Homemade Shaving Cream

My friend C came over to help me make shaving cream. It's nice to do these projects with a friend,  have a cup of tea, listen to music and talk while you work. It makes it feel like a knitting bee or a shucking bee (did people used to shuck things in bees? Probably) or a barn raising. Having company takes the work out of work, and it gave me a break when my arm got tired of grating soap. Also, C is responsible for some of the most charming (and slightly terrifying) artwork going and she made several adorable labels for the shaving cream we made together.

This recipe is adapted from Better Basics for the Home, which is a really great resource for less toxic living. This book is a boon for DIY oriented humans; I use the recipes in it all the time.

Shaving Cream
1 bar dr bronners soap, or any castile soap
5 ounces rosewater, or plain water
1.5 ounces cocoa butter
3 ounces liquid glycerine
a few drops essential oil if you want (I used mint, eucalyptus and tea tree oils)


Grate the soap using the finer holes. Grating soap finely makes it easier to incorporate into the shaving cream.

Soak the soap in the water. You can soap it overnight which should dissolve it completely. I am impatient so I put my soap and water into a jar with a lid and shook it up for a couple minutes. This works best if you grate the soap up very finely.
Melt together the glycerine and cocoa butter in a bain marie or in a bowl set over a pot if boiling water.

In a food processor or a mixer, mix the soap and water until smooth. In a steady stream, add the melted glycerine and cocoa butter.

Mix on high speed. Leave the mixer running until the foam increases in volume a great deal and develops a silky fluffy texture. Whip in a few drops of essential oils if you want to add a scent.
Apply to wet skin with a shaving brush or your fingertips, lathered with a little water. Shave. Rinse. Go smoothly into the world.