# Wow, tried this Euro salt recipe, love it!



## paillo (Apr 1, 2014)

So David Fischer had posted this, and of course I had to try it. http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/S...seife-or-BrineSalt-Water-Soap-Recipe.htm?nl=1

Of course I tried it at the most inopportune time, with a big order of wedding favors soaps to get out, mini hearts for which I don't have enough molds so am doing in partial batches.

Made with Pink Himalayan salt and my usual regular CP recipe. Added about half what his recipe called for just cuz I was experimenting. Thought I'd rebatch what I didn't use, but they are definitely salt bars, crumble if cut a day old, so they are gonna be turned into salt-scrubbies.

But I must say, I am most impressed with this technique. The result is totally smooth, like CP, love, love, love it.


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## OliveOil2 (Apr 1, 2014)

They are really beautiful, thank you for sharing!


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## Obsidian (Apr 1, 2014)

Those look really nice. I wonder how high of a salt concentration you can get, when I make my salt bars I use 100% salt.


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## kikajess (Apr 1, 2014)

They look really gorgeous. That's a great decorative heart mold, and a lovely pink. Very nice!


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## engblom (Apr 2, 2014)

Here we would need somebody good at chemistry (DeeAnna)!

Why is it possible to dissolve so much lye after the water is close to saturated with salt?

I calculated a 20% SF salt soap recipe with 1000g of coconut oil with soapcalcs standard of 38% of the weight of the oil with water.
Soapcalc gave this:
Water 380g
NaOH 146.595g
Oils 1000g

- A brine solution is saturated at about 26% salt. The recipe calls for 20% of salt in the brine (25% of the weight of the water).
- A 20% brine solution is having 95g of salt in this case.
- With 95g of salt you can saturate 270.4g of water.
- 380g - 270.4g = 109.6g "left" of water to saturate

When I have been close to 1:1 NaOH solution it has been difficult to dissolve the lye. Now 109.6 g of water need to dissolve 146.6g of NaOH. How is this possible?

Is NaOH and NaCl able to share the water molecules because I can not see how this would be possible otherwise?

EDIT: I checked up, a NaOH-water (20C) solution gets saturated at 52.6% of NaOH. Thus not far from 1:1 in clean water I mentioned earlier.


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## DeeAnna (Apr 2, 2014)

NaCl is a salt. When it dissolves in water, it dissociates into Na+ and Cl- but this process does not greatly affect the H+ and OH- balance of the water. 

NaOH is a base. When NaOH dissolves in water, it dissociates into Na+ and OH-, but in the process it also dissociates water into H+ and OH-. 

The salt will affect the solubility of the base (and vice versa), but it's not quite so absolute as you are thinking about it. I'll see if I can dredge up a solubility table or chart for you.

edit: Can't find specific numbers for you, Engblom, but here are some thoughts for you to consider. The sodium ion (Na+) is the limiting factor, since both the salt and the base contain sodium. It's my guess that the order in which you dissolve the two will also affect the results -- as you get closer and closer to a saturated solution of one material, that will directly limit the solubility of the other. Since we use highly concentrated lye solutions for soapmaking, this will definitely be an issue to keep in mind.

One experiment -- make your normal lye solution for soaping. Let it cool to the normal temperature at which you soap. Keep track of the weight of your lye solution, so you know how much NaOH and H2O you have. Stir in the NaCl gradually, watching for the point at which a few grains of salt will no longer dissolve. At that point, you have reached saturation of NaCl in that particular lye solution. Weigh the solution and calculate the NaCl added. The most NaCl that could possibly dissolve is what you could dissolve in just plain water -- about 26% by weight of the water used -- so if you can't get that much NaCl to dissolve, you know the NaOH is reducing the solubility of the NaCl in this solution.

Another experiment -- Do the reverse. Make a brine (salt + water) solution and see how much NaOH will dissolve. The heating of the NaOH as it is added to the brine will affect the solubility, and ideally you'd want to keep the solution at a constant temperature to get a consistent answer.

The comment about the lye-salt-water solution being cloudy is interesting -- it makes me wonder if salt is starting to fall out of solution at that point. Not sure about that, but just something to think about. Not that this would really affect the recipe -- any precipitated salt is just solid salt like you'd add to a regular salt bar, only very, very, very fine particles!

As temperature goes up, you will be able to dissolve more salt. And vice versa.
As the NaOH % goes down, you should be able to dissolve more salt. And vice versa.

Hope this helps!


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## shunt2011 (Apr 2, 2014)

Those are really pretty.   I've been hearing alot about brine soap on forums lately.  Nice to know they work well. Might have to give it a try.


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## engblom (Apr 2, 2014)

DeeAnna said:


> NaCl is a salt. When it dissolves in water, it dissociates into Na+ and Cl- but this process does not greatly affect the H+ and OH- balance of the water.
> 
> NaOH is a base. When NaOH dissolves in water, it dissociates into Na+ and OH-, but in the process it also dissociates water into H+ and OH-.
> 
> You can't equate one with the other.



Without wanting to steal the thread, I have one thing more I wonder about related to this topic: Sometimes I have tried to add salt to a nearly saturated NaOH solution. I have noticed you can not dissolve almost anything. It takes what looks like an eternity to disolve just a few grains of salt.

Is the order you dissolve stuff mathering? The recipe calls for first dissolving the salt, then the lye.


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## lsg (Apr 2, 2014)

Very nice, thanks for sharing.


