for a couple days before I try to lather it, but ingredient wise, it should lather well.

 

[dosco]

What sort of water+lye solution were you using? If you use less water, the final product will be 'harder' or 'stiffer.'

Also, you may want to consider increasing the stearic. My shave soap is 50-25-25 stearic-lard-coconut oil...last 2 batches were KOH only and low(ish) water...I can knead the final product, but it isn't sticky or goopy.

Lee (who might post here) makes KOH only soap that is quite hard.

-Dave

 

[IrishLass]

Based on my own shave croap made with 64% KOH/34% NaOH, it should firm up quite nicely to form a stand-alone puck over the next 3 to 4 weeks, but still remain pliable enough to be able to smoosh it form-fittingly into a shave mug.


IrishLass

 

[kc1ble]

Based on my own shave croap made with 64% KOH/34% NaOH, it should firm up quite nicely to form a stand-alone puck over the next 3 to 4 weeks, but still remain pliable enough to be able to smoosh it form-fittingly into a shave mug.


IrishLass

Thank you, I'm hoping it does, though I just checked on it and it is still much softer than I prefer. It reminds me of cookie dough that is chilled in the fridge. I do understand that it should get harder as time goes by.

What sort of water+lye solution were you using? If you use less water, the final product will be 'harder' or 'stiffer.'

Also, you may want to consider increasing the stearic. My shave soap is 50-25-25 stearic-lard-coconut oil...last 2 batches were KOH only and low(ish) water...I can knead the final product, but it isn't sticky or goopy.

Lee (who might post here) makes KOH only soap that is quite hard.

-Dave

I used soapcalcs 38% water as I haven't dared to stray away from that yet, perhaps it is time to start. Even so, won't the excess water evaporate as it cures? I agree with the stearic, but I wanted to try more tallow as the recipe I am ultimately trying to recreate has a higher percentage of tallow. The ingredients on it are as follows: Potassium Tallowate,Stearic Acid,Potassium Cocoate,Aqua,Sodium Palm Kernelate,Glycerin,Parfum,Paraffinum Luquidum,Titainum Dioxide,Tetrasodium EDTA,Etidronic Acid,Disodium Distrybiphenyl Disulfonate. I know I wasn't using all of these ingredients on this trial, but it was a recipe high in tallow and stearic that I could use as a base. Perhaps
EDTA,Etidronic Acid,Disodium Distrybiphenyl Disulfonate have something to do with the firmness of the bar I will be modeling and even after researching, I don't understand their purpose and think they may be unavailable to me.

 

[dosco]

EDTA and editor ate are chela yours to prevent soap scum. Not sure that it affects firmness.

Using KOH will make softer soap...it's not avoidable.

-Dave

 

[kc1ble]

EDTA and editor ate are chela yours to prevent soap scum. Not sure that it affects firmness.

Using KOH will make softer soap...it's not avoidable.

-Dave

I understand the KOH will make softer soap. It also lathers much better than NaOH, Will increasing NaOH increase the hardness of the bar or puck in this case. I want to find a happy medium without sacrificing lather.

 

[IrishLass]

Yes- increasing the NaOH will increase the hardness.

With the last batch that I made (back in November), I used 100% KOH with my usual shave formula instead of my normal 64% KOH/36% NaOH, and it's quite soft still. It's able to hold its own shape, but the consistency is still as soft as bread dough and I can very easily stick my finger right through it. Both my hubby and son love it, but my son recently requested that I try to make my next batch just a little harder, so this week I shall be making a batch using 80% KOH and 20% NaOH.


IrishLass

 

[kc1ble]

After letting it cure for a week, its still much softer than I was hoping for. It is soft like play dough, and not sticky at all but...geez it lathers like a dream.
I lathered it up before my shower:

and when I got out of the shower, it looked like this:

It didn't fade a bit. I guess I have nothing to complain about. The slip was excellent, my face feels great, but I think I will still toy with trying to make a harder puck. The brush as loaded in the pictures made enough lather for 3 complete passes with plenty left over after.

In my original post, I forgot to mention that I also added 1 teaspoon of bentonite clay to the recipe.

 

[cgsample]

Has that lid been on it this past week? Maybe the water hasn't had the chance to evaporate? But, it looks great the way it is.

I made a batch with excessive water last week and when I unmolded it two days later, it was still very soft. Now a week later in open air, the pucks are much firmer. It also was a 60/40 mix.

First time I used cocoa butter instead of shea butter, such a nicer smell and still being unscented.

 

[kc1ble]

Has that lid been on it this past week? Maybe the water hasn't had the chance to evaporate? But, it looks great the way it is.

I made a batch with excessive water last week and when I unmolded it two days later, it was still very soft. Now a week later in open air, the pucks are much firmer. It also was a 60/40 mix.

First time I used cocoa butter instead of shea butter, such a nicer smell and still being unscented.

It has been cut into pucks drying on a rack, so plenty of air circulation. It may firm up more over time, I'll let it continue to dry and see what happens.