Shaving soap additives - salt and sugar

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Hello lads and lasses

So, I have a shaving soap recipe that I am pretty happy with so today I thought I'd try out an experiment to see what two staple additives bring to the party in a shaving soap - salt and sugar.

I made 4 batches:

A) control batch, no additives (also the largest, as I know it's good

B) 2% salt

C) 3% sugar

D) 2% salt and 3% sugar

Both batches with salt had a really odd texture, more dry than the others. I'll keep updating with the way they progress, including the all important lather!
 
I forgot the all important picture

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So yesterday I benchmarked the soap with no additives - was very good. I also checked out how each soap felt to see if the salt and/or sugar made a difference, but at this stage not really - all were sticky.

Picture of the lather on the brush, then one hour later on the brush and on the hand - it was still lovely and moist.

c77784a2db3acecb16373f18ec61a7c0.jpg


Next will be the test with both the salt and sugar to see what it is like
 
Any updates on these?



After I read that, I went off to have a shave - it was long overdue [emoji106]

So I used the batch with salt and sugar. Consistency-wise, the control soap is firmer to the touch than all the others, less sticky. It is, however, the only one that had been used, so I'll see if the other batch loses some stickiness now that it was used.

As for the sugar/salt lather, it was fine. Very easy to get it going, but not 'miracle easy' compared to the control. Just slightly easier. It went on creamier than the control, too, it felt sturdier.

Post shave, not quite so good. There was more redness than usual. But as there are so many variables (how I mixed the lather, the condition of the blade, how attentive I was to shaving well) I will have to keep using the sugar/salt pot for a few more times to get a feel for the real pros and cons
 
Image1460741465.495986.jpg

So today I went back to the control batch - not just to control the quality but also as it is the birthday of The Admirable Lady I wanted to be assured of a good result.

There is something with the salt&sugar batch that just doesn't work well. I'll try the sugar batch alone to see how it works

As for the stiffness of the soap, it hasn't made a difference to speak of to be honest.
 
Well, I used it this evening - it was okay. I can't really say that it made a difference one way or the other, which then makes me think that it just isn't worth adding either salt (it actually seems like the salt ones are sticker than the non-salt ones!) or sugar (the lather is not noticeably better) to a shaving soap.

Was worth a play, I am glad I did it, even though it cost me a couple of sub-par shaves. I also managed to give myself a really nasty cut, but that wasn't due to the soap at all, just my carelessness.
 

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