Works For Me Wednesday: Homemade Shaving Cream

Every time I get close to running out of a particular cosmetic item, I start brainstorming up a way to avoid buying more chemical-filled, highly-packaged products.  I also love it if I can find a frugal option that will help our budget.  

One homemade item I have been thrilled with lately, is my homemade shaving cream!  I was able to find the ingredients inexpensively through our co-op, but the author of the original recipe also recommended finding your ingredients off of Amazon.  (I have regularly kept everything except the glycerin on hand, anyway.)  

I made half of this recipe, and it made enough to fill an 18 oz container- plenty to last for awhile!  I made a few adjustments to the ingredients, but basically followed the same recipe.  Here is what I used:

Homemade Shaving Cream

1/2 Cup grated Dr. Bronner's Lavender Castile Soap
1/2 Cup Rose Water (or Water)
2 Tbl. Cocoa Butter
1/4 Cup Vegetable Glycerin 
5 drops Essential Lavender Oil

5 drops Essential Tea Tree Oil

1-2 Tbl. Coconut Oil

I did not make my own rose water, as the recipe instructs.  I just purchased rose water, and used it to soak the castile soap for several hours.  (I began the soaking process in the morning, and then whipped up the rest of the recipe that night.)  You can also just use regular water, if you prefer not to use rose water (some husbands might appreciate that less-girly option!), or as a substitute if you don't have any rose water on hand.  

I discovered that a blender did not give the desired results for this recipe.  It quickly created a foaming-looking result, but re-liquified after a few days.  The handheld mixer does appear to be essential, in creating a fully-emulsified, permanent cream consistency.  Although, I'm wondering if an old fashioned egg beater would work just as well, or perhaps an immersion blender?  Let me know if you try!  

The resulting product was too thick to pour into a narrow-necked bottle, as I had originally planned, so I keep it in a flat, plastic food storage container, in our shower.  The cream tends to solidify in our chilly bathroom overnight, but softens up quickly from the warmth of your hands.  

I recently discovered on one of my favorite crafty blogs, a review of this recipe as well.  

I have heard that using just straight coconut oil works well for shaving, too.  However, I preferred using these herbal/floral-scented ingredients, and to save most of my expensive coconut oil for other purposes.  

It works for me!  For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, go to Rocks in My Dryer.