Thread: How NOT to Melt Shaving Soap

I bought a three-pack of Van Der Hagen fragrance-free shaving soap, along with a classy "piano black" soap bowl (w/lid) -- both from Amazon -- which arrived today. Oh boy! But my smile quickly turned into a frown when I discovered that the cake of soap was much smaller in diameter than the bowl, and much taller than its sides. What to do? Oh! I'll melt it to fit (and solve the height problem at the same time).

So, with no microwave, that method was out. I could've grated the soap -- did that recently with a cake of Williams, and it did a job on my arthritic hands-and-fingers, so I kept looking. Found it! I'll melt the soap in a water bath! Watched a Youtube video, and it seemed easy-peasy: soap in the bowl, bowl in the saucepan, water halfway up the bowl sides, burner (electric) on medium, and let Nature do its thing.

They say "a watched pot never boils," so I left it to bubble, returning every 10 minutes to check the progress. After almost an hour, it was finished. And so was the soap bowl!

Turns out that the "hand carved" bowl is really a two-piece deal: a 1/4" bottom onto which a hollow cylinder is glued, then the whole thing is nicely varnished (lid, too). Now, I'll grant you that the specs clearly stated "No" to the question "Is it dishwasher safe?" But I don't have a dishwasher... I'm the dishwasher! So of course I didn't pay attention to the notice.

Anyway, the almost-hour-long immersion in near-boiling water had dissolved the glue, and the bottom of the bowl had separated from the body. Bye-bye $16.99 (+ tax) and a lesson learned the hard way.

How should I have done it? I should've placed the soap cake into a metal or ceramic bowl, put that into the water bath, and afterward poured the melted soap into the wooden bowl. Alternatively (and probably the better method), I should have "bit the bullet" and grated the soap cake into a large bowl, then packed it into the classy, new soap bowl.

Smooth shaving!

Barrow the neighbors microwave.

Thanks for posting that cautionary tale. I can say that not all soaps are microwave friendly either. Found that out the hard way too. I now grated all soaps if I want to them in a different sized bowl.

Bob

Good story, Jonathan. Grating solves many soap problems.

I believe if you heat a soap too high it can change the characteristics of the soap, so the microwave is risky business.

If you keep it in the microwave too long it may become flakey. Moreover, not all glues and varnisches hold up well when microwaved.

Originally Posted by Kees

If you keep it in the microwave too long it may become flakey. Moreover, not all glues and varnisches hold up well when microwaved.

Some of the ceramics can be damaged in the microwave as well and don’t even think of putting in a metal lathering cup unless you like fireworks.

Originally Posted by DZEC

Some of the ceramics can be damaged in the microwave as well and don’t even think of putting in a metal lathering cup unless you like fireworks.

But if you do like fireworks, put in an old, damaged, CD/DVD, and watch!

We have many old posts on this topic. Tallow based soaps can be heated and SLOWLY microwaved but many others can not.

Do a search and you will find out.

Originally Posted by JBHoren

I bought a three-pack of Van Der Hagen fragrance-free shaving soap, along with a classy "piano black" soap bowl (w/lid) -- both from Amazon -- which arrived today. Oh boy! But my smile quickly turned into a frown when I discovered that the cake of soap was much smaller in diameter than the bowl, and much taller than its sides. What to do? Oh! I'll melt it to fit (and solve the height problem at the same time).

[snip!]

How should I have done it? I should've placed the soap cake into a metal or ceramic bowl, put that into the water bath, and afterward poured the melted soap into the wooden bowl. Alternatively (and probably the better method), I should have "bit the bullet" and grated the soap cake into a large bowl, then packed it into the classy, new soap bowl.

Long Story Short: Once the melted soap had cooled and congealed, I carefully pried it out of the now-useless new bowl and smooshed (this is a technical term) it into a regular, wooden bowl (from which I had removed the last dregs of an ancient soap cake). That was six days ago.

Today, I used the Van Der Hagen soap for the first time. Wow! I was/remain impressed. Following accepted doctrine, I covered the soap with ~¼-inch of hot water, dampened the brush and placed it in the soap bowl, and took a few minutes to prep my beard. After pouring-off the water I loaded the brush with a dozen gentle swirls and proceeded to face lather. Wow! Thick, creamy lather... tons of it... enough for a full three passes, with much still remaining in the bristles. And completely fragrance-free.

I recently acquired a new cake of Williams Mug Shaving Soap (that one, I grated into the bowl) and, in comparing it with the VDH, there really is no comparison: the VDH is superior in all respects (not that the Williams is a "slouch"; the VDH is just that much better).

Smooth shaving!