Homemade shave soap

[jKyro]

So I let a friend with super sensitive psoriasis skin borrow it (already a bad idea right?) he has also made soap. His conclusion was that it was too caustic. I believe this is from me adding the lye with the oils being too high temperature. Next time the crockpot stays in low.

 

[JBLA]

So I let a friend with super sensitive psoriasis skin borrow it (already a bad idea right?) he has also made soap. His conclusion was that it was too caustic. I believe this is from me adding the lye with the oils being too high temperature. Next time the crockpot stays in low.

That probably has more to do with cooking time or the recipe, as extra heat won't make the soap more caustic.

 

[jKyro]

I adjusted my recipe. Used stearic acid, coconut oil, castor oil and more Shea butter. I also added so sodium hydroxide too. This bath cooked way better, however it is extremely soft. Almost like thick cooked oatmeal. It could have been too much glycerin but I'm not sure. I'm gonna let it sit a couple days and see if it firms up. We'll see in a couple days. It may perform just fine, just be soft.

 

[Levue]

Guys, I would like to make a tallow soap out of a couple of pucks of TOBS hard soap.
Could I just melt them using a double boiler, melt tallow separately and mix everything up?

 

[psfred]

No. Adding tallow to already finished soap will make a greasy mess, not tallow shaving soap.

 

[Churchill65]

I've been making soap for probably 30 years and I've never thought of making shaving soap. My reasoning being that there are so many wonderful soap already available that there is no need. But to each is own.

 

[dfoulk]

Guys, I would like to make a tallow soap out of a couple of pucks of TOBS hard soap.
Could I just melt them using a double boiler, melt tallow separately and mix everything up?

In making soap, you add the tallow at an earlier stage with some oils and maybe some steric acid, these get added in the process before you add the Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide (both lyes). The lye changes the tallow along with your oils into a salt which is what becomes your shaving soap. Adding tallow to an already finished soap would be no different than adding a bunch or lard or bacon fat to it. It would be a soap covered in a greasy mixture of animal fat. Not good at all.

If you want to change the Tobs soap into something else you should not melt it. At best you'll lose some of the scent but you might well render it unusable as well. These soaps aren't intended to be melted down once they are made. You might consider grating it with a kitchen grater. You can then mix it with another already finished hard soap (that you've grated as well) or maybe combine it with a softer soap.

 

[Reyort]

I commend those that can do this.

 

[Levue]

In making soap, you add the tallow at an earlier stage with some oils and maybe some steric acid, these get added in the process before you add the Potassium Hydroxide and Sodium Hydroxide (both lyes). The lye changes the tallow along with your oils into a salt which is what becomes your shaving soap. Adding tallow to an already finished soap would be no different than adding a bunch or lard or bacon fat to it. It would be a soap covered in a greasy mixture of animal fat. Not good at all.

If you want to change the Tobs soap into something else you should not melt it. At best you'll lose some of the scent but you might well render it unusable as well. These soaps aren't intended to be melted down once they are made. You might consider grating it with a kitchen grater. You can then mix it with another already finished hard soap (that you've grated as well) or maybe combine it with a softer soap.

Thanks, I appreciate your brief lesson in soap making.