Razor: Rockwell 6c on 1
Brush: Yaqi Silvertip Badger
Soap: Thirsty Badger Alpha
Other: Thirsty Badger lather bowl
So last weekend I did something fun…. I made shave soap! When I first got interested in wet shaving, I was intrigued at what went into making this product that I love so much. A few weeks later I was at a local farmer’s market and bought what was advertised as shave soap. It definitely wasnt shave soap. It was at that point I decided I wanted to learn more so that I could find out a) what to look for in a good shave soap and b) to get a better understanding of what artisans go thru to make a quality shave soap for us shave folks.
So I went to work on the research. I took a soap making class out at our local techworks. This class was an intro to making cold process soap. We made a basic recipe and learned about what goes in to a soap, the steps, the phases, a few of the gotchas, etc. In the end I made a nice Orange Peppermint bar soap. It was a fun night.
my first shave soap…. it lathers!
I followed that up with more research. I found a really nice online calculator to help with SAP values, lye calculations, etc. I took a look at ingredient lists from all my soap products (not to copy but to get an understanding what others use and like). I researched various oils and fats for different characteristics and to see what was interesting and what was easy/difficult to source. Once I had an idea of what I wanted to use, I ordered up some supplies, and when they arrived, I went to work.
A few hours later I had a batch of my very own shave soap. It was an adventure. Things moved faster than I wanted, I damaged the finish on our dining room table (sorry hun) and I gave myself a bit of a burn on the crock pot, but after a few hours I had what looked and smelled like soap. Later, I gave it a test lather and SUCCESS, it lathered like a dream. I gave it a test shave, and it worked, a nice comfortable shave. I made my very own shave soap!
It was a fun experience and I learned a lot. Do I plan to get into the soap making business? Maybe yes, maybe no and a big old “we’ll see.” My main goal was to learn and get a better appreciation for what soap makers do. I don’t see myself as becoming competition to those fine folks but at some point, maybe I’ll join the brotherhood/sisterhood of the awesome soap makers. I’ll always keep trying new products and blogging of my experience, as it is an aspect of the hobby I really enjoy. I think this adventure has given me even more of an appreciation for all the great products available. So for now, I will likely whip up the odd batch to try a few things out, pass on to my friends to see what they like and see where it goes from there. For now, this is just one more step in my wet shave journey.
Happy shaves all!
Jared
