Carrie Seiberts book

[Mschwartz]

So I have been doing her modified cold process method for shave soaps I’ve been making. Have any of you guys tried both hot process and her modified method and if so which do you think brings better results? Thanks

 

[AliOop]

I’ve done both and don’t see much difference between one process and the other. “Modified hot process” would be an equally good name for what she calls “modified cold process,” IMO.

I believe the most important differences come more from the recipe used, rather than the process. Carrie’s recipes are a great starting point, and we have some fantastic shave soap threads here, as well.

Would love to see some pics and to hear how some of your batches went for you.

 

[Mschwartz]

Super fat 6%
Lye concentration 25%
70% KOH
30% NaOH
Tussah silk
10% glycerin

Stearic acid 60%
Lard 15%
Coconut oil 10%
Shea butter 5%
Cocoa butter 5%
Castor oil 5%

Tobacco and bay leaf fragrance. It’s pretty soft and lathers quickly.

 

[AliOop]

Very nice!! You have inspired me to make some this weekend. I bought kokum butter awhile back to make one of her recipes, so I'll need to dig that out and give it a whirl.

 

[Mschwartz]

Very nice!! You have inspired me to make some this weekend. I bought kokum butter awhile back to make one of her recipes, so I'll need to dig that out and give it a whirl.

That’s good to know both methods achieve the same results. I’ve been going for more of a paste and this recipe is pretty close. I’ve thought about increasing the glycerin to 15% but not sure.

 

[Professor Bernardo]

Your recipe looks promising for sure! I prefer to use Beef Tallow since most of the preferred men's shave soaps, especially those of yesteryear, use it. I use a 20% ratio for the Beef Tallow.

As AliOop stated, the process is more of a modified hot process. I put both the lye water and the oils at a temp of around 180° F prior to blending. A quick reaction time for sure and one must keep an eye on it in case it wants to "volcano". Mine reaches the hot sticky "taffy" state rather quickly and stays that way after adding the glycerine and scenting oils in the post-saponification phase. (TBH - saponification still is ongoing for several hours up to a day or so, but the majority of action is accomplished in the first 5-8 minutes of the process.)
This results in a soap which is harder and longer lasting than my previous ones, which were more of a paste-type soap. Same excellent lathering and density however.

 

[Mschwartz]

Your recipe looks promising for sure! I prefer to use Beef Tallow since most of the preferred men's shave soaps, especially those of yesteryear, use it. I use a 20% ratio for the Beef Tallow.

As AliOop stated, the process is more of a modified hot process. I put both the lye water and the oils at a temp of around 180° F prior to blending. A quick reaction time for sure and one must keep an eye on it in case it wants to "volcano". Mine reaches the hot sticky "taffy" state rather quickly and stays that way after adding the glycerine and scenting oils in the post-saponification phase. (TBH - saponification still is ongoing for several hours up to a day or so, but the majority of action is accomplished in the first 5-8 minutes of the process.)
This results in a soap which is harder and longer lasting than my previous ones, which were more of a paste-type soap. Same excellent lathering and density however.

Do you think increasing the glycerin to 15% would achieve better slickness? The tussah silk gives it slickness but I’m always open to tweaking stuff.

 

[Mschwartz]

Your recipe looks promising for sure! I prefer to use Beef Tallow since most of the preferred men's shave soaps, especially those of yesteryear, use it. I use a 20% ratio for the Beef Tallow.

As AliOop stated, the process is more of a modified hot process. I put both the lye water and the oils at a temp of around 180° F prior to blending. A quick reaction time for sure and one must keep an eye on it in case it wants to "volcano". Mine reaches the hot sticky "taffy" state rather quickly and stays that way after adding the glycerine and scenting oils in the post-saponification phase. (TBH - saponification still is ongoing for several hours up to a day or so, but the majority of action is accomplished in the first 5-8 minutes of the process.)
This results in a soap which is harder and longer lasting than my previous ones, which were more of a paste-type soap. Same excellent lathering and density however.

Do you think beef tallow is superior to pork tallow? Lard is easier to get and everything I’ve researched says to stick to a animal based tallow?

 

[Professor Bernardo]

Do you think beef tallow is superior to pork tallow? Lard is easier to get and everything I’ve researched says to stick to a animal based tallow?

No, keep the glycerine at 10% maximum. I keep the Tussah silk at a 0.1% of total oil weight.

Lard is pork fat, tallow is beef fat. Yes, lard is easier to get but it's properties are better suited for making regular bar soap and cooking. Tallow is a rendered form of beef or mutton fat, primarily made up of triglycerides. Tallow has a long history in humanity of being used to soothe and moisturize skin, and the word for sebum (the fat naturally produced by human skin) is the same as that for tallow in some languages.
You can render your own tallow which it much less expensive than buying it in the jar from Amazon or wherever. The best tallow from from the fat surrounding the kidney aka suet, it's harder, whiter and gives a better render.