Monsavon Shaving Soap

Well, it's done and tested......at least on one arm. I let the "remix" dry for a few days and then pressed it into a solid mass while still in the bowl:

UiihWIM.jpg


Arm test:

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bpgiBah.jpg



I was worried that my accidental double dosage would make the scent overpowering and to be frank nothing could be further from the truth. In fact it smells like Versace L' Homme now!! I'll do a shave test soon.
 
Well, it's done and tested......at least on one arm. I let the "remix" dry for a few days and then pressed it into a solid mass while still in the bowl:

UiihWIM.jpg


Arm test:

7nxKcuf.jpg


bpgiBah.jpg



I was worried that my accidental double dosage would make the scent overpowering and to be frank nothing could be further from the truth. In fact it smells like Versace L' Homme now!! I'll do a shave test soon.
I have my lid off and am waiting for it to reduce in size and weight and I shall have a go myself, even if I just got a harder soap I would be quite happy but I think I shall use some lavender oil in my mix :)
 
Well, today I did a real shave test using a first year Gillette "Z" Super-Speed "Flare Tip" and a new Lord Platinum blade. Brush used was the Maggard 22mm black synthetic. I shall state right off that this was one of the easiest soaps to lather that it's been my pleasure to use. The resultant lather was some of the creamiest, slickest I have seen as well. The first thought that came to mind was this was like using Mike's Natural shaving soap, a top tier artisan maker in the USA. However, this mix was nowhere near as "thirsty" as Mike's, which makes sense as it's softer in it natural state. Fantastic shave.

If a person were to put in the time & effort to do this using Monsavon as their "base" they could have an array of simply stellar shave soaps scented to their own tastes using an array of essential oils across the spectrum. However, admittedly it is far easier just to buy the damn stuff. :D

Thank you Cristobal for sharing this with us. ;)
 
Well, today I did a real shave test using a first year Gillette "Z" Super-Speed "Flare Tip" and a new Lord Platinum blade. Brush used was the Maggard 22mm black synthetic. I shall state right off that this was one of the easiest soaps to lather that it's been my pleasure to use. The resultant lather was some of the creamiest, slickest I have seen as well. The first thought that came to mind was this was like using Mike's Natural shaving soap, a top tier artisan maker in the USA. However, this mix was nowhere near as "thirsty" as Mike's, which makes sense as it's softer in it natural state. Fantastic shave.

If a person were to put in the time & effort to do this using Monsavon as their "base" they could have an array of simply stellar shave soaps scented to their own tastes using an array of essential oils across the spectrum. However, admittedly it is far easier just to buy the damn stuff. :D

Thank you Cristobal for sharing this with us. ;)
I've tweaked the method and ingredients a little, coconut oil, lanolin, silver mountain water purfume oil mixed together with two tubs of Monsavon and will wait two weeks to dry out forming a harder soap and will add more purfume oil if needed at the end. I think it's going to be the nuts! :)
 
image.jpg It is done! My two tubs of Monsavon reduced in size to about one tub, I added some more silver mountain water perfume oil and I now have a much stiffer soap with added coconut oil and lanolin plus the scent, it lathers up very well indeed and feels slick and gives good coverage and of course it smells wonderful. After I washed it off my hand I was left with a great skin feel and the scent was still present. All in all I am really pleased with the result. Well worth a try, at £2.00 a tub what have you got to lose? :)
 
I've just looked at my soap after it's been curing for five months, well it's set quite hard and it's soo creamy, just done a test lather and I will not be needing a post shave balm with this, and it still has its Silver mountain water scent, proper job, I will be using it tomorrow, report to come. :)
 
I used Monsavon today....and then found this thread. Sounds interesting. I have another tub so it might be worth trying to modify what is left of the old one. Unadulterated....it makes me think of French camping holidays!
 
I've had a bowl on the go since coming back from holiday in France. It costs approximately £1.20 out there and is available in most supermarkets such as Carrefour or Monoprix.

The bowl itself is a little flimsy, however this is easily rectified my tipping it upside down and tapping the soap out. It drops out in one go, rather similar to set blancmange and can then be rehomed in the container of your choice.

As noted above, Monsavon is more croap than soap due to the high water content. As a consequence, it's best to go easy on the water when loading. Monsavon is one of those trusty performers that will almost lather itself, even in the hard water of South East London. Cushion, glide and post shave are all up there without quite being best in class and of course it's tallow based. The scent I would describe as being lavender / eucalyptus with hint of juniper, but this is largely subjective.

For the price point, particularly if bought in France, it really is great VFM.

If you live in London, it can picked up from here at a very reasonable price: https://www.frenchclick.co.uk/p-4448-monsavon-lait-bol-raser-125g.aspx
 
I used Monsavon today....and then found this thread. Sounds interesting. I have another tub so it might be worth trying to modify what is left of the old one. Unadulterated....it makes me think of French camping holidays!
It's worth doing, and you can add what you feel will work for you, I used coconut oil and lanolin plus purfume oil and mixed well and left to dry for a while. It was good then but it's been sitting in a aluminium container for months and now it's changed into a firm but creamy soap with fantastic post shave properties , it's cheap enough to have fun with! :) give it a go , although as it is it is very good indeed.
 
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