Still trying new soaps?

After getting into soapmaking (the hand & body variety), I've really come to understand the ingredients list on soaps a lot better.  

For me, if it has stearic acid as its first ingredient, I pass on it.  Some soaps with this characteristic do work for me, but it's uncommon (like Barrister & Mann, Grandstaff Soap Co, and Soap Commander.)  If it only uses Potassium Hydroxide for lye, I pass on it.  I've never tried one like that which gave me enough cushion.

Two basic rules to keep me buying what actually works for me, and interestingly enough, it seems 90%+ of new stuff doesn't pass those checks.

MdC has good cushion and only uses potassium hydroxide.

I personally don't mind stearic as the first ingredient and just made a shave soap this week with it first, and shea butter second and it worked out very well. Oils and butters have different amounts of fatty acids, and some contain more stearic acid than others. If you use enough oils that are high in stearic acid then it's probably not necessary to add as much stearic to the recipe. Yet if using oils that don't have much stearic in them it would be beneficial to add more stearic acid. I wanted a fairly high percentage of stearic in my recipe for lather stability and hardness, so that's my reasoning. Shea butter has a very high stearic content, so between stearic and shea my soap has plenty. I was making up for the very low (nearly nonexistent) stearic in castor and coconut.

I have no idea if shave soap makers look at is this way but I am. Most of the artisan soaps I use have a high percentage of stearic, and many include a lot of butters which are also high in stearic, especially kokum. Thus, it turns out all of my favorite soaps are high in stearic. Some lead off with tallow but tallow is also high in stearic, and usually it's followed be stearic. Vegan soaps like MdC have very high stearic because the only other oil in a lot of them is coconut, which has very little stearic. That's my 2 cents anyway. I've been making bath soaps for a year now but only recently started experimenting with shave soaps.

MdC has good cushion and only uses potassium hydroxide.

I personally don't mind stearic as the first ingredient and just made a shave soap this week with it first, and shea butter second and it worked out very well. Oils and butters have different amounts of fatty acids, and some contain more stearic acid than others. If you use enough oils that are high in stearic acid then it's probably not necessary to add as much stearic to the recipe. Yet if using oils that don't have much stearic in them it would be beneficial to add more stearic acid. I wanted a fairly high percentage of stearic in my recipe for lather stability and hardness, so that's my reasoning. Shea butter has a very high stearic content, so between stearic and shea my soap has plenty. I was making up for the very low (nearly nonexistent) stearic in castor and coconut.

I have no idea if shave soap makers look at is this way but I am. Most of the artisan soaps I use have a high percentage of stearic, and many include a lot of butters which are also high in stearic, especially kokum. Thus, it turns out all of my favorite soaps are high in stearic. Some lead off with tallow but tallow is also high in stearic, and usually it's followed be stearic. Vegan soaps like MdC have very high stearic because the only other oil in a lot of them is coconut, which has very little stearic. That's my 2 cents anyway. I've been making bath soaps for a year now but only recently started experimenting with shave soaps.

There are definitely some very solid stearic acid first soaps out there, I just tend to have mixed results with them.  I understand the rationale and reasoning behind them in terms of balancing a specific fatty acid profile.

MdC is a soap that actually doesn't work very well for me, it tends to be a little too "airy" to get the protective qualities I look for.

Soaps I tend to get best results from look like this:

Mystic Waters: Tallow, Water, Castor Seed Oil, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Palm Oil, Fragrance, Sodium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Bentonite, Silk

Tallow is WAY out front on this one.

Shannon's Soaps - Tallow, kokum butter, avocado oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, stearic acid, glycerin, lanolin, coconut oil, essential oils, potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide (made by hot process)

Again tallow WAY up front ahead of other ingredients.

Cold River Soapworks Oliva - Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Stearic Acid, Aloe Leaf Juice, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Castor Oil, Glycerine, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate and Fragrance

No tallow, but again the first and predominant ingredient is not stearic acid.

Whenever I try new soaps, it seems the ones that work the best are not stearic acid dominant, and include both lyes. To use examples, Chiseled Face (stearic acid first, only KOH lye) was awful for me, B&M Tre Citta (stearic acid first, KOH lye) was loved by many, but gave me razorburn and ingrowns for days after a shave.

There have been some notable exceptions that are stearic acid first which seem to get me that dense and protective lather, so I'm always open to things. I've never had a great experience with KOH only soaps, though.

MdC has good cushion and only uses potassium hydroxide.

I personally don't mind stearic as the first ingredient and just made a shave soap this week with it first, and shea butter second and it worked out very well. Oils and butters have different amounts of fatty acids, and some contain more stearic acid than others. If you use enough oils that are high in stearic acid then it's probably not necessary to add as much stearic to the recipe. Yet if using oils that don't have much stearic in them it would be beneficial to add more stearic acid. I wanted a fairly high percentage of stearic in my recipe for lather stability and hardness, so that's my reasoning. Shea butter has a very high stearic content, so between stearic and shea my soap has plenty. I was making up for the very low (nearly nonexistent) stearic in castor and coconut.

I have no idea if shave soap makers look at is this way but I am. Most of the artisan soaps I use have a high percentage of stearic, and many include a lot of butters which are also high in stearic, especially kokum. Thus, it turns out all of my favorite soaps are high in stearic. Some lead off with tallow but tallow is also high in stearic, and usually it's followed be stearic. Vegan soaps like MdC have very high stearic because the only other oil in a lot of them is coconut, which has very little stearic. That's my 2 cents anyway. I've been making bath soaps for a year now but only recently started experimenting with shave soaps.

