(11-08-2022, 07:53 AM)zaclikestoshave Wrote: (11-07-2022, 10:37 PM)Dragonsbeard Wrote: Just a little note
It was brought to my attention that The Shave Supply has one jar of Tonka Bean which I know a few folks are looking for.
Great shaves
Speaking of Tonka Bean shave soap in Southern California....we had rain today! Anyways, I decided to take a smear of the v2 Dragonsbeard shave soap and put it on top of the Tonka Bean. It was a really nice mixture and I finished with the Dragonsbeard aftershave splash. Some of you have shared your other mixtures of different Ethos combos which have all sounded like good ideas as well.
By the way, Frank, when I use the firm soaps, I still like to add a little bit more kokum butter for a denser or thicker lather. Is it possible that additional kokum would firm up the F base? Just curious.
As far as mixing the Tonk Bean with Dragonsbeard it makes complete sense as the Dragonsbeard Aroma Blend contains Tonka Bean.
I was playing the other day and added a fairly decent amount of Rose Absolute in a drop at a time until I hit a spot that really created a very nice blend. And like the Tonka Bean, Rose Absolute is present in the Dragonsbeard at a low percentage but when kicked up it the Rose showed it’s presence nicely and as some may know Oud and Rose play very well together. An if their naturals it can be magical but also very costly. So most Oud Rose combos are totally synthetic aroma chemicals.
On the Kokum butter.. it’s a hard butter so it can make a soap a bit harder as can Mango butter but to make the F Base even harder a different balance of Sodium Hydroxide vs potassium hydroxide is probably going to make the most difference. I do add a lot of skin beneficial ingredients in my shave soaps that are water based so that will soften things up a bit and the Aroma Blend can effect things as well. I can get a super dense lather with any of the F Base soaps you just have to make sure you start out with a damp brush and add a few drops of water at a time. Not start out with a wet and shaken brush that still has a lot of water in it.
I’m playing with some brand new ingredients and I see not only the F Base but the S and Cremes evolving and getting even better as we move forward. I don’t want to keep creating new bases from scratch and calling them new names etc. I like the idea of continuous improvements for not only performance characteristics but skin benefits as well.
I have a brand new butter coming in soon that I’m really excited about and I’ll test it on the upcoming Bay Rum asking with some brand new state of the art skincare ingredients.
I really enjoy hearing about mixing soaps and creams etc so much I’ll be coming out with a new Collection with a bunch of options and the Collection will be called “ Mixologist “ I think a lot of people are going to like the options it will bring to the users.
I’m already working on the Grid for the website.
An thanks
zaclikestoshave for your input and questions. Much appreciated!
Great shaves!