You've probably already read about some adventures three HHH members undertook at the end of January. On one cold afternoon near the end of the month, Meredith, Megan and I got together to make a variety of homemade goods. Meredith discussed our success making laundry detergent earlier, and Megan detailed the joys of homemade deoderant (in a most hilarious fashion, I might add) in the post previous to this one.
I decided to talk about the shaving cream that we also whipped up. When we initially came across the recipe, it promised to soothe and get rid of razor burn for those afflicted with it. My husband has gone through a plethora of products hoping to get these results, so he was quite intrigued with the idea. The ladies and I all decided to boggart this shaving cream and use it ourselves just to see how it felt after a typical leg-shave. The result? Carl and I are both thrilled!
The recipe needs to be concocted over two days, but it makes an absolutely shocking amount once you whip it up (more on this crucial stage in a moment...) For now, here's the recipe:
Super-Soothing and Softening Shaving Cream (I adore alliteration!)
Ingredients:
4 oz Dr. Bronner's Eucalyptus castile soap, grated
4 oz water
1 oz cocoa butter
1 tbsp shea butter
2 oz liquid glycerin
20-25 drops of peppermint essential oil
Steps:
1. The night before, combine the grated soap and water. (I did this for all 3 batches before Megan and Meredith came over the next day. It took me maybe 20 minutes to grate all 3 bars as Dr. Bronner's soap is very dense, but once I got in a rhythm it was actually fun. Yes, that's embarrassing to admit, but I am also a person who finds it relaxing to whisk up a roux or chop a huge amount of vegetables. Shockingly, I am also perversely drawn to my hand-held mixer over my standing one when it comes to recipes that require a large amount of whipping. I think I'm a glutton for physical labor. But we'll save my appalling behavior for another post...) At any rate, let the soap and the water sit overnight. In the morning, it will look like cottage cheese. Try not to be turned-off by this. (just kidding, I actually love cottage cheese!)
2. Heat the cocoa butter, shea butter and glycerin on low until everything is melted. Remove from heat. Add the soap mixture and blend until everything is creamy. THIS PART IS CRUCIAL!! Blend with a hand-held mixer, for the love of everything good and holy! We mixed vigorously by hand and ended up with a shaving soap. We quickly remedied our error by re-dumping the shaving cream into bowls and whipping it up with a mixer. After about 4 or 5 minutes (and some additional water added) it truly frothed up like mad and became a cream.
3. Once the texture is gloriously light, add the 20-25 drops of peppermint oil. Use a spatula and fold it into your container of choice, being thrilled with your domestic goddess prowess as you work.
I can't say enough wonderful things about this shaving cream. Since Carl has used it, his razor burn issues have virtually disappeared. The eucalyptus soap base helps heals cuts and irritation, and the cocoa and shea butters leave skin smooth and healthy. I use it exclusively to shave my legs and am completely happy! My skin is soft the entire next day after shaving, and that's praise indeed considering I started using it mid-winter when everyone's skin is at its driest. In the future, I might add a bit more peppermint oil to the finished product. But for now, we are both enjoying our homemade shaving cream!
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