Pb Pimento Silk

[Pbgoose]

Did another cook up this morning and calling it Pimento Silk.
Ingredients: Tallow, Stearic, Olive Oil, Coconut, Apricot Kernel, Castor Oil, Tussah Silk, Glycerine, Filtered Water (RO). Went back to the normal KOH, NaOH ratio as I didn't like the hardness of my Bay/Lime as much as I thought I would.
Essential Oils: Pimento Berry (Allspice), Patchouli, Lime, Lemongrass.
This is the first batch where my wife has liked the scent. I was only going to put either Lime or Lemongrass but interestingly when I was trialing the oils and put them together the combination introduces a woody (almost cypress) note which warms it up a bit.
Let's be clear, I'm no expert, I don't know my way around scents, I'm just playing in the kitchen (and getting shouted out because I'm hogging it). I guess it's like trying to describe wine tastes. I don't have a clue what I'm doing I just know what I like. And I like this one.
I really wanted to drop a little clay in the mix but couldn't as I wanted to try and tell the difference with the addition of silk.
I'm looking forward to giving it a run in the morning.

 

[nav1]

Did another cook up this morning and calling it Pimento Silk.
Ingredients: Tallow, Stearic, Olive Oil, Coconut, Apricot Kernel, Castor Oil, Tussah Silk, Glycerine, Filtered Water (RO). Went back to the normal KOH, NaOH ratio as I didn't like the hardness of my Bay/Lime as much as I thought I would.
Essential Oils: Pimento Berry (Allspice), Patchouli, Lime, Lemongrass.
This is the first batch where my wife has liked the scent. I was only going to put either Lime or Lemongrass but interestingly when I was trialing the oils and put them together the combination introduces a woody (almost cypress) note which warms it up a bit.
Let's be clear, I'm no expert, I don't know my way around scents, I'm just playing in the kitchen (and getting shouted out because I'm hogging it). I guess it's like trying to describe wine tastes. I don't have a clue what I'm doing I just know what I like. And I like this one.
I really wanted to drop a little clay in the mix but couldn't as I wanted to try and tell the difference with the addition of silk.
I'm looking forward to giving it a run in the morning.

Sounds like a lovely and soothing scent.

I honestly do find a betterment in performance with silk containing soaps.

 

[Pbgoose]

Sounds like a lovely and soothing scent.

I honestly do find a betterment in performance with silk containing soaps.

I'm interested in trying silk and clay in a future batch. Don't know whether the clay would counter the silk or work with it. I was just reading another site which had a recipe with silk and bentonite so I can't see why it wouldn't work well.

 

[borked]

FWIW, I'm yet to hear of a decent soap where clay is a prominent ingredient.
Shea and Argan oils are two I'd also consider adding if possible.
Maybe even experiment with different lard/tallow bases from different animals?

 

[alfredus]

FWIW, I'm yet to hear of a decent soap where clay is a prominent ingredient.

Mike's Natural Soaps

Ingredients: Distilled water; saponified tallow (beef) and stearic acid; vegetable glycerin; saponified kokum butter, avocado oil, and shea butter; lanolin, fragrance and/or essential oil(s); saponified coconut oil; kaolin clay, vitamin E.

Mystic Water Soap
All of our shaving soap is made with tallow, which contributes to an exceptionally dense, slick lather. Combined with stearic acid, unrefined shea butter, sustainably sourced organic palm oil, avocado oil, aloe vera, bentonite clay, silk protein, allantoin, and extra glycerin

 

[todras]

Essential Oils: Pimento Berry (Allspice), Patchouli, Lime, Lemongrass.
This is the first batch where my wife has liked the scent. I was only going to put either Lime or Lemongrass but interestingly when I was trialing the oils and put them together the combination introduces a woody (almost cypress) note which warms it up a bit.

Let's be clear, I'm no expert, I don't know my way around scents, I'm just playing in the kitchen (and getting shouted out because I'm hogging it). I guess it's like trying to describe wine tastes. I don't have a clue what I'm doing I just know what I like. And I like this one.

@Pbgoose what you have with those oils is almost the classic Bay Rum recipe.....

If you buy some Sweet Orange Essential oil (cheap as lime if not cheaper) you can easily knock up a really decent and classic bay rum perfume for your soap. You can use Australian Sweet Orange Essential Oil, there is no need to splurge on the fancy Brazillian stuff as the Pimenta racemosa (Bay) oil will only hammer it anyway. Pimenta oil hammers just about any other Essential oil into oblivion unless you use really small amounts, we also may want to load the mix up with lots of Citrus as it sweetens the fragrance and it does not last very long - we sweeten the mix, we get that awesome warm, spice bay rum vibe. You might like a severe bay rum with less citrus, if so use more pimento

So 20 drops = 1ml (roughly for this example). If I made 100 grams of soap I would add 3ml of Essential Oil Mix or more or less, whatever you like. 1 ml = 20 drops. While we are mucking around ill use ml and drops as it's more accessible.

