First time soap making.hot process-shave soap

[FloorPizza]

Honestly, I don't see much of a difference between the 3 I've used. The walmart great value shortening, lard, and aldi carlini shortening all perform almost identically IMO. I don't think you can go wrong with any of the options. If you're taking steps to avoid rancidity then it really does become a coin flip as far as I can tell. All of my lathers are thick yogurty lathers as long as I load enough soap and add enough water. Softer water also makes a HUGE difference in that regard. I know my water is fairly hard and I can see an immediate difference when I use softened water that the lather just explodes.

Good to hear. The water here is so hard it's darn near crunchy. I have some additives on order that are supposed to make soaps work better in hard water, as well as help prevent DOS. We'll see how they work.

The first batch is about to go in the pot. I'm going to be doing this batch 100% KOS to soften it up a bit... hopefully make it a bit easier to mold and load. I wonder if it'll affect its lather.

I have a total of 5 batches planned, but only the first one will get made today. The last three batches require ingredients that I'm still waiting for.

Oh, I also have a very small batch of bath soap planned, too. I'm just gonna use 100% Walmart shortening and NaOH. Running it through soapcalc results in a pretty balanced soap. Thanks to @psfred for that idea. If it turns out well, I'm gonna make another batch of it, scenting it with some Bed Bath and Beyond knock offs from Cierra. I think my wife and daughter will get a kick out of 'em.

I'm also going to include a small amount of kaolin clay in one batch. I know there's a ton of controversy around it, including a rumor that it dulls blades. I honestly can't see how it could possibly dull blades, especially when used at such small amounts, but even if it does, I don't care. I keep my straights honed myself, so if it requires a bit more time to keep the edges up, that's a bonus to me as I love honing. If it makes me get one less shave off of a DE blade, I'll shoulder the economic burden of it.

 

[Danmarx]

The first batch is about to go in the pot. I'm going to be doing this batch 100% KOS to soften it up a bit... hopefully make it a bit easier to mold and load. I wonder if it'll affect its lather.
I have a total of 5 batches planned, but only the first one will get made today. The last three batches require ingredients that I'm still waiting for.

How did those work out?
Tomorrow my new stick blender arrives along with a pound of KOH and I plan to make my first hot process soap. After reading thru this thread, my main concern is being able to get the 'mashed potatoes' into the molds and get something close to the nice smooth, cuttable cylinders I get with cold process. I'll have extra hot water to add, and maybe add some glycerin at the end, along with EO's. Rx is 500 gm oil @:
Almond Oil, sweet 10%
Castor Oil 10%
Coconut Oil, 25%
Olive Oil 10%
Stearic Acid 45%
I want to be able to pour or spoon this into these molds which are freezer paper lined. One is obviously a NaOH container, the other held a food supplement.

 

[FloorPizza]

I'm up to around 30 or so different batches of home made shaving soap now. I make 100 gram (oil weight) batches in a very small crock pot using extremely accurate scales used in hand loading firearm ammunition. Every batch I've made is at least a "good" rating with a couple hitting "very good", but I have yet to make my dream batch. I think it's going to be a long time before I catch *that* rabbit.

Your recipe doesn't really have too much in the way of really hard fats (with the exception being the stearic, of course), so I think that you'll find that your recipe will end up having a cured consistency of stiff play doh; still mold-able to whatever shape you want, but fairly stiff. The KOH really helps with this. You may be scratching your head about the "you don't have that hard of oils" statement, as I'm sure that recipe looks pretty darn hard to someone used to CP and straight NaOH, but with 60/40 KOH/NaOH, that recipe will come out just the right consistency for a nice shave soap.

One of my favorite molds is Pringles (thanks to @Dilbone for that idea) chip cans. The liner they use in that can doesn't stick to the soap *at all* and allows you to get very crisp, perfect puck sides. I think the freezer paper lined containers you have setup will work great. When you spoon the soap into the container, give the container a few good whacks on the counter, and you should end up with perfect pucks.

Right at the end of the cook, I stick blend the heck out of it to get a nice creamy consistency. It's still on the thick side, but easily manipulated into the mold of choice. Not only does it help with consistency to stick blend right at the end, but it helps to evenly incorporate the glycerin and/or fragrance oil(s). Don't be gentle with the final blending... blend it like you hate it.

