Thread: Making Homemade Shaving Soap

Hey guys,
I have been experimenting with creating my own shaving soaps. On my second attempt (the first was a miserable failure) i have created a soap that gave me a super shave. Great glide, cushion and scent. It left my face feeling super soft and moisturized (jojoba oil and a bit of Vitamin E in the mix). My only opportunity is to make the lather a little more robust. It took almost 100 swirls to load my brush and in between my WTG and XTG passes, the lather faded into nothing in scuttle.

Any ideas on making the lather more robust?

Thanks,
Phil

Can't offer any advice, but tagging along. I have a big sack of fat in the freezer waiting to be rendered for my first attempt.

Just to give a little more information, I used goat milk glycerine soap as my base.

Don't have any experience making soap myself. However I have bought more then a few artisan soaps. Through that process I have learned a couple things from that experience. 1st walk away from any shave soap made with olive oil and second is walk away from goats milk soap. So that may be your problem.

Having lurked on quite a few soap making threads, I recommend you start by posting your recipe. Without seeing your fat and lye build, it'll be hard for the soap wizards to ascertain what's going wrong. Aside from that, good luck, you're a braver man than I.

Silents, et. al., I'd like to 'bump' this thread. I have friend (a building contractor, all things) that really likes making his own soap. His 3 girls and my 2 girls and him have all been badgering me for a while to set aside a saturday afternoon for a soap making party.

Now that I want to learn to shave with straights...I have an ulterior motive! Could I get a recipe?

[QUOTE=Silents;1116547Any ideas on making the lather more robust?Thanks,Phil[/QUOTE]

Try adding some glycerin in the mix, a little at a time to see if it gives the desired effect. I generally add a few drops to whatever soap/cream I'm usung that day. Except when I've used Macca Root as an additive to the daily mix.

What method are you using? Melt and pour (using another's base soap), cold process or hot process?

I've made shaving soap using the cold process method. My best soap had lard as a base. The rest of the oils were coconut, olive, apricot and castor. I added cosmetic clay to the mixture. I'm still looking for the perfect recipe.

Good Luck

Originally Posted by Silents

Hey guys,
I have been experimenting with creating my own shaving soaps. On my second attempt (the first was a miserable failure) i have created a soap that gave me a super shave. Great glide, cushion and scent. It left my face feeling super soft and moisturized (jojoba oil and a bit of Vitamin E in the mix). My only opportunity is to make the lather a little more robust. It took almost 100 swirls to load my brush and in between my WTG and XTG passes, the lather faded into nothing in scuttle.

Any ideas on making the lather more robust?

Thanks,
Phil

Recipe??

Without it I can't comment. I've made a soft soap that's the best soap I've ever used.

I agree with Razorfeld. Glycerin will make it foam better and last longer. I use a drop or two myself with soap that gives me trouble!!

Ray