MyCleanRed creado por nentab de SoporteMyBB.

I decided to try my hand at Melt and Pour shave soap making recently. This thread is intended to document how it went.

Here are the supplies I purchased from Brambleberry



1 lb of M&P Shave Soap Base
1 lb of Shea Butter M&P Soap Base
2 oz of bentonite clay
4 oz Arabian Spice Fragrance Oil
4 oz of Ginger Lime Fragrance Oil
* free sample of Monkey Laughs FO ( smells like bananas )

Supplies I provided:

Liquid Glycerine
Castor Oil
Empty Cool Whip plastic bowl ( large enough to melt 1lb of soap )
Plastic spoons for stirring
Measuring spoon ( 1/2 teaspoon )
(5) Empty plastic individual serving fruit cups

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Step One

Gather all the supplies and equipment. I started on the dining room table which luckily was still covered with a disposable table cloth. My plan this day was to make 1lb of soap.

Step Two

With a butter knife ( and wearing a leather work glove ) I was able to cube up 1/2 the shave soap base, and 1/2 the shea soap base. I put the cubes all in the cleaned out Cool Whip container.

Step Three

I combined 1 teaspoon of castor oil, 1 teaspoon of liquid glycerine, and 1 teaspoon of bentonite clay to make a paste.This supposedly makes it easier to mix the clay into the melted soap later. The glycerine and castor oil are to improve the lather.

Step Four

Time to melt the soap in the microwave. I just ran the bowl through a series of 25 second bursts until it was well melted. I also watched it to make sure it didn't bubble up.

Step Five

I removed the melted soap ( wearing oven mitts ) and put it on the counter on an old towel. I then added the clay/oil paste and mixed with a plastic spoon. It took a while for the paste to incorporate. This also gave the soap time to start cooling before adding the scent.

Step Six

Now it was time to add the scent. The Brambleberry website has a guide for how much of the fragrance oil to add for a specific amount of a finished product. Both of the FOs I was going to use suggested between 1 teaspoon and 3 teaspoons per 1lb of soap. I decided to try 1.5 teaspoons total ( a mixture of 1 tsp of Arabian Spice and .5 tsp of Ginger Lime ). I measured these out and mixed them in a small plastic container to make sure the mix worked for me. I then added it to the melted soap and stirred.

Step Seven

Now I poured the soap into the cleaned out individual serving 4 oz fruit bowls. I probably put about 3 ozs in each. I didn't measure. 1lb of the soap made 5 of the containers.

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More photos

Looks good Geno, how did the scent turn out?

(01-07-2012 01:36 PM)Ecosse Wrote:  Looks good Geno, how did the scent turn out?

It sort of reminds me of a Lime Bay Rum scent. I like it enough I mixed some with Witch Hazel and use it as an AS splash.

Gene, that is fantastic! How long did it take you to make, from start to finish? Have you had a chance to shave with it or did you just finish making it. Again, fantastic and congratulations. Thank you for sharing this.

very neat! did you actually shave using that soap yet?

I've shaved with it about 5 or 6 times, and I'm fairly happy with it. I may add a tad more scent next time, but I wanted to a little conservative the first time.

The entire process ( minus time for the soap to reharden ) may have taken around 40 minutes.

(01-07-2012 04:12 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I've shaved with it about 5 or 6 times, and I'm fairly happy with it. I may add a tad more scent next time, but I wanted to a little conservative the first time.

The entire process ( minus time for the soap to reharden ) may have taken around 40 minutes.

if you don't mind me asking, what was the total cost involved?

I recently made some homemade hand soap and I was amazed at how much I could actually make for such a low cost.

(01-07-2012 04:12 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I've shaved with it about 5 or 6 times, and I'm fairly happy with it. I may add a tad more scent next time, but I wanted to a little conservative the first time.

The entire process ( minus time for the soap to reharden ) may have taken around 40 minutes.

Performance wise, on par with other glycerin soaps?

(01-07-2012 05:26 PM)andrewjs18 Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 04:12 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I've shaved with it about 5 or 6 times, and I'm fairly happy with it. I may add a tad more scent next time, but I wanted to a little conservative the first time.

The entire process ( minus time for the soap to reharden ) may have taken around 40 minutes.

if you don't mind me asking, what was the total cost involved?

I recently made some homemade hand soap and I was amazed at how much I could actually make for such a low cost.

All the supplies I purchased from Brambleberry were under $30 ( that's including shipping ). I'm calculating I can make around 10 pucks from the 2 lbs of soap base, and frankly I could probably scent 75 pucks from the 8 ozs of fragrance oil I got ( and that's not counting the 2 oz sampler they tossed in ). The 2 oz supply of bentonite clay would last a while as well.

1 lb of their shaving soap base is less than $4.

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(01-07-2012 06:19 PM)Ecosse Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 04:12 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I've shaved with it about 5 or 6 times, and I'm fairly happy with it. I may add a tad more scent next time, but I wanted to a little conservative the first time.

The entire process ( minus time for the soap to reharden ) may have taken around 40 minutes.

Performance wise, on par with other glycerin soaps?

Easily as good as the few 'glycerine' soaps I've used ( VDH, Col Conk, and Ogallalla ). I'd like to think mine is a little better, but that might just be pride. Different from a tallow soap, or even the French veggie blends.

Part of the reason I used 50% of the shea soap base was to make it a little different from the typical glycerine shave soap.

Fantastic job! So......when do we get samples?

That's awesome!

(01-07-2012 10:14 PM)Truckman Wrote:  Fantastic job! So......when do we get samples?

I'm with you..I'd throw a few bucks over to cover at least shipping!

I'm working on some sample sizes

(01-08-2012 02:26 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I'm working on some sample sizes

(I'd certainly chip in to be able to give it a try, Gene.)

(01-08-2012 12:26 AM)andrewjs18 Wrote:  

(01-07-2012 10:14 PM)Truckman Wrote:  Fantastic job! So......when do we get samples?

I'm with you..I'd throw a few bucks over to cover at least shipping!

(01-08-2012 03:33 PM)freddy Wrote:  

(01-08-2012 02:26 PM)geneaut Wrote:  I'm working on some sample sizes

(I'd certainly chip in to be able to give it a try, Gene.)

What these two said....