Cold Process Shaving Soap with Bentonite Clay & Essential Oils

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This is a wonderful recipe for shaving soap, I’ve been making it for years! It is one of my most requested soaps among friends and family members - everyone just loves it, especially the men who use it to lather up their shaving brushes!

This recipe is based very closely on the Best Wet Shaving Soap Recipe by Veronica Foale (guest post) on the Modern Soap Making website.

Veronica is an Australian soap maker from Tasmania and I am very grateful to her for sharing her recipe with us all. It has provided a perfect foundation for my own recipe, shared in the video and text below.

What are the differences then?

1. My version uses only sodium hydroxide for the lye, whereas Veronica’s recipe is a dual-lye soap using both sodium and potassium hydroxides. You can read Veronica’s rationale for this in her original recipe).

2. My version uses a simple, no-stick blender, cold process method (see it in the video) whereas the original recipe is made using the hot process method.

3. My recipe is designed to make exactly 12 round bars when poured into my two, six cavity silicone muffin moulds, where each cavity holds approximately 85g of soap batter (this type, Wiltshire brand).

4. Veronica uses a fragrance oil to scent her soap, I chose to use some rosemary and cedar essential oils (my friends seem to like it).

5. Veronica adds sodium lactate, which I left out, mainly in the interests of simplicity. I don’t think the cold process version of this recipe needs it, though it would help a hot process soap batter to stay nice and fluid for moulding.

6. Everything else is very similar! I followed Veronica’s lead on the oil percentages for this recipe and also added bentonite clay, as she does.

THE RECIPE

Cold Process Shaving Soap with Bentonite Clay
(Elly’s Everyday version, as shown in the video)

Please ensure you are familiar with the basics of soap making including safety requirements before you attempt this or any handmade soap recipe. Please view my soap making safety video here and read my disclaimer here.

Ingredients

• 340g natural soy wax (Only Golden Brands GW402 and GW415 are additive free and skin safe)
  Why soy wax? Soy wax is hydrogenated soy oil and is extremely high in stearic acid, which gives this soap its incredible hardness and tight, long lasting, creamy lather - perfect for shaving!

• 204g coconut oil

• 68g cocoa butter

• 68g castor oil

• 237g water (I used filtered rain water in my video demonstration. Distilled water or any other clean, soft water type is fine)

• 94g sodium hydroxide

• 20g bentonite clay (optional)

• 10g rosemary essential oil

• 10g cedar essential oil
  You can use other essential oils in this recipe, just make sure you use the recommended usage rates for soap and check any contraindications or irritant qualities. You want nice gentle EO’s for shaving soap! Or leave it fragrance-free.
  

Specifications

• This recipe uses a 7% superfat (as does Veronica’s original)

• 2.5 : 1 water to lye ratio

Method

Please follow the video for all the detail, but here are the basic steps:

1. Melt oils/fats/wax together in a soap making jug (polypropylene plastic) or gently on the stovetop. Just heat them until melted, about 60°C/140°F will be enough.

2. Prepare the lye solution. Gently pour the sodium hydroxide into the water and dissolve. Make sure you are wearing your PPE! (goggles and gloves minimum). Set aside somewhere safe.

3. Weigh bentonite clay and essential oils (if using, both are optional) into separate containers ready to use.

4. Prepare moulds. If using silicone moulds, make sure you have something rigid (cutting board etc.) underneath to make them easy to move once the soap is poured.

5. When ready, make the soap!

6. Add the clay to the melted fats/oils and whisk until completely incorporated.

7. Add essential oils and mix through.

8. Gently pour the lye solution into the oil mixture and whisk until you reach a light to medium trace.

9. Pour the soap into the mould, cover and move somewhere safe where it can rest for 18-24 hours. I place mine in my insulated cooler but on a table with cardboard and a blanket over the top would also be fine.

10. Unmould the soap when it has set and is nice and hard.

11. Cure the soap somewhere cool and dry for 4 weeks.

12. Make sure you pH test your soap before you test it out or give it to others!

I hope you enjoy this recipe, folks. And big thanks again to Veronica Foale for her wonderful recipe!

Please leave a comment below if you have any feedback or questions.

If you would like to support my work you can ‘buy me a coffee’ here (big thanks to all of you who have 🌼)

See you again soon :)

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