SMF

I paired lime with bay laurel. nice combo.

Just curious have you tried making your soap from Tallow and Coconut oil then after saponification add the melted stearic acid. Just test for neutrality after mixing and compensate with more lye or stearate the stearic acid is the main component that benefits from potassium hydroxide (I learned tha...

My final version is this: Lard 46% Stearic Acid 30% Coconut Oil (76º) 15% Castor Oil 7% Lanolin 2% made more or less this today. I didn't have lanolin, so I upped the castor to fill in. I calculated the stearic with KoH and everything else with NAoH, so more sodium hydroxide than potassium hydroxid...

My final version is this: Lard 46% Stearic Acid 30% Coconut Oil (76º) 15% Castor Oil 7% Lanolin 2% and 50% NaOH and 50% KOH, using the amount of water recommended by soap calc for that combination. Then I add the gardenia scent oil, using around 20ml for 2kg of soap. Now, not blowing my own horn, a...

what didn't work for you with the MdC formulation, and what do you use? I presume you've read my posts on this thread with regards to my homebrew shave soap? Based on comments about 'the awesomeness of MdC,' I made an MdC-like formulation of stearic soap and coconut soap (my formulation, results, a...

I shaved a second time with caffeine powder added to the lather, but this time I used a lot more. I don't have a convenient way to measure milligrams so I used the tip of my straight razor to scoop a bit out and dump it in the bowl. the pile of powder was about the size of a pea, probably the equiva...

The difficult part will be determining if the caffeine contributed to a 'better shave' than the non-caffeinated lap would have provided. On a different note, I tried an MdC formulation and hated it...interesting that it works for you. YMMV and all that. I'm not sure how to approach rigorous testing...

bridger wrote:first report on caffeinated shave soap.

no discernible stimulant effects.

first report on caffeinated shave soap. the soap was my version of faux MdC. (55% stearic, 45% coconut, via potassium hydroxide). the razor was my very fine Karl Peters Jr. Solingen blade honed to 10k and stropped on linen then scotch shell. the brush was silvertip badger. the caffeine was anhydrous...

the making the follicles stand up idea was taken from a user's description of why he prefers cold water shaves. whether it is anatomically correct or not, I think the principle stands. I just ordered a small amount of caffeine powder. when it comes in I'll try it in a shave or two and report back. I...

not necessary, for sure.

but what if....
some folks shave with cold water. they say it makes the hair follicles stand up. others prefer the feel of hot lather on their skin.
what if caffeine makes the follicles stand up with hot lather?

inquiring minds want to know...

I suspect that adding "stuff" (bentonite, caffeine, shea butter, etc.) are methods used by the larger makers to hype their product. I suspect you're right. likely so. but not certainly. I'm looking for data about the effects of caffeine on the skin in the presence of shaving soap lather. ...

vasodilator, vasoconstrictor, skin absorbable, skin nonabsorbable, I see all of these claims made. what's actually going on?

here's the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxa9029gkas the creator of this video seems unclear on the actual effects produced. I am completely unclear on them. but if caffeine applied to the skin changes the surface somehow, it probably will change the behavior of soap/razor/skin in a way that ...

next dumb question for all you chem majors/ shave soap geeks/ cosmetologists: I watched a youtube vid about making coffee soap. they added pure caffeine to it, with the explanation that as a vasodilator it did stuff to the skin that was beneficial. could be, but that effect, whatever it is... would ...

I shaved with the stearic / coconut soap this weekend. I made some test lather and left it while I showered. I didn't time it, but I didn't hurry either, and when I got out it looked the same as when I started. it has staying power. it also shaves just fine, plenty of glide and cushion. this first t...

I'm making a try at a full on shaving soap. today I made 2 test batches. for the first batch what I did is follow the defaults in soapcalc for 55% stearic acid 45% coconut oil saponified with potassium hydroxide. the second batch is entirely experimental. it follows soapcalcs defaults for 100% casto...

here are the latest. the handles are padauk, turned on the south bend lathe I inherited from my grandfather. they are finished by impregnating with polyurethane by immersing in poly varnish first subject to vacuum for a couple of hours, then pressure overnight. over that will be probably three coats...

I received a question about the vacuum system I use to impregnate the wood with finish. I'll answer here. commercial vacuum systems can be purchased from quite a few vendors- they can be as simple as a $20 brake bleeder pump from the car parts store or as complicated and expensive as you want. I'm a...

the lathe, with a figured mesquite handle in process: