So the last time I made soap was over 10 years ago? It was a real problem getting small amounts of lye because I didn't want to buy 50 pounds (or more) from an industrial supplier. I basically had to scrounge for kitchen plumbing aids.
essentialdepot is a great place to buy lye. They have both NaOH and KOH.
Did you use to make shave soap as well?
It seems so, Thom. Brothers from other mothers.
Indeed they are superior and it is not hard to make really. I much prefer homemade soaps myself and all my friends that I have given soap to do as well. Of course when I started DE shaving I had to make shave soap and while it is a different beast it is not hard either. Just need to highlight different characteristics compared with bath soap. What I have found though is that you almost have to do a dual lye soap for shaving though. The soap get really really hard if you just make it with NaOH and difficult to lather. I do have a shave soap I made that is single lye and I actually used it last night, but it works best for face lathering when I rub the bar on the face. Loading the brush from it sufficiently is a bit of a challenge. Since you are using both NaOH and KOH you are kind of forced into hot process and cook the soap. The benefit of that is that you can use it right away.
Could have been. I have only had it happen one time for me. Long time ago. Not since though *knock on wood*. You will have to join us over at SMAUG. It has been quiet over there. I need to make some more soap soon.
I bought 4 tubs of croaps from Italian Barber during their recent sale, and I have 3 new tubes of Proraso Green Creme from Amazon. I think I am set for at least a couple of years between that, my last Arko purchase, my canned foam, and my penchant to use Ivory bath soap to shave with.
Hmm.. I soak the brush for a bit, doesn't matter what the brush is made from, shake excess water off and start lathering in the mug. If I have to, I add a bit of water at times but that's it. No problems, mildew, mold, aliens or anything else...for years.
I live in a very warm and humid climate. Mildew is a fact of life here. Oh well!
Hey, what do you know. I went digging in the trash to find the remnants of the old puck. After it dried a bit, I could tell it wasn’t mildew. It was lint from the shaving brush!
Hahaha...lint. That's funny. I like bowl lathering. For me it's a nice minute or two building lather. I tend to use synths for that and "scrape soap" into the bowl.
I only use synthetics. I have some cheap boars that I acquired over the years, but I don't care for them.
I haven't caught onto the brush nuances yet. I only own 4 and the most expensive one is a Semogue boar brush that cost $25. Honestly I usually just grab the $3 synthetic that is always sitting in my shave mug filled with an Arko frankensoap and load it with whatever I want to use that day.
