Thread: How to make your own shaving soap?

wow, all the spaces and smilies disappeared from my post. Sorry about the dense text

I cant wait to see the recipe, sounds like a fun saturday project.

Originally Posted by clrobert60

I googled "shave soap" and came up with this - I make no claims to its veracity:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/so...vingrecipe.htm
It's my understanding that clay is what makes it slicker than regular soap.

This looks like a good recipe, the castor oil will give it a good lather and slip. although use caution with the scents, 1 ounce can hurt you if you have sensitive skin. I add my bentonite and EO very late in the process, and after the lye has already run it's full coarse.

Just keep in mind, this is not a quick easy project, you have to be careful, the lye can easil;y burn you, and if you mess up your weights on anything, you can end up with either caustic, or rancid soap.

It's not like putting a cake in the oven either. you really need to do some research before you make your first batch.

This works well and not particularly expensive. I took a bar of Neutragena, some clay masque bought at WallMart, body lotion unused by my wife, olive oil, and lavender oil. I cut the soap in small cubes, melted it in the microwave, squeezed a good bit of the masque in, added @ 1TBs of olive oil, squeezed a little lotion in, and added a small bit of lavender in. I think I also squirted in some anticeptic soft soap. I poured it into a small container and let it set for a couple days.
This stuff worked Great, I mean slick and moisturizing with great lather. It seems to last forever (given its in a large rotation).
I did it due to a post I read in B&B months ago.
Give it a try as an experiment. The Neutragena was about @2.00, the clay masque was about another $3.00 and the rest was just laying around.
Headdoc

Originally Posted by clrobert60

I googled "shave soap" and came up with this - I make no claims to its veracity:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/so...vingrecipe.htm
It's my understanding that clay is what makes it slicker than regular soap.

This is recipe that I use. It works great and the clay makes a world of difference. Colleen and Mama Bear are in no danger from my efforts. I still buy from Colleen when I want special soaps.

as Sith has pointed out, I've done this. If you use the melt-n-pour stuff from the craft store, it's very easy and not messy at all, plus does not take very long. If you add some EO and glycerine to the melted soap, it performs very well, about on par with Col Conk soaps. The next batch I make will have bentonite in it to make it slicker, my favorite shave soap (Chelsea's Soap Garden) has bentonite in it and is fantastically slick.

Originally Posted by joke1176

I just talked to my wife and she would sell you a bar; cost depends on what you want scent-wise and base ingredients-wise. She estimates initial cost at about 5-6 dollars "american" per bar. The bar I have been using contains hydrogenated vegetable oil, but she makes an all natural bar for a little more cost. To me, the one with hydrogenated oils lathers just as well, so I would go for the cheap stuff I wonder if we could send it via USPS??? We have never shipped any soap, and we have definitely never shipped anything out of country! Sorry to be so vague, but there are a lot of variables when it comes to cost, and you customize it any way you want! Also, I can send a copy of the recipe that works pretty well, that part is free of course. Heck, I think I may just scan it in and post it here in this thread.

Thanks, Joke1176! And sorry for the delay in answering the post, but I had trouble with my internet conection. And also, please thank your wife for me; it's very nice of you. Would you mind posting the recepie?... I'd be willing to give it a try... but I would like to have some comparison, therefore I am willing to buy one from you. If you don't mind, I'll PM you so we can discuss the shipping, payment and stuff... Ok?

And I am also very interested in trying out all these recepies. I guess I'll have a new disoreder: AOHTMSD - ask others how to make soap disorder!... I'll try your recepies when I get the chance. And believe me... I will! And guess what... My girlfriend also has a disorder: TTFWOMSSFMMD - trying to find ways of making shaving soap for my man disorder...

Thanks to all of you! The gentlemanly cortesy of this comunity never ceases to amaze me!...

Just so all the folks who are PM-ing me and what not... I am really slammed with work and homework right now. I will be done with classes on the 9th so this is the last push.

Anyhow, I will be posting the recipe as soon as I get a chance. Since I am taking so damn long, I will post methodology for making lye soap too.

I'm really impressed... well, since you guys are being so generous, I'll throw some knowledge in as well.
Bentonite clay, is the primary "slick" for my soap, when adding it, you want to wet it first to make a paste, and then whisk it in so it doesn't clump, or settle.
Also keep stirring your soap as it cools so the clay doesn't settle to the bottom of your molds.
The next question i expect to see asked, and one I had a very hard time finding anywhere is how much to add...

1 to 3 teaspoons per pound of finished soap.

I hope this helps...

Any soapmakers have experience adding shea butter to their soaps? I'm finding I prefer HBS and Pre de Provence to other brands and their common denominator seems to be shea butter. If I try this some time down the road I would definitely want to include it.