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How to make a soap stick

$IMG_0108.jpg This shows slivers of soap in a make-shift double boiler (i.e., Bagna Maria in case Marco is watching). The bowl is PYREX glass - do NOT use any glass bowl, stick with metal mixing bowls if you are not certain. The bowl is simply placed in a pot with simmering water in it. The rim of the bowl rests on the rim of the pot, so the bowl is suspended in the water and does not touch the hot bottom of the pot.

$IMG_0110.jpgIn about 10-15 minutes the soap seems to darken, but it is really becoming partially translucent. At this point the melted slivers can be mixed or stirred with a spatula or butter knife. However, do not expect an actual liquid because it ain't happening-it's more like cake frosting.

$IMG_0112.jpgI used a butter knife to begin loading an empty roll-up container that has been rolled to the very top. When the space is filled, I roll it downward to make more room. When it is full I just smooth off the top with the edge of the knife as shown in the next photo.

$IMG_0114.jpg When I have loaded as much as I want, I let it harden at room temp or in the fridge and smack on a label. $IMG_0116.jpg.
That's it, no muss, no fuss, no belly spasms. Of course I am not doing this with my wife in the apartment but if I hurry and clean up, SWMBO will never know.
 
Hey Teddy - I've read so much about you claiming Mike's and Mystic are subpar performers recently... do you suppose subjecting them to this procedure could have anything to do with that?

I know people melt "melt & pour" soaps all of the time, but it seems like softening a tallow-based soap is a delicate thing that could definitely impact the performance of the end product.

I think this should only be approached with caution, and with an open mind and low expectations regarding the finished product.

ETA: It even looks like the soap is a definite off white color in your opening pre-melt shot, while it's taken on some orange hues in the end.
 
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Grating is safer, agreed. These days I do not even go that far: I simply apply a round deodorant package to the puck, like a biscuit cutter. Then I stack the cut-up parts in the round.
 
The sticks that I have tried function beautifully. The focus on color change seems overblown as the orange overtones disappear when the stick cools. In fact, I have compared the color of the soap stick to the original puck and they are identical. Some chemical compounds are known to change color when heated, but this does not mean that the substance has undergone some chemical reaction or has degraded.

If you prefer grating, have fun. I didn't say this was the only way to do it. I tried it and it was messy and too much of the soap did not grate but got mushed up inside the grater and was very hard to get out.

The advantage for me is that the soaps that I made into sticks did not lather consistently when loading the brush from the puck. Now these soaps lather very nicely and I can see why people like them so much. The issue for me has nothing to do with portability; when you can see your beard covered with product you can be pretty certain that you're ready to lather up. It hasn't failed me yet.

I guess the biscuit cutter approach can work with softer soaps, but for the hard soaps like Mike's I will stick with my method b/c it is easy and allows me to use as much as an ounce or two of soap if I choose.
 
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Variety is tasty stuff, so do what works best for you.

Inspired by your photo essay, here is mine. I started with an empty Brut deodorant package and a puck of Charismata barbershop, which happened to be the only puck I had handy - most are already sticks. This is a hard soap. I have also used this approach successfully with Tabac and MWF, among others.



First clean the package, if needed. Here I used a three-piece push-up deodorant container. The label peels off easily, and the remaining deodorant is water-soluble. I also applied a very thin coat of mineral oil, so that the stick can slide easily. Once I forgot to do this, when I made an MWF stick, and the soap got stuck. I had to freeze it for an hour to shrink the soap a little, and since then it has been fine. So you may be able to skip the oil. If you use it, use only a little - and do not use an oil that could go rancid, unless you like that scent in your shave.

The first cut is to the center, so that we can preserve any imprint or logo on the puck. This one is plain, but I centered the first cut anyway. Push down firmly, but even hard soaps are fairly soft. The outside may crumble a bit: that is fine.



Now we have a core sample, with any imprint on the other side. If you want to preserve any imprint, pop out that donut hole and set it aside.



Next I put the plastic bottom piece back into the tube, and kept going around the donut. I tried to grab large chucks of soap with each cut, but these sections will not be perfectly round. No worries: the soap will form into place inside the plastic tube.



All done: we now have a stick. If you have the center cut with an imprint, you can place it on top. The paper bag is disposable and compostable, so there is no cleanup to do. If you want the soap to have ventilation, you can punch or drill a few holes in the lid. If you want a label, you can make one.

Happy shaves!

 
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These are very clever techniques for making a shave stick. I took the unsophisticated approach of cutting the bar of Mike's into three sticks and wrapping them in foil.
 
just finish trying this with OMG williams and it worked perfectly;used an empty brut deodorant container;
 
I just took a puck of Haslinger and applied to stubble, couldn't find the foil...

+1 If you just want to face-load your soap, you don't need to make it into a stick at all, just rub the puck on your face.

If you want to make a stick you can melt, grate, biscuit-cut, or just mash it down into the container depending on how the soap reacts to those various options. I suspect that grating is the only one that's universal, it should work with all soaps.

The same strategies can be used to put an already-stick-shaped-soap into a container that doesn't quite fit. I mash my Arko into a twist-up deodorant container.
 
Be warned the double boiler method will cost you some scent strength. How much depends on the soap (basically how hot it must get to be workable) and the scents (different oils evaporate at different temps, some will be seriously weakened above 130 or so, others can go to 150+ with little problem. Milling and pressing any soap soft enough to do so would be a better option in most cases.


The primary advantage of a stick (beyond portability) is that unless the soap is the texture of mud, any face needing a shave will remove MANY, MANY, MANY times as much product from a soap stick than a shaving brush would remove from a puck of soap. Basically, if you spend anywhere near the amount of time rubbing a shave stick on your face that you would spend rubbing a brush on a puck, you'll have enough soap for a dozen shaves or better. Your sink will be buried in the lather falling from your face. (Long story short, shave sticks pretty much won't ever encounter the "not enough product" issue that many soap users seem to encounter).

Also, in my experience/opinion, it tends to make the scent of milder-scented soaps more noticeable when you apply directly to your face.
 
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any face needing a shave will remove MANY, MANY, MANY times as much product from a soap stick than a shaving brush would remove
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Also, in my experience/opinion, it tends to make the scent of milder-scented soaps more noticeable when you apply directly to your face.

I agree with your assessment of face-loading vs. brush loading, but how does that differ from using a puck in the same way as you use a stick, by rubbing it on your face?
 
Doubt it differs much at all except in that I believe in some cases the sticks are going to be softer than pucks. For instance, I think Tabac is the same formula, but as I recall TOBS sticks are a soft glycerin soap unlike their triple-milled pucks.
 
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...The primary advantage of a stick (beyond portability) is that unless the soap is the texture of mud, any face needing a shave will remove MANY, MANY, MANY times as much product from a soap stick than a shaving brush would remove from a puck of soap. Basically, if you spend anywhere near the amount of time rubbing a shave stick on your face that you would spend rubbing a brush on a puck, you'll have enough soap for a dozen shaves or better. Your sink will be buried in the lather falling from your face. (Long story short, shave sticks pretty much won't ever encounter the "not enough product" issue that many soap users seem to encounter)...


As my father used to say "There are two things that will tell you all you need to know about a man: One, how he treats his animals. And two, if he appreciates the perfection that is, a shave stick".



-s
 
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