Thanks. I might look into trying it.I lied ... was Bergamot Coriander. Coriander in this application (just like in beer) has an orange smell/flavor. I got it from Sweetcakes.
Really enjoyed this thread. I may try this myself sometime. Especially if anyone comes up with a good way to add menthol.
Thanks for the tips John. It's because of "mentholated myself" that I was trying to use it in the superfat.I've found the best way to add menthol is just to add the crystals to your base oils as you heat them up, as that dissolves them easily, and distributes the menthol evenly throughout the soap. Menthol isn't overly expensive, so you can just add more to offset any offgassing, and to get the level of face freeze you want. You do have to exercise caution/common sense when making a high strength menthol soap, as you may find yourself mentholating your workspace in the process.
It's a matter of trial and error, but it's well worth the effort to have a decent soap that you've made yourself.
I'm glad you found it informative. I would not have even thought canned goo could be improved upon had I not found Badger and Blade a few years ago so it all starts here.Lee, I have to take my hat off to you. The amount of time and effort it must have taken for you to put together all of those instructions. Never mind all the work you did figuring how the process all worked...truly a labor of love. I don't have near enough time right now in my life to attempt any of this but it is nice to know that someone took the pains to lay it all out for just anybody to be able to follow.
It takes a tiny bit more time than using M&P and the results are worth it. IMHO of courseThank you for sharing this. Its is well written. Hopefully I'll have the time to make this soap someday. For now I use soap melts that I add clays and essential oils to.
You definitely can. If you can make Mac and Cheese you can do this I think.Fascinating stuff, Lee! Not sure that I have the patience needed to actually do this, but reading your articles certainly made me feel as though I could. Perhaps some day. Either way, thanks for your hard work and a fascinating read.
That's quitter talk!Very interesting read and I would love to try this one day. However, I don't think my SO will be pleased to see me treating the kitchen in our 600 SF NYC apt like a soap-making lab.
I have, and I always will. My current experiments are with Argan Oil and Cocoa Butter (separate batches). Argan seems like a strong contender but there's some risk of getting a counterfeit or adulterated product. It's pretty expensive as well and the counterfeits are not cheaper so a guy could get fleeced. The whole thing seems like the issue with trying to buy saffron. The Cocoa Butter is up for shave testing next. Both of these are a replacement in my recipe for the Lanolin and Shea.Have you done any experimenting with other oils that you could share?
Well I really covered it in the articles. I knew what I wanted and I was damned if I was going to make a little thing like not knowing how to make soap stop me. I got one that to me combined what I like about Tabac and XXX, with the ease of lather of MdeC, so I called that recipe "done."How did you finally rest on this recipe?
I need to be careful here or I'll start alienating people (even more). Castor oil is good for lather in small amounts. It is high in ricinoleic acid which can get a little on the slimy side for my tastes. It's not needed for a shaving soap generally and to be honest it speaks to me more as a regular soap that a soaper adapted to be a shaving soap, rather than a purpose-built shaving soap. I'll probably be forced to eat my words, and some soapers I respect do use it with pretty good results. I just don't like it. Fords and Chevy's and all that.I notice castor oil in a lot of the soaps that I really like.
Palm Kernel Oil (PKO) could be a replacement for Coconut oil - it's not a drop-in so the recipe would have to be re-figured for that. I don't tend to care for it which is strange since the patty acid profiles are so close. Some folks fear that coconut oil makes a drying soap - and it darned sure can, but this soap is made to not be drying. Have a look at the top classic shaving soaps and you see CO there, not PKO. There's got to be a reason. I also don't think the "frothing" is bad. The coconut is very important I feel for a good lather and if you go at it with a slightly dryer brush (adding a little water later) you will not have so much of that.I've also read that palm kernel oil can perform like coconut without the initial frothing that you get with a lot of water and coconut oil soap. I think j-mt wrote that when he was describing coming up with his soap formula.
I love talking about it! If you have questions, just fire away!Maybe you didn't intend for this post to go into details like that, sorry if I'm getting off topic.
All snot is slippery, not all slippery things are slick.What draws me to the castor oil is that I suspect it contributes to the feeling of more slickness which is something I really like. Slimy doesn't really sound bad to me in a shaving soap, what's the difference between slimy and slippery or slick?
I do understand that. I have tried this soap with distilled water all the way up to harder than Burton-on-Trent water (used Epsom Salts to simulate). While there certainly is a level at which the soap will just give up and die (as will any real soap), frothing is just a matter of a tiny bit less water. If I get a little too much I just wipe the brush in the bowl and keep loading. When I get to the bowl it's not an issue to just sort of "tamp" it down and keep going.My issue with the coconut frothing has to do with my city having fairly soft water and my house also having a water softener. I get lots of air in my lathers if I'm not careful. From the description of PKO (from that one artisan) I thought maybe that would suit my somewhat unique situation better.
Essential Depot has both I'm 99% sure, and their prices for KOH are in the top two (for me and shipping here). Keep in mind Palm Kernel Oil and Palm Oil are two different things.For both I know I should just make a small batch of each and see what I think. It's just that I don't have PKO yet so would have to get some. I do still need to line up the KOH so will just try to find a vendor that stocks both to save some shipping.
I call it "air soaping" (homage to air guitar). I plan things I will never have time to do. Keeps my mind sharp.This is also "someday" stuff for me. I've already got a lot of soap and a lot of hobbies, so I need to be respectful of my family since this would add to both categories.
Yes sir, that was mine (and me, I assume you were at the KC meet?) . Three Wise Men was a Frankincense and Myrrh fragranced soap. Reminded me of Church as a kid.I think I have tried one of your soaps. Three wise men. Incredible soap.
Yes sir. For the most part, when talking about percentages and soap, they are given as related to the total oils content.I have a question about menthol. You mentioned 3% and 5% menthol. Is that of total oils?
There's not many men that don't love fireworks, is there?That post about fireworks, do you make home made fireworks? You have peaked another interest in me.