Here is what I would do for a classic, enduring Bay Rum.... You could also add 5 drops of clove oil as another middle note if you wanted to get rock and roll, again its down to personal preference.

Top Note: Lime (20 drops), Sweet Orange (10 drops) (1.5ml)
Middle Note: Lemongrass 10 drops (.5ml)
Base: Pimenta (5-10 drops), Patchouli (10 drops) (1ml)

You can alter any of it to your personal liking, the point is that in the bay rum there is more middle and top notes to balance the Pimento. The Patchouli is also a really nice fixative and helps the citrus last a little longer, while creating the woodiness you smelt. You might be perfectly happy with it the way it is too, just thought I would chip in and let you know I think it's great you are mucking around in the kitchen

 

[nav1]

How come only @bald as
appreciates the scent of lemon myrtle?

It's probably my favourite scent (in anything) but I've never had the privilege to try a pure lemon myrtle shaving soap.

@Pbgoose
Any intention to make a lemon myrtle shaving soap?

 

[nsavage]

FWIW, I'm yet to hear of a decent soap where clay is a prominent ingredient.
Shea and Argan oils are two I'd also consider adding if possible.
Maybe even experiment with different lard/tallow bases from different animals?

What quality soap has Argan oil in it? All the ones I have tried with Argan oil have been mediocre at best.

 

[todras]

Shea and Argan oils are two I'd also consider adding if possible.

Shea butter is a triglyceride (fat) not an oil, different melting point.

 

[todras]

How come only @bald as
appreciates the scent of lemon myrtle?

He is on a whole other level of soap making would be my guess, that and wisdom of age.

Seriously though, @bald as is one of the most talented soap makers I have ever encountered. I was lucky enough for him to give me a small unscented puck he had made and it went head to head with MdC unscented without any word of exaggeration.

You can alter any of it to your personal liking, the point is that in the bay rum there is more middle and top notes to balance the Pimento.

It's Pimenta, pimento is a type of pepper. You made the same mistake twice in that post.

 

[Pbgoose]

He is on a whole other level of soap making would be my guess, that and wisdom of age.

Seriously though, @bald as is one of the most talented soap makers I have ever encountered. I was lucky enough for him to give me a small unscented puck he had made and it went head to head with MdC unscented without any word of exaggeration.



It's Pimenta, pimento is a type of pepper. You made the same mistake twice in that post.

Hi @todras . I was just going off the label which says 'Pimento Berry' (Pimenta Officinalis). The Bay I used in my Bay/Lime soap was Pimenta Racemosa.
Regarding @bald as , yes it is all his fault. He was the one who encouraged me down this path.

 

[Pbgoose]

@Pbgoose what you have with those oils is almost the classic Bay Rum recipe.....

If you buy some Sweet Orange Essential oil (cheap as lime if not cheaper) you can easily knock up a really decent and classic bay rum perfume for your soap. You can use Australian Sweet Orange Essential Oil, there is no need to splurge on the fancy Brazillian stuff as the Pimenta racemosa (Bay) oil will only hammer it anyway. Pimenta oil hammers just about any other Essential oil into oblivion unless you use really small amounts, we also may want to load the mix up with lots of Citrus as it sweetens the fragrance and it does not last very long - we sweeten the mix, we get that awesome warm, spice bay rum vibe. You might like a severe bay rum with less citrus, if so use more pimento

So 20 drops = 1ml (roughly for this example). If I made 100 grams of soap I would add 3ml of Essential Oil Mix or more or less, whatever you like. 1 ml = 20 drops. While we are mucking around ill use ml and drops as it's more accessible.

Here is what I would do for a classic, enduring Bay Rum.... You could also add 5 drops of clove oil as another middle note if you wanted to get rock and roll, again its down to personal preference.

Top Note: Lime (20 drops), Sweet Orange (10 drops) (1.5ml)
Middle Note: Lemongrass 10 drops (.5ml)
Base: Pimenta (5-10 drops), Patchouli (10 drops) (1ml)

You can alter any of it to your personal liking, the point is that in the bay rum there is more middle and top notes to balance the Pimento. The Patchouli is also a really nice fixative and helps the citrus last a little longer, while creating the woodiness you smelt. You might be perfectly happy with it the way it is too, just thought I would chip in and let you know I think it's great you are mucking around in the kitchen

Hey @todras , thanks for the generous advice. You realise you're just chucking fuel on the fire. So many iterations to work through.