Stick blending will also help your cook go much faster. The recipe I'm working with right now takes about an hour to cook if I don't stick blend it, but only takes about ten minutes start to finish if I stick blend it the whole time.

Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Danmarx]

I'm up to around 30 or so different batches of home made shaving soap now. I make 100 gram (oil weight) batches in a very small crock pot using extremely accurate scales used in hand loading firearm ammunition. Every batch I've made is at least a "good" rating with a couple hitting "very good", but I have yet to make my dream batch. I think it's going to be a long time before I catch *that* rabbit.

Your recipe doesn't really have too much in the way of really hard fats (with the exception being the stearic, of course), so I think that you'll find that your recipe will end up having a cured consistency of stiff play doh; still mold-able to whatever shape you want, but fairly stiff. The KOH really helps with this. You may be scratching your head about the "you don't have that hard of oils" statement, as I'm sure that recipe looks pretty darn hard to someone used to CP and straight NaOH, but with 60/40 KOH/NaOH, that recipe will come out just the right consistency for a nice shave soap.

One of my favorite molds is Pringles (thanks to @Dilbone for that idea) chip cans. The liner they use in that can doesn't stick to the soap *at all* and allows you to get very crisp, perfect puck sides. I think the freezer paper lined containers you have setup will work great. When you spoon the soap into the container, give the container a few good whacks on the counter, and you should end up with perfect pucks.

Right at the end of the cook, I stick blend the heck out of it to get a nice creamy consistency. It's still on the thick side, but easily manipulated into the mold of choice. Not only does it help with consistency to stick blend right at the end, but it helps to evenly incorporate the glycerin and/or fragrance oil(s). Don't be gentle with the final blending... blend it like you hate it.

Stick blending will also help your cook go much faster. The recipe I'm working with right now takes about an hour to cook if I don't stick blend it, but only takes about ten minutes start to finish if I stick blend it the whole time.

Let us know how it turns out!

Thanks! I absolutely agree with using a stick blender and again after the last additives. BTW, I've made several dozen cold process batches, usually between 1600 and 2200 grams and using a high proportion of hard vegetable oils. Frequently it's an exciting race at the end when I add fragrance oils and give it that last whirl with the blender, to get it in the mold before I have a pail of frozen soap. [After the oil and lye solution is at the right temp for CP, I pour it in a large stainless steel pail for mixing]

With my first HP foray, a small batch, I'll skip the pail. As I mentioned in JetPilot's thread, I'll use a new stick blender instead of the paint stirrer/drill I use for large batches. One of the reasons it was easy for you guys to 'seduce' back into making soap after a 5 year hiatus is that I still have lots of palm oil, coconut oil and other ingredients I need to use up. So I can easily substitute some more hard oils to this Rx, either palm or babassu.

BTW, thanks for the 'Pringles' recommendation. The Oban sleeve worked out well, but my Doc says I need to cut down on the booze. I can pretend Pringles are healthier.

 

[Dilbone]

I just got my lanolin today in the mail so I had to whip up a batch, but first u checked the weight on my lanolin... only a 4oz package since I didn't know of I'd like it or not. Lo and behold I got shorted on the product...dang
I put an 8oz of oil batch which yields about 10.5oz of soap typically. I dropped the shortening 5% and added the 5%lanolin to the recipe. Everything went well until I forgot to add some glycerin at the end of the cook...frustrating...
I slopped it into my PVC with baggie liner form and hope to give it a test shave in the morning. I guess I'll have to add a few drops of glycerin to my brush on this one.
This one is scented with Bergamot Rosewood from cierra candle co.
The soap itself for 10.9oz post cook weight was $2.67. Fragrance was probably an additional $.40 because I'm still using my 1oz samples I ordered from Cierra which are on the high side of cost per gram compared to buying a big ol' bottle.
Just over $3 for a years worth of shaving soap ain't too shabby.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

 

[Danmarx]

I just got my lanolin today in the mail
....
Just over $3 for a years worth of shaving soap ain't too shabby.

