My handles handmade soap manufacture started in 2009, so when I retired. In Basilio da Gama in the old center of São Paulo is a barbershop where, many years ago I cut my hair, with Mr. Borges, the owner. Figure exceptional, with over 70 years of activities, learned in Portugal and came to Brazil in the 50′s and today with nearly 90 years and continues daily firmly in place to serve its customers. Well, one day talking about shaving with razors, just present me with two of them, old, with much use. I decided to use but hit the cutting blade and replaces the pivot that was handily. I also made the double sized razor strops to hit the knife edge. Turns out I’m not adapted to the size of the blades and so bought 3 others, two by ML (like an e-Bay) and the other in the fair of Benedito Calixto. All in poor condition, with much corrosion but after the restoration, were in great condition. I started using daily and decided to use a soap beard instead of shaving cream. For here there is no soap for beards and attending the forum on the subject, I found a recipe for soap in Straight Razor Place, which seemed easy to do. It was a disaster, the process unraveled and could barely put into mold. Do not give up and continued with the experiments and studies and suddenly saw me doing cold process, hot, liquid soap and everything else. In the beginning the biggest difficulty I had was with the raw materials. Did not even know differentiate oils. I remember I went to buy coconut oil, cold and rainy morning in September 2009, the street Silveira Martins, SP. I ordered coconut oil and the lady who served me brought the babassu coconut oil. I said I wanted the coconut and not babassu. She admired told me that it was the coconut oil, there was only one. I insisted, and at one point she said, ah! Mr. you want the oil of big coconut, from beach! Amazing, everywhere you find coconut water and coconut, but coconut oil for craftsmanship, can forget. Through the help of Celso, the Buriti Comercial, which sells oils in general, could buy palm oil at a kosher bakery in the neighborhood of Higienopolis, whose charge of the kitchen kindly sold me several times, 1kg of palm they used to make folded pasta. Already told to Celso that if he was not, many soap crafters, women and men soap crafters would have been along the way! Your help has been invaluable to the development of the activities of artisanan soap manufacture in Brazil. Thanks!

 This was my first mold, I made small to make experiments without consuming too much raw material.

  After much experimentation, I managed to set my standard formula for soap by cold process. The difficulty was in getting a soap that had the highest hardness and durability (lasting) possible while keeping all other properties such as wetting / hydration, easy and abundant foam and cleaning power. The old Kreamy Soap in California in their FAQ did not explain his formula but gave me information concealed in the composition of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid used. With these tips could reach the ideal point of the relationship oils.

The yellow was made with palm oil that is not refined palm oil and in time gave a defect known as DOS – dreaded orange spot, white spots that spread the soap. It is an aesthetic defect, the functionality remains. This is due to oxidation of oils in this case palm oil, probably due to carotenoids. It is possible that adding the rosemary oleoresin avoid this.

This is the first cutter I made to cut the individual soap bars. After I made others equipments and soap products, within six months from when I started in September 2009.