SMF

It was November of 2013 actually. About half the batch is Cedarwood and the other half is Lime. They have an assigned spot in the rotation, and today was the start day. Went with the Cedarwood first. It smells great, (what else would I say, since I made it and I'm stuck with it! ) The soap has cured for about 20 months now, in the cool dark drawer in the closet. Loaded the brush for 20 seconds and got an abundant thick lather. It's slick and it lasts. Nice product. Cheap product! Looking forward to the experience over the next few weeks. Hope so, I've got 10 pucks.

Gary...Sounds fantastic! I just batched up a rosewater bath soap that is curing now, and I keep telling myself I have GOT to try a shave soap.

I was glad you and Tim have posted some soaping news - I was wondering how things were proceeding on the artisan front.

Congratulations to you and your soapmaking, Gary and Gene!

- Murray

Sounds great! Keep going.

Sounds good, Gary! Any pics??

Good suggestion. Soon, maybe.

That's terrific, guys!

sounds nice i need to try soapmaking too

I'm convinced anyone who can make a loaf of bread can also make soap.

I have my homemade soaps on the official rotation right between Domenico Caraceni 1913 which is legendary cream and Krampert's Finest Bay Rum and Frostbite, which I am eagerly looking forward to using many times. There are 3 that I made, 11-11-13 I made my first-ever batch using Lime and Cedarwood. I was a bit weak on the scents, because I was a complete rookie. The second batch was made shortly thereafter on 11-22-13. Again with the only scents I had, Lime and Cedarwood. They smell good, just not too strong. Again not knowing how much to add. Third batch (a double batch) was made on 3-4-14. That time I went with Tobacco and Cedarwood. Tried to get it strong, and it does smell good. These were all made from the good recipe with a minimum of ingredients. For soaps that have cured now for between 16 and 21 months, they seem quite well "set" and perform better than my original perceptions and expectations. Looking back, the decision to make a double batch in March '14 was the right decision. Now I have 10 pucks of it, and it'll definitely outlast my shaving days, especially being in this monstrous 16 product rotation. There was another batch of soap I made on the 21st of November 2013 that "rotted/soured" within about 4 months and was promptly thrown away. It was a different recipe, and good riddance.

Gary was that the sour mash recipe?

Yes, definitely! If I'd tried to lather it and put it on my face I'd probably gone blind. The proverbial bad batch.

TheMonk wrote:Sounds good, Gary! Any pics??

I should have taken a picture this morning. it was the tobacco fragrance batch that I made in March 2014. Used the Rooney Finest plexi and got just the right amount of water. This was a lather to write home about.

That's super awesome! So you really need to let the soap sit for that long to be good to use? I made my own shaving cream recently and was able to use within a day of making it. I do have to admit is was a little heavy on the coconut oil. Kinda overpowered the Sandalwood essential oil I put in it.

Welcome aboard Blake, good first post.

BlakeOrlando wrote:That's super awesome! So you really need to let the soap sit for that long to be good to use? I made my own shaving cream recently and was able to use within a day of making it. I do have to admit is was a little heavy on the coconut oil. Kinda overpowered the Sandalwood essential oil I put in it.

You're right Blake, I was using mine the next day also. No problem. I just have so many great soaps and creams that have accumulated over the years that I just made a list and was busy working through the list before I was able to get back to the good 'ol homemade stuff. I think I can confirm that the homemade stuff mentioned above has actually improved over time.

Since a month ago, I managed to put 30 shaves on my various homemade soaps. They're definitely as good as, if not actually better than any of the commercial soaps I've got. They're slick and cushiony. They don't dissipate either. My obvious shortcoming is in the fragrances. If I could get that figured out (which will not happen any time soon) then I'd probably be bragging about 'em even more. They are what they are, and that makes me very happy when I get to use them. Now I'm looking forward to the next (commercial) soap on the list.

Following up after one year. The second batch of soap that I made on 22Nov13 burned my skin more than I intend to tolerate. Both fragrances. I checked the pH and found it to be borderline acceptable. I don't recall being burned by these products last year. Anyway, I tossed those two. This leaves me with 2 more batches - 11Nov13 and 13Mar14. I'm going to shave with both batches as soon as possible and if they're not acceptable, that'll be the end of them. More to follow. Give me a few days.

5 year old homemade shaving soap: Another follow-up. This morning I began a two month daily run on a partially used tub of the Cedarwood scented shaving soap I made in my own kitchen on November 11 2013. It was great! Thick lather that didn't dissipate. Still has a decent amount of scent. The best thing about it today was the extreme slickness that came from splashing water on the face after the lather has been removed by the first pass. I don't re-lather, I just touch up and smooth and then I'm done. I still have on hand a total of 7 homemade pucks in varying scents - Cedarwood, Tobacco, and Lime.

Good work, Gary!

- Murray