Do you put the lanolin in with the rest of the oils, or wait until just before filling the mold?
BTW, I just discovered Amazon sells 12 disposable soap molds, about 5" x 3.25", for only 65 cents per mold. 'Course, you have to eat a lot of Pringles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C3YADSK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[FloorPizza]

Do you put the lanolin in with the rest of the oils, or wait until just before filling the mold?
BTW, I just discovered Amazon sells 12 disposable soap molds, about 5" x 3.25", for only 65 cents per mold. 'Course, you have to eat a lot of Pringles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C3YADSK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

LOL, I darn near spit Diet Coke on my monitor!

Good deal on them there soap molds!

 

[FloorPizza]

If you use default soap calc water and do a 100 gram oil weight batch, the total batch will fit perfectly into a Stirling heavy wall 4oz plastic jar. They're heat resistant, too, so go ahead and put the soap directly from the crock pot into the jar.

 

[Dilbone]

Do you put the lanolin in with the rest of the oils, or wait until just before filling the mold?

I add over half of both the lanolin and shea butter during the cook(each are 5% of the oils) that way at the end of the cook I should be without any lye left over before I add the rest of both as the bulk of the superfat then I add the scent.

 

[Dilbone]

So I used the new recipe this morning. I was still kicking myself for not adding the glycerin. I haven't been adding it to my regular batches lately and just put a few drops on my brush if I'm feeling it or not, but I really wanted to have the lanolin and glycerin both in there to see the full impact on the post shave feel.

I resisted the urge add glycerin to my brush because I don't always add it with the old recipe. I wanted to compare apples to apples first then maybe tomorrow I'll give myself a bit of glycerin for the lather.

I wet my Whipped Dog synthetic thoroughly with hot water and dripped a decent amount on the soap then flung out the excess water from the brush(it's pretty much the only brush I use now along with my tuxedo synthetic they make lather instantly and effortlessly better than any other I've used). I loaded for probably 30-40seconds and was getting some decent proto lather. I wet my face and started face lathering. I added water to the brush several times as I lathered. I could have probably added even more but I stopped once the lather became glossy.
Slickness and cushion were right were my soap normally is...maybe a little better, hard to say.

No after shave burn at all, totally comfortable and smooth shave.

My normal routine after showering and shaving is to dress, breakfast, pack lunch, gather my things, head up to brush my teeth before leaving, and then grab my tub of shea butter that I keep by the bed side and rub my knuckles into it to and rub it in to keep my hands from cracking in the winter. As I do this I rub some residual shea butter on my face to condition it a bit because my face is a bit dry by this point(about 30min after shaving with an alcohol based splash). This morning my face wasn't nearly as dry as it is normally is 30min post shave but I still did the shea butter routine as normal.
I only get substantial drying in the winter and have gone with the shea butter treatment instead of the Nivea Sensitive skin post shave balm that I used to use regularly.
My face feels great. I will look forward to adding some glycerin to my brush tomorrow and compare again. Maybe next time I whip up a batch I'll remember to add it. I think the lanolin is a keeper here.

 

[FloorPizza]

Do you put the lanolin in with the rest of the oils, or wait until just before filling the mold?

I was laughing so hard over the "molds" that I completely forgot about the question. I do it a bit different than Dilbone.

There isn't much in lanolin that actually saponifies. I asked about this over on soapmaking forum in the shave soap master thread, and our very own @psfred gave some great information.

Anyway, I hold back all of the lanolin til the end and add it, along with the rest of my super fats, after the zap test passes. IMO, doing it this way gives you a softer, creamier texture for molding purposes, but either way works just fine.

 

[FloorPizza]

I wet my Whipped Dog synthetic thoroughly with hot water and dripped a decent amount on the soap then flung out the excess water from the brush(it's pretty much the only brush I use now along with my tuxedo synthetic they make lather instantly and effortlessly better than any other I've used).

My badger brushes have seen little use lately as well. The synthetics of today are sooooo good. They make and release lather so easily, with fantastic face feel. They are able to tackle the hardest soaps with ease as well, without having to be scritchy to do it.

I think the lanolin is a keeper here.

Same here. I really like the post shave face feel of lanolin. I also think that lanolin adds some degree of slip, too.

 

[Danmarx]

I was laughing so hard over the "molds" that I completely forgot about the question. . . .
Anyway, I hold back all of the lanolin til the end....

