Thread: Ivory bar soap

Originally Posted by kwlfca

Shaving soaps are formulated for a certain task and as such, soap makers use certain ingredients to give the soap specific properties...most predominantly lubrication and lather volume for protection.

Hand/bath soaps have a different purpose...cleaning
Because of this, I personally would not use any lather from a hand soap to shave with when using a straight razor.

I know ace has mentioned using various products for shaving, including washing up liquid. He didn't say that he still does though.
I have a glycerin based bar soap that I use in the shower, whilst it gets me clean, I wouldnt shave with it, as after washing off, my skin is quite Frictiony, so I think for shaving it wouldn't work. I am happy using real shaving soaps and creams, even the relatively cheap ones over a bar of soap. But that's not to say it won't work. Have you tried using a mix of the ivory soap and the VDH? I tried VDH the other week, and thought it was perfectly good, I intend to muck around with it a bit more soon, I got sent a bunch of samples and a puck of VDH by a friend so am working through all of them, and jnterspersing my usual soap for comparison.

>> Have you tried using a mix of the ivory soap and the VDH?

Actually, I my cup has VDH, but also a squirt of shaving cream out of a can, and some homemade soap.

At this time, I like the VDH better than the bar soap.

This morning I tried Ivory on the brush as a wash up, followed by the VDH.

Jody

My soap/lathering bowl is more of a cauldron at the moment, Palmolive, province de Sante, cella soaps, and probably detritus from 5 different creams where I mix up superlather most days and put all the leftovers from my brush back in there for the base of next days lather.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Some bar soaps actually do work like glecerin based pears.
Have always wanted to try Lava on the pretense that I could hone whilst shaving.

Keep the razor close to the skin, and you can shave, hone, and strop in one smooth kung-fu move!

Originally Posted by jgjgjg

Keep the razor close to the skin, and you can shave, hone, and strop in one smooth kung-fu move!

Surely you would need to do a backstroke to get tge stropping in. I did actually wonder if it would work

If you hone the spine too!

Originally Posted by edhewitt

I know ace has mentioned using various products for shaving, including washing up liquid. He didn't say that he still does though.
I have a glycerin based bar soap that I use in the shower, whilst it gets me clean, I wouldnt shave with it, as after washing off, my skin is quite Frictiony, so I think for shaving it wouldn't work. I am happy using real shaving soaps and creams, even the relatively cheap ones over a bar of soap. But that's not to say it won't work. Have you tried using a mix of the ivory soap and the VDH? I tried VDH the other week, and thought it was perfectly good, I intend to muck around with it a bit more soon, I got sent a bunch of samples and a puck of VDH by a friend so am working through all of them, and jnterspersing my usual soap for comparison.

We don't have VDH in any stores around here so I don't have any experience with that soap. I personally don't blend shaving soaps and non shaving soaps together...just doesn't make sense to me. Why dilute something that's already good? In my mind, that's like intentionally watering down your beer. If you want to mix something together, why not mix two superior products (such as making an uber lather or re-batching two quality shaving soaps together), instead of mixing (or tainting if you ask me) something superior with something inferior...and let's face it, hand/body soap is an inferior product when using for shaving.

If you read up on soap making a little, you'll come to understand that specific oils are used in shaving soaps because of what they do. Even bentonite clay is used in shaving soaps because of how much "slip" it gives.

Originally Posted by henryconchile

I used that recipe back in September. It was an Ivory bar, Dove bar, some castor oil, and a bit of olive oil, all melted together. I used the soap the next day and it lathered well like a thick cream. After 2 weeks it began to harden like a soap, but the lather it gave started getting thin. After a month the lather was much thinner, and it reminded me of the lather I get from Williams. I stopped using it after that, and tossed it in the shower.

Soap makers will tell you that adding oil to your soap after it's made (saponified) will only hinder the performance of your soap. Oil is also bad for your brush.

Originally Posted by kwlfca

Even bentonite clay is used in shaving soaps because of how much "slip" it gives.

Drilling mud?
I would have never guess bentonite is a soap ingredient.

Jody

Originally Posted by jjsrp

Drilling mud?
I would have never guess bentonite is a soap ingredient.

Jody

Yep...a lot of artisan soap makers use it. Spencer & Devon has kaolin clay in it for the same reason.