This is a straightforward way to make your own shaving soap. The recipe has only 4 ingredients and can be made with the cold or hot process as you prefer. The superfat is 5%, but if you want a more hydrating formula, just ad 3% Glycerin after trace if you want fragrance ad 0.38 OZ (11 grams) to your batter.

Trick to save time

If you pour your batter into round containers instead of molds, you will have a finished product ready for use after curing time. Just don’t put any lid on it, so that it can evaporate moisture.

Quality of the soap

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Shaving soap easy recipe

Keyword: beginner soap, shaving soap

Equipment

• 2 plastic, glass, or steel bowls
• Microwave oven
• Wooden or plastic spoon
• Silicone molds
• Stick blender
• Thermometer
• Kitchen scale
• pH meter or test strips
• Safety gear

Materials

• 10.8 OZ Talllow beef 306 grams
• 1.2 OZ Castor Oil 34 grams
• 4.6 OZ Water 129 grams
• 1.6 OZ NaOH 46 grams

Instructions

• Read the soaping safely page, if you haven´t already
• Dissolve NaOH in water by slowly adding the NaOH to the water and stirring gently with the spoon. Leave the mixture, now called lye, to cool down
• Melt tallow beef and mix it with castor oil
• Wait until the lye is between 86 and 104 degrees F (20-40 degrees C) and heat up the oils to approx the same temperature if needed
• Mix the fat phase and the lye by slowly pouring it into the lye
• Use a stick blender for 1-5 minutes until trace
• Pour your batter into a mold or molds as you prefer
• Check if the soap is firm enough to cut after 24 hours
• Cut the soap bars (if you used a big mold) and trim the edges
• Leave to cure e.g. in a paper bag for 4 – 6 weeks and check pH. Store it by room temperature

Soap characteristics