Grating Soap

[jds]

Hi all,

I'm looking for advice on the grating of soaps for purposes of lathering. I've bought a mini grater (£1.65 from Tesco - last of the big spenders,eh!) so in order to do lather for a single three pass shave I'm guessing I don't need a whole lot of shavings.
So shave into my lathering bowl with a drop or two of water and then later with a sparsely wetted, but warn brush - is that it?

I'm trying to make inroads into some Roger et Gallet hard soap that I picked up years ago on a French holiday and recently re-discovered. Thus far it hasn't been the best lather I've produced - thin and not rich at all, so hoped that I could load my brush a little more effectively by grating.

So if anyone has any tips I'd be most grateful.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[Lose the beard]

I have grated the whole of a soap and pressed it firmly into a bowl. Then use it like any other hard soap.

 

[Griffo]

I have grated the whole of a soap and pressed it firmly into a bowl. Then use it like any other hard soap.

I do this as well. Get 3 tubs from the Tesco economy range - cost about £1.30 to £1.50 for 3.

Grate the the soap in to here, add a tiny drop of water and press down until it's all firm again, then leave it to dry over night.

this essentially turns it in to a puck.

It also allows you to add a little bit of cream on top before loading with a brush to help load up difficult soaps and get it going. I do this wil Palmolive stick as I prefer loading from a brush rather than putting the soap direct to my face. Every now and again I put a tiny bit of Palmolive cream on top of the soap before loading with a damp brush and get a super lather.

works a treat. I used the the other 2 tbs to put the Valobra Menthol soap bar in and the other is used for my Nanny's hard soap puck. So the other 2 tubs aren't wasted and it doesn't break the bank either. You could also use a spare cup or bowl as well but the Tesco tubs come with lids so can be used for other things as well - like storing blades in.

 

[octopus]

@Griffo Are the Tesco bowls made of metal like the Ikea ones? Seems very cheap for a pack of 3

 

[asharperrazor]

I have grated the whole of a soap and pressed it firmly into a bowl. Then use it like any other hard soap.

That's what I've done.

 

[jds]

Aah, OK. Seems like I got the wrong end of the stick (par for the course if significant other is to be believed)... I thought that the individual soap flakes would lather up in the brush. Silly daddy, as my daughter would say!

Thanks for your replies, guys.

Jon

 

[Griffo]

@Griffo Are the Tesco bowls made of metal like the Ikea ones? Seems very cheap for a pack of 3

No they are plastic tubs. they do a pack of 3 round ones or a pack of 3 square ones - think the round ones are about 10p cheaper. I like the square ones as they are large enough to get a good action while loading the brush. Nothing worse than trying to load my Pro 48 from that little tub Cella comes on. Also means that the lather doesn't spill over the sides while loading so keeps everything tidy as well.

As mentioned they come with a lid and I have 3 of them holding soaps and 3 of them with razor blades in. they dont look fancy but actually do a very good job.

 

[Manoflamancha]

I have grated the whole of a soap and pressed it firmly into a bowl. Then use it like any other hard soap.

That's what I've done.

Me too.

 

[Johnus]

What I've found very useful is a Suribachi for 'grating and lathering' . I use it for all soaps and cream. For hard soaps I run the round on the inside and it grates the right amount for one shave. The round stays dry and whole in it original wrapper.
Later right in the Suribachi.

 

[antdad]

I used a very course grater for my latest stick and the surface of the soap now looks like a mugul field after a few uses.

I think the irregularity of the surface may help with soap pick up although it doesn't look too clever it might accidentally well be.

 

[clk]

I've grated hard soaps and then put it in a push up tube thingamajig and use it as a shaving stick. Works great.

 

[Fido]

I stuff my Arko and palmolive sticks into a bowl by hand - thumb pressure is sufficient to flatten it out. Cannot be doing with messing about with grating.

 

[Al H]

Has anyone grated lea sticks?

How did they turn out?

Cheers

 

[thrifty]

I took the puck out of the boots fresh wood soap dish. The pick sits in my shaving mug. I have grated (following advice on here) a Palmolive stick into the boots bowl. Works a treat, and it looks nicer than tupperware!

 

[Hairsuite]

I grated C&E Sienna in readiness for a lidded old spice shave mug that is on route. I froze the soap before grating, it made it far far easier to grate........

 

[Northam Saint]

I stuff my Arko and palmolive sticks into a bowl by hand - thumb pressure is sufficient to flatten it out. Cannot be doing with messing about with grating.

I have just had to repot my MdC and that was nice and soft to complete by hand. Somehow the glass managed to chip itself without any help, but luckily it was a clean chip and the soap was ok. Nothing worth getting too bothered about, it was a bit of a shame as it was a limited edition pot, not a standard screw top lid.