Making a shaving soap or Australian artisans.

[Dale.Whiley]

G'day,

Somebody recently mused about their own attempts (I think) to make a shave soap. Since it appears that we have "lost contact/track of" JGS (not answering emails and Out of Stock product lines) I want to find a local artisan or maybe start dabbling in concocting my own. Can somebody direct me to a recommended local artisan?

Now I'm not promoting a website or product, but has anybody tried to use this as a base and added the scents/oils they like?
http://www.aussiesoapsupplies.com.au/shaving-soap-natural-melt-pour-soap-base.html

Look forward to some some feedback. Perhaps @razorguy can weigh in with his experience.

Thanks.

 

[Nick the Knife]

I'm going to make some soap soon but for normal use - not shaving. I'll be doing cold processed as it suits general use soap best.

FWIW I'd avoid that melt & pour stuff - it won't compare well to the commercial soaps you're familiar with and you'll have a shedload of it to get through. IMHO if you're really keen to make a shaving soap and going the hot process route is the smart one.

From what I've seen the vast majority of artisan soap makers are making hot processed soaps. IMHO the main reasons would be that their products are ready to use/sell as soon as the next day (as opposed to several months with CP) and they use a LOT LESS essential oil/fragrance to scent their soap that CP - and this is one of the largest costs in making their soaps, the scents!

It's surprisingly easy to make but getting the bang on mixture for excellent results as a shaving soap will take a while - great thng is you just steal the approx. ingredients to use from a soap that you like's ingredients list. Tallow, coconut oil and palm oil are all easily available at the supermarkets - along with Caustic Soda. Find an oil/butter you like to superfat it and give it some nicer qualities and there's not a lot more to it.

Main thing though is being absolutely precise with your measurements and using a good lye calculator to come to your mixture. LOADS of good stuff out there to read on soap making ...suffice to say be safe with Lye as it's potentially very dangerous stuff!

 

[Dale.Whiley]

To be honest @Nick the Knife , I'd rather just buy a soap. I'm very taken by the scent of JGS and want to find something very similar and locally made if you call Townsville local to the rest of the country, though @eggbert is REAL remote compared to me. That whiskey/wood scent has got me. I have slicker/"glidier" soaps at home but their scent pales.

 

[razorguy]

Look forward to some some feedback. Perhaps @razorguy can weigh in with his experience.

I have been making shaving soap since ten years now and, as far as I can tell, the melt and pour method is the worst of them all, and not just for making shaving soap, but for soap in general. Not that this method gives you a bad soap, but it certainly does not give you control over the whole process and the result is however "modest".
There are some cold processed shaving soap out there, although most of them are hot processed, some of them are even double hot processed as well.
@Nick the Knife has pointed everything right: making soap at home is very very easy (provided you will be following some basic safety issues) and the result is very good even with the super simple cold processing method. While this is true for "generic" soap, making a good shaving soap is tricky and more complex and, as far as I can tell, hot processing seems to provide the best and most consistent method.
Apart for personal satisfaction in making your own shaving soap, I am recently making shaving soap less and less because what the market has to offer is of very high quality, generally speaking. That's why I am recently more involved in making other shaving products such as after shaves than soaps, mostly because many of modern artisan made shaving soaps seem to be better in their composition and avoid many of the "not so healthy" ingredients, even for the fact you need a lot of work in order to get a very very good shaving soap at home. Not impossible, but however taking a lot of time and experimentation. And this is also the good part of it.

 

[Dale.Whiley]

I have been making shaving soap since ten years now and, as far as I can tell, the melt and pour method is the worst of them all, and not just for making shaving soap, but for soap in general.

Undoubted experience we can tap into.

Apart for personal satisfaction in making your own shaving soap, I am recently making shaving soap less and less because what the market has to offer is of very high quality, generally speaking.

As stated, I would rather have an artian procer's product, myself lacking desire, skill & time to get into soap making.

even for the fact you need a lot of work in order to get a very very good shaving soap at home. Not impossible, but however taking a lot of time and experimentation.

Nah; I don't think so. Much easier to purchase. I want a soap that has that JGS scent. I'm willing to put put up with it's lack of glide just for the scent. Although I enjoy using other soaps also to compare and "a change is as good as a holiday", the scent of JGS soap makes it a "go to" product for me. Aussie made is a big "selling point" for me also.

@razorguy , you have convinced me. No to home soap making.

 

[razorguy]

I want a soap that has that JGS scent...

I now wonder what kind of scent this JGS has.

@razorguy , you have convinced me. No to home soap making.

Making soap at home can be fun. It also gives you the idea of how things work and how different oils and ingredients can provide a totally different soap and performance. I guess I will be making shaving soap from time to time, although I am now mainly interested in aftershaves.

 

[filobiblic]

@Dale.Whiley ~ meet @Anthony the Aussie soap maker taking the wet shaving world by storm. He's the man behind Shaver Heaven. It is based in Melbourne, and he is very friendly, super helpful and listens to feedback. He has many scents (including at least one Bay Rum and a Buttered Rum) - perhaps not a Bourbon Bay... I'm not sure he has tried JGS but if you send him a sample then he may be able to replicate the scent for you. [emoji6]And his soap is very good!!! No issues with performance at all. Highly recommended.

 

[borked]

@filobiblic you do realise @razorguy is probably closer to @Barrister & Mann than @Dale.Whiley is to @Anthony !

 

[filobiblic]

@filobiblic you do realise @razorguy is probably closer to @Barrister & Mann than @Dale.Whiley is to @Anthony !

That's why we have online stores and global shipping. [emoji6]

 

[Dale.Whiley]

@Dale.Whiley ~ meet @Anthony the Aussie soap maker taking the wet shaving world by storm. He's the man behind Shaver Heaven.

I thought I sent a PM to @Anthony 2 nights ago, but I must have hit the cancel button instead as I can't find the message in my list. I must try again tonight. Anyway, off to mow the jungle now. 2 weeks and no mow at this time of the year (heat, humidity and rain) and my yard is now the Amazon.

 

[eggbert]

Know the feeling there Dale. Dreading doing my lawn this weekend too.

 

[Dale.Whiley]

Know the feeling there Dale. Dreading doing my lawn this weekend too.

Jungle cut back. I feel like Indiana Jones. Cut my hair & trimmed the beard. (hair grows worse than the grass in this weather so it seems). Showered (no shave this morning - still a bit raw from the straight last night - was a close shave though, probably too close). Thinking about going to watch the Geelong Cats train this afternoon as they are playing the Gold Coast Suns up here tomorrow. Currently in the mid 30's at 60% humidity so the Southerner's will feel it.