Fix my soap??? Sundance Soapery

[brooksie967]

Recently went out on a limb and bought $30 worth of 'shaving soap' from a lady in Kentucky who milks all her goats by hand. The soap is heavily based on olive oil and the lather is terrible, doesn't last at all. I could just use this for fancy smelling hand soap but really like the scent profile she's put in the soaps.

Is there any way to save these soaps? I'm thinking that I could melt them using a 'double boiler' method and add whatever needs to be added to the soap to really bring it to life.

This is the ingredient list she's provided on her ebay store:

Ingredients: Fresh Goat's Milk, Olive, Canola, Castor, Wheat Germ and Coconut Oils, Lard, Bentonite Clay, Shea Butter, Menthol Crystals and Sandalwood

Here's a link to one of her products:

Homemade GOAT"S MILK SHAVING SOAP SANDALWOOD ~Shave~CLAY~ Handmade~ 2.5oz Refill | eBay

[pinklather]

Hey, Brooksie.

I think your question is a good one, though I'm not willing to reformulate. By accident, I tried an Uber recipe that Glen posted about and Gerrit seconded. Though I'm not sure the specific brands are critical, I think most of us have encountered at least one shave soap that was underwhelming. I've you're not had the opportunity to be disappointed by Williams, Conk, VDH - you're not missing much. Yet w/ some creams, they seem to add what was missing from the underperforming soap - making them passable as a lather.

Glen's recipe is from a small shop about an hour from me.
http://straightrazorpalace.com/soaps...er-recipe.html
The cream, I've used daily for more than a year. Its about 4/5 used up. $13, but it helps most soaps I've tried it with

The specific cream is: http://store.escentialonline.com/org...-oz-p4881.aspx

I suspect other creams could provide similar benefits. I've tried TOBS and a very reasonable Indian cream called Godrej. Both improve a marginal soap.

[brooksie967]

I'm not sure I understand. Are you suggesting I add a cream to the current soap post-lathering? I tried adding glycerin alone but had little to no effect on the performance of the soap. I found that strange because when I add glycerin to Arko, Palmolive, Cella etc, I find it makes a subtle but positive effect on performance.

[SirStropalot]

Hi brooksie,

My wife makes soap using olive oil and a few different kinds of oil. Olive oil is not a good ingredient for lathering and I don't think you can reverse its affect after the fact. Tallow, animal fat, is best for creating a lather. Since the soap making process involves the chemical reaction between lye and oil or tallow, etc. to make soap, I don't think there is any thing you can add to improve your soap. It has to be in the original process and undergo the chemical reaction with the lye.

Might make a good bath soap. That's what mine is now.

Regards,
Howard.