 

[Pbgoose]

How come only @bald as
appreciates the scent of lemon myrtle?

It's probably my favourite scent (in anything) but I've never had the privilege to try a pure lemon myrtle shaving soap.

@Pbgoose
Any intention to make a lemon myrtle shaving soap?

Do you think it would be a bit raw by itself?

 

[todras]

The Bay I used in my Bay/Lime soap was Pimenta Racemosa.

Thats the one to use technically speaking, its the one I work with. You may hear people mention Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) and start jumping up and down, if this does happen my advice is to ignore them as it is a completely different oil and they are wrong. More times than not Bay Laurel appears in those recipes you get if you google bay rum home made or recipe for instance.

Hey @todras , thanks for the generous advice. You realise you're just chucking fuel on the fire. So many iterations to work through.

You have picked a brutally hard first fragrance to get right, nailing a Bay Rum using pure Essential Oils is hard, most people give up and reach for the fragrance oil but in doing so they miss out on the beauty of this shaving classic.

Spoiler

In the spirit of P&C I will tell you the key to making Bay Rum that rocks is that you have to let it rest, Bay oil gets stronger and stronger over 72 hours so that small amount you think was perfect turns out to be way to much.

What you do is measure out your perfume in drops, all the EO's but leave the Bay Oil until the very end... go much heavier on the lime and orange oil than you think is right as they take a massive hit from the bay then right at the end, when the lime is singing and the mix is just screaming pure manliness then you slowly add Bay Rum oil just until the point you can smell it after the bottle is shaken...You stop here, shake the little bottle of your perfume and leave for 48/72 hours...if you are lucky, you come back and POW that full spicey, Bay, Citrus accord that makes Bay Rum so bloody nice.

If you remember one thing, remember that you must let the perfume marry/rest for 24/48 hours for all of the compounds contained within the individual oils to do their chemistry thing as a mixture.

One more thing, after you have the Bay Rum accord nice and funky there is the option of adding some real rum, I won't tell you how much but I will say you need a little less than your total bay oil. It isn't ultra necessary, but the judicious addition of a nice, spicey genuine rum gives the whole perfume this deep, sweet spice aspect - We are talking drops of real rum here, not hefty lugs!

Let me know how you get on with it too mate, and don't hesitate to ask any questions you might have along the way. It's bloody good fun dabbling with oils in the kitchen, it can lead to all kinds of things from my experience.

 

[todras]

Do you think it would be a bit raw by itself?

Yes, it's f*cking horrible on it's own in my snobby, elitist artisan opinion..absolutely bloody loathe-some. Raw, cloying and unrelentingly persistent in it's note. Blughhh YUK!

Sorry, had to say it - just my opinion - feel free to pitchfork and castigate as necessary.

 

[Pbgoose]

Yes, it's f*cking horrible on it's own in my snobby, elitist artisan opinion..absolutely bloody loathe-some. Raw, cloying and unrelentingly persistent in it's note. Blughhh YUK!

Sorry, had to say it - just my opinion - feel free to pitchfork and castigate as necessary.

Yes, that's why I asked the question. We use it for another purpose and it's like releasing an atom bomb. More than the tiniest amount is devastating. To be played with another day.

 

[bald as]

Maybe even experiment with different lard/tallow bases from different animals?

I have made various formulations using Lard and Tallow but me personally I couldn't see any real advantage over a single tallow soap. I think from memory it was marginally creamier but didn't retain that body for as long as Tallow only. It didn't smell like bacon

I can see a Pig meets vegan soap in my near future. Stearic, Lard, Coconut, Avocado, Macadamia and Kokum or Shea butter to super fat.

Stearic acid is the main ingredient requirement for the majority of soap features. Tallow, Lard, Shea butter, Kokum Butter and a couple of others provide a good percentage of Stearic but straight Stearic Acid as a refined soap making ingredient is usually the bulk of all traditional saponified shaving soaps. It is easy to make a shaving soap for yourself but to make a soap that satisfies a commercial market is a whole 'nother level.

 

[bald as]

Do you think it would be a bit raw by itself?

Only if your chromosomes are in the wrong order.

I don't use it for the scent, it is a fantastic anti bacterial.

 

[Snooze]

Tabula Rasa soap has Argan Oil and the legendary Il Coloniali has mango oil which really seems to add something amazing to the post shave feel.

 

[nav1]

Do you think it would be a bit raw by itself?

Personally, i love the stuff.
I've had pure lemon myrtle bath soaps and once finished, couldn't source them again. That was my only hit of lemon myrtle.

In a shaving soap, scents tend to get muted, versus aftershaves and bath soaps (as demonstrated to me by a professional soap maker) so i think a bit of lemon myrtle would be nice and subtle but offer that pure heaven which lemon myrtle can