Thread: Modified a soap bar for shave soap, double boiler

I have always had acne issues but none for a long time except for the occasional mark. I took matters in my own hands and made my own soap. Here is what I did. If anyone has additional suggestions please let me know. Thanks guys!
Grated a bar of Cetaphil gentle cleansing bar(non-comedogenic)
Put it in a double boiler with a T jojoba oil over medium heat and mixed until melted to a working consistency.
Once hot enough added essential oils...about 60% lavender, 35% atlas cedarwood, and the last 15 percent Rosemary and thyme oils.
Dumped the mixture in a plastic screw top container and let it cool.
It smells pretty damn good!!

Last night I worked up a lather and shaved but I might be able to work on the lather.

First I took my crappy made rite pure bristle brush and let it sit in my mug for 5 min.
Then after shaking most of water out loaded the brush for about 30 sec
Someone on SRP made a similar recipe and then tipped the brush up. Made an impression in the center and added glycerin and castor oil. So that's what I did. 6 drops each.
Worked it into a thick lather for 2 to 3 minutes.
I tested the lather by putting on my wifes leg and after 15 minutes the lather looked like it was just put on.

The only hang up is it seemed a little thin. Could this be from too much water or not working the lather enough. Thanks for the help.

Do you have any commercially made quality shave soap/cream? comparing is always best. I made a shave soap when I first started that was better and cheaper than both VDHs and williams, but doesn't compare with MWF, Geo F Trumper, Edwin Jagger or any of the higher quality soaps and it never seemed to last as long in the mug (wore quickly). There are a lot of good shave soap recipes available on the net, but it seems like none compare with the higher quality shave soaps.
As for diagnosing your soap I would have to see how it reacts and what the lather looks like. I know nothing about cetaphil soap, but something in there could cause you problems, your brush could be a problem as you said it isn't the highest quality and what is your lather making experience? Most guys have to learn to make a good lather, it isn't second nature. I hope this gets you a start, it is hard to diagnose via net.

Thanks for the reply. I will work on the lather technique a bit and try and pickup a better brush. Time will tell...

When I started out with mug and brush, I made my own soap using Ivory soap and some glycerine. Didn't make a super lather, but was a very serviceable, hypo-allergenic alternative to most shaving creams.

So far so good eh? I am not familiar with Cetaphil, but it sounds similar to a Dove bar. Glycerin good, castor oil good, but if the lather's too thin, maybe try blending it with a tallow-based soap, which will give it more body and hence 'cushion', or maybe a glycerin-based bar containing coconut oil, which multiplies up the lather. But the biggest difference between washing and shaving soaps is the addition of Fuller's Earth or calcium bentonite. In some countries these are the same thing, others not. It's a clay, similar to the one they put in toothpaste, and its presence in shaving soap is to provide the blade with GLIDE. Buy it in a cosmetic grade, mix it about half a teaspoon to a puck, and keep stirring until the soap starts to set, otherwise the clay powder will sink straight to the bottom. My guess is that more beginners are put off shaving with a straight edge once and for all by that horrible sensation of the blade coming to a mid-stroke halt, than anything else..... and of course the very worst thing you can do is try to get it going again with a lawnmower type push! Airyfairy strokes and glide glide glide............ cheers, here's to you.

Burt did you try other shave soaps I have pretty bad acne problems my self but haven't ran it any shave soaps that seem to make it worst. Also Williams mug soap use pretty much the same ingredients as cetaphil just less of them and in different amount.

Cetiphil Gentle Cleansing Bar

Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Stearic Acid, Sodium Tallowate, Water, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate, Sodium Cocoate, PEG-20, Sodium Chloride, Masking Fragrance, Sodium Isethionate, Petrolatum, Sodium Isostearoyl Lactylate, Sucrose Cocoate, Titanium Dioxide, Pentasodium Penetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate. May also contain Sodium Palm Kernelate.

Williams Mug

Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Stearate, Sodium Cocoate, Water, Glycerin, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Pentasodium Pentatate, Fragrance, Titanium Dioxide

I think you may just need to use more product. If you worked the lather up for a couple, minutes and it seemed a bit on the thin side. I would "load" the brush on the product for closer to a minute maybe. I just bought a new brush that is quite a bit larger than the one I used previously. I will swirl it on top of the puck for a good minute or so. The resulting lather can almost seem wasteful though, but you will get a few good passes from it.

Need some more stearic acid in it to help bind and make a touch thicker. Stearic acid - shaving a partial bar of Ivory soap and melt it in the mix or buy it from me $5/lb. That's my theory

Originally Posted by Burt

I have always had acne issues
...snip...
Grated a bar of Cetaphil
...
Put it in a double boiler with a T jojoba oil over medium heat and
mixed until melted to a working consistency.
Once hot enough added essential oils
.....
Last night I worked up a lather and shaved but I might be able to work on the lather.
.....
First I took my crappy made rite pure bristle brush
.....
The only hang up is it seemed a little thin. Could this be from too much
water or not working the lather enough. Thanks for the help.

The only bit that matters is the shave.

Soaps like Cetaphil are not formulated
to build a lather as fabulous as some shave
soaps. However that does not mean that it will
not give you a good shave.

Tinker with it and add too much water
then too little. You only need to soak
your brush long enough to let it flex
on your face to your satisfaction.

Inverting a brush seems to load a brush
with soap quicker but except for more soap
does not change the lather IMO. Inverting does
help keep stuff from running over the edge and
making a minor mess on the counter.

The only bit that matters is the shave on
your face.

Enjoy and have fun....