Glad I didn't cause more floor pizza.
Holding the lanolin to the end makes sense to me. It's serving a purpose similar to super fatting, right? And just like fragrance EO's, you don't want to weaken them by saponification. Speaking of fragrance, that's always a conundrum for me. At one time I felt like forgetting about it and just using tea tree oil. It's odor is not unpleasant, tho' it smells a little like a disinfectant, and it has skin benefits. Maybe I'll use it for tonight's batch.
Did some checking and I note that Stirling uses it as a featured fragrance. Tea Tree - Shave Soap

 

[FloorPizza]

Glad I didn't cause more floor pizza.
Holding the lanolin to the end makes sense to me. It's serving a purpose similar to super fatting, right? And just like fragrance EO's, you don't want to weaken them by saponification. Speaking of fragrance, that's always a conundrum for me. At one time I felt like forgetting about it and just using tea tree oil. It's odor is not unpleasant, tho' it smells a little like a disinfectant, and it has skin benefits. Maybe I'll use it for tonight's batch.
Did some checking and I note that Stirling uses it as a featured fragrance. Tea Tree - Shave Soap

You have a great sense of humor, man.

Yup, the lanolin is acting as a super fat, although (IMO), you'd never want to use it as your only SF, as it isn't affected very much by lye; if you had a slightly lye heavy batch, the lanolin wouldn't do much to tame it, so you'd want an additional type of fat to help buffer it.

Tea Tree oil is supposed to be good for the skin, but it's irritating and slightly drying to me. I think it's just a mild allergen for me, but a lot of people really like it. I do like the smell of it. Much better than menthol to my nose.

I have my wife help me with scents. I have zero talent when it comes to such things. She ordered up a few (ok, a lot) of various scents from Cierra Candles and is now in charge of soap fragrances. All of my soaps would be unscented if not for her. It also helps that there is such a wide variety of pre-mixed fragrance oils on the market now to choose from.

I'm just getting setup to make a run of three soaps for tonight... hope she's got the FO's ready!

 

[Danmarx]

You have a great sense of humor, man.

I have my wife help me with scents. I have zero talent when it comes to such things. . . .
All of my soaps would be unscented if not for her. It also helps that there is such a wide variety of pre-mixed fragrance oils on the market now to choose from.

My goal in grade school was to get friends to shoot milk out their noses. Still a worthy goal at 70. Maturity is for chumps.
Interestingly, one of the reasons I started making soap was to make some fragrance free, thinking the scent of soap should not interfere with the aftershave or cologne. Then I found out unscented soap doesn't smell good. Anyway, I've got some sweet smelling 'Egyptian Musk' I figger might compliment the tea tree.


Ask your wife.

 

[FloorPizza]

She says that yes, that should be a very good combination!

 

[Danmarx]

OK, I've started my first hot process soap. The oils were at about 165F. I only waited about 15 minutes for the lye to cool, down to maybe 100, after it was safe to breathe in the room, and added the lye water to the oils and used the stick blender. It got to 'mashed potato' state very quickly. I figured that was 'emulsion' or trace tho' it looks very different than CP trace. So I just stirred it a little and covered it with plastic. The lye solution brought the temp up to 200F very quickly so I turned the crock pot off for now... waiting for gel.

I'm following https://www.modernsoapmaking.com/hot-process-soap-in-a-crockpot-tutorial/
If it gets down to [what?] 165? before it gels, do I turn the pot back on? Then at gel or a much lower temp, add the scent and glycerin and put it in the mold?

 

[Dilbone]

I always keep the crockpot at least on low because if it gets too cool I have terrible issues adding all the stuff at the end and transfering it to the mold

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[Danmarx]

When it got down to 195F I turned the crockpot back on to 'warm'. I'm not sure what temp it's supposed to cook at and for how long. 200-220F? About an hour to gel? I assume this 'cooking' stage is what separates HP from CP.

 

[Danmarx]

I always keep the crockpot at least on low because if it gets too cool I have terrible issues adding all the stuff at the end and transfering it to the mold

Thanks! That's what I decided, but I don't want it to get TOO hot. I'm keeping the plastic wrap on to avoid moisture loss. The soap looks great, much smoother than I thought. Then, yes, I imagine the fun begins when you put the fragrance EO's in and try to get it in the mold. My fear is a crockpot full of a hard brick of soap. Glad I turned the heat back on. Even with that it's down to 192. My stirring spoon residue is very hard.