There are definitely some very solid stearic acid first soaps out there, I just tend to have mixed results with them.  I understand the rationale and reasoning behind them in terms of balancing a specific fatty acid profile.

MdC is a soap that actually doesn't work very well for me, it tends to be a little too "airy" to get the protective qualities I look for.

Soaps I tend to get best results from look like this:

Mystic Waters: Tallow, Water, Castor Seed Oil, Glycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Shea Butter, Avocado Oil, Palm Oil, Fragrance, Sodium Hydroxide, Stearic Acid, Aloe Vera Leaf Juice, Bentonite, Silk

Tallow is WAY out front on this one.

Shannon's Soaps - Tallow, kokum butter, avocado oil, cocoa butter, shea butter, stearic acid, glycerin, lanolin, coconut oil, essential oils,  potassium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide (made by hot process)

Again tallow WAY up front ahead of other ingredients.

Cold River Soapworks Oliva -  Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Stearic Acid, Aloe Leaf Juice, Potassium Hydroxide, Kokum Butter, Castor Oil, Glycerine, Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lactate and Fragrance

No tallow, but again the first and predominant ingredient is not stearic acid.

Whenever I try new soaps, it seems the ones that work the best are not stearic acid dominant, and include both lyes.  To use examples, Chiseled Face (stearic acid first, only KOH lye) was awful for me, B&M Tre Citta (stearic acid first, KOH lye) was loved by many, but gave me razorburn and ingrowns for days after a shave.

There have been some notable exceptions that are stearic acid first which seem to get me that dense and protective lather, so I'm always open to things.  I've never had a great experience with KOH only soaps, though.

I don't plan to ever make a potassium only soap either, but I never had a problem with soaps that do. It makes a softer soap, with the exception of MdC which is cured for 6 months.

I have never heard of a B&M formula with potassium only. Are you certain of that? That must have predated the White Label I'm guessing.

Judging from your list I'm surprised you don't have Stirling, another one that leads with tallow.

It's all personal preference with regard to shave soaps and the lather they provide. I just wanted to post my thoughts in case someone gets scared off of soaps with high stearic acid. Plus, just because stearic is first doesn't mean it's not loaded with other oils.

I don't plan to ever make a potassium only soap either, but I never had a problem with soaps that do. It makes a softer soap, with the exception of MdC which is cured for 6 months.

I have never heard of a B&M formula with potassium only. Are you certain of that? That must have predated the White Label I'm guessing.

Judging from your list I'm surprised you don't have Stirling, another one that leads with tallow.

It's all personal preference with regard to shave soaps and the lather they provide. I just wanted to post my thoughts in case someone gets scared off of soaps with high stearic acid. Plus, just because stearic is first doesn't mean it's not loaded with other oils.

Good call on the Stirling Soaps, that's another one I like a lot! I've managed to procure a few custom scents from Rod that are amazing!

The B&M Soap was their Tre Citta variety which was vegan and was comprised of stearic acid, coconut oil and rice bran oil with KOH lye. It was very slick, vegan and was designed for Will to use as a vehicle for some experimental scents. It just never got very popular and Will discontinued based on market preferences. It had one of my favorite scents ever, too: Anise & Vetiver.

I don't plan to ever make a potassium only soap either, but I never had a problem with soaps that do. It makes a softer soap, with the exception of MdC which is cured for 6 months.

I have never heard of a B&M formula with potassium only. Are you certain of that? That must have predated the White Label I'm guessing.

Judging from your list I'm surprised you don't have Stirling, another one that leads with tallow.

It's all personal preference with regard to shave soaps and the lather they provide. I just wanted to post my thoughts in case someone gets scared off of soaps with high stearic acid. Plus, just because stearic is first doesn't mean it's not loaded with other oils.

Good call on the Stirling Soaps, that's another one I like a lot!  I've managed to procure a few custom scents from Rod that are amazing!

The B&M Soap was their Tre Citta variety which was vegan and was comprised of stearic acid, coconut oil and rice bran oil with KOH lye.  It was very slick, vegan and was designed for Will to use as a vehicle for some experimental scents.  It just never got very popular and Will discontinued based on market preferences.  It had one of my favorite scents ever, too: Anise & Vetiver.

Okay I wasn't thinking of the vegan, but still didn't realize the use of one lye. I have several samples of his vegan formulas a member sent me. His tallow are much better imo.

Stirling is one of my all time favorites.

I've tried a ton of soaps, likely somewhere between 400 and 500 at this point. I even run a soap popular soap sample passaround on another forum. Over the past couple years there have some much better soaps being offered.

I'd recommend you try Sudsy Soapery and the PannaCrema Nuavia and PannaCrema Pure2O offerings.

I've tried a ton of soaps, likely somewhere between 400 and 500 at this point.  I even run a soap popular soap sample passaround on another forum.   Over the past couple years there have some much better soaps being offered.  

I'd recommend you try Sudsy Soapery and the PannaCrema Nuavia and PannaCrema Pure2O offerings.

I agree and believe competition is driving soap makers to improve their products. Before long the commercial brands will probably have to get competitive, or at least the ones who rely on shave soap sales to hit their numbers.

There is only one solution. Order samples from different makers. Then pick one from each maker and buy a tub. That way you have your favorite scent from each maker. Then buy some vintage soap. Williams vintage, old spice, Colgate cup (not mug) soap..Etc. Etc. That should keep you satisfied for a little while.

There are a few soaps I want to try, but I have mostly found what I like and will stick to those.

I have found what I like out the ones I've tried so far, my big problem is the ones I haven't tried yet