Shaving soaps make wonderful gifts to any one who owns a razor. This soap can be scented with any fragrance or essential oil that suits the recipient. If they aren’t too fond of strong scents, leave it unscented and the Chamomile Herbal Tea will give the soap a perfectly faint scent of chamomile.
Collect needed items:
Measure the clay onto the small tea plate and set aside. Weigh the Bay Rum Fragrance Oil into a small beaker and set aside. Measure fixed oils on your scale. Warm on the stove or in the microwave. I melted the oils in the microwave. Add sodium hydroxide to the water. Mix well. Combine oils and lye solution. Stir until thin trace. Once the soap has reached thin trace, remove a small portion and add the clay to the removed soap and mix until any clumps of clay have been eliminated. Pour this clay portion of soap back into the bucket of soap and mix well. Add the Bay Rum Fragrance Oil. Stir well. Pour soap into molds. I used the Rubbermaid Drawer Organizer #2915. Allow to sit until soap is firm. The next morning cut into bars. Stack to allow good air circulation. Allow to cure for several days before using. Longer curing will result in a harder bar. Notes: What would you scent your shaving soap with? Curious about kitchen spices or herbs in cold process soap? Vote now in our poll for future blog posts! The poll can be found on the right side of the screen between the Join In and Follow us on Twitter sections. Every vote counts! You can choose up to five answers if there are multiple spices or herbs you would like to see! |
This is a wonderful shaving soap! I’ve been making it for about 4 years now. I tweaked it a few times until I got it just where I liked it. Hubby LOVES it — he gets a nice close shave, with no nicks, no razor burn, no “5 o’clock shadow”, and can do his whole face without rinsing the blade. He will NEVER go back to aerosols. I love it too — for shaving my legs. I thought I was imagining things when I noticed I didn’t have to shave my legs as often, but others have mentioned the same thing! I usually scent it with Balsam Peru EO for it’s antiseptic qualities (nice fragrance too!). I use 2.5″ round silicone molds for just the right size to drop into a mug. A 4 oz. bar lasts 3-4 months.
Zany in CO
Hello. Do you need to wait until the lye solution and the melted oils reach 100 degrees before combining them like when I make regular soap?
I target somewhere between 110 and 120°F for the temperatures. I think that works well. Good question.
Tina
Is this CP soap? HP soap?
What is the SF %
Thank you.
This is a cold process soap and could be adapted to a hot process soap. The percentage of excess fat is about 5%.
Tina
I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen so far. But I’ve not seen you talk about molds yet. Do you use PVC for your shaving soap, or a square mold?
Dave,
Any mold can be used. The mold used in the photos is a drawer organizer. I just lined the tray with a piece of plastic wrap.
Tina