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## DeeAnna (Apr 2, 2014)

I edited my first post to add more information, Engblom. I think I answered your question in the edit. Please re-read?


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## Miha Engblom (Apr 2, 2014)

DeeAnna said:


> The comment about the lye-salt-water solution being cloudy is interesting -- it makes me wonder if salt is starting to fall out of solution at that point. Not sure about that, but just something to think about. Not that this would really affect the recipe -- any precipitated salt is just solid salt like you'd add to a regular salt bar, only very, very, very fine particles!


I think this really is the case. I know how difficult it is to dissolve salt into NaOH solution. This would fully explain everything!


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## Soap Techniques (Apr 2, 2014)

engblom said:


> Sometimes I have tried to add salt to a nearly saturated NaOH solution. I have noticed you can not dissolve almost anything. It takes what looks like an eternity to disolve just a few grains of salt.


 
This has been my experience as well.


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## DeeAnna (Apr 3, 2014)

Paillo -- I was wondering -- is this soap lathering well for you? The conventional wisdom is that a high % of CO is needed to get the lather with salt water, but David's recipe is only 30% CO. Very curious to learn about this! Thanks for any feedback you can offer....


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## mintle (Apr 18, 2014)

I made this soleseife / brine soap basing on the recipe from David and knowledge from german forums. I am currently on a short sick leave so I have plenty of time for soaping . 

I used a plain cp recipe (25% coconut, 27% palm oil, 8% castor and 1,5% lanolin and the rest olive oil), 28% lye concentration and too much salt . 
I overused salt, taking 34% of the water weight instead of suggested 20-25%. Can't tell what I was thinking by then. 

Once I poured lye into the salty water I realised the salt did not dissolve completely and I was scared the lye may not dissolve, too. Stirred like crazy. Tried to filter lye water but the mixture became so thick it clogged the strainer net. It was milky and thin pudding-like. Still decided to proceed (had no choice really as I had not enough lye to start again). 

After mixing lye water with salt granules with oils it set up really quickly (I used stick blender just to emulsify the mix and then used spatula only and still it was fast moving). I have managed to do some miserable last minute in the pot swirl . 

I cut the soap after 7 hours while it was still bit warm to touch (but not hot) and it seems it was a bit too late since I got crumbly edges here and there. I had a strong suspicion it may be lye heavy but tongue tested today and thank God it isn't (can't imagine rebatching something this rock hard). 

End results - I got something in between soleseife and salt soap, with tiny salt granules here and there. 

With 25% of coconut oil only it still lathers! No big bubbles but rather a smooth, lotion-like lather with small bubblettes . I should have adjusted the recipe and raise my superfat level from initial 11% to something around 14% once I realised I am on my way to salt soap instead of soleseife. But I am happy this is not a total disaster and the soap is usable. Will try to post a picture during a day.


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## paillo (Apr 19, 2014)

Haven't been able to be here in what seems like forever!

Mine aren't done curing yet, only a few weeks old, but I have a bar at the kitchen sink, and totally love it. It's hard as a rock, and the lather is interesting. Lots of big puffy bubbles, but also that lovely lotion-ey lather that Mintle describes. It doesn't feel as smooth as my usual CP, nor as gently exfoliating as my salties, but in a very nice place in the middle. 

I didn't measure the salt cuz it was a last-minute impulsive experiment, but I know I didn't go over 20 percent, prob more like 15 percent. Had to stir the heck out of the lye mix 'cuz I had the cloudy result too, but it did mostly well without the salt precipitating out. The little that did I'm sure is why there's some of the exfoliating factor.

Had plenty of time to work with it, could easily have done a nice swirl. I made way too much, so in addition to the little hearts I made a small loaf. And, didn't realize how salt soap-like it was until I cut the loaf the next day, and thought, 'hmmm, this is interesting'. At that point, totally cuttable without crumblies, but definitely not my normal CP. At the second day, there was no chance of cutting it without crumbling and splitting.  

Since I had WAY too much, and it was unswirled unscented at the request of my buyer, I made sugar scrubbies out of most of the rest of it. I love them too, some shea butter was all I needed. Was afraid they'd be crumbly, but they came out beautifully.

I am really in love with this technique, though it's not as forgiving as normal CP soap. Also, I used babassu instead of coconut oil, so that's another variable I have to figure out. Lots of tweaking to do, but I may make this my standard CP recipe, that's how much I love it.


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## Saponista (Apr 20, 2014)

I have also given this a go today, used 30%PO 30%CO and 40%EVOO as that was what I had knocking around. Scented with sandalwood, pine and oakmoss as I had those spare too. Should hopefully be a nice masculine scent.


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## Saponista (Apr 20, 2014)

I first added the salt then proceeded to add the lye. Most of it dissolved apart from a few little granules of I dissolved salt in the bottom so I just mixed it all together with the oils. I found it was fairly fast moving too so had to do an in the pot swirl.


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## Saponista (Apr 20, 2014)

These are my bars, cut them after 5 hours. They were really hard, couldn't have left them overnight or they would have never cut into bars. The mica faded more than I would have liked. I wanted a camo look for the masculine scent.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 23, 2014)

FWIW .. soaping 101 has a video making this soap and she just dumps the salt into the lye water while it's hot saying the hot lye helps dissolve the salt.

Seems to work for her ..

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5xZkbfz-b8&list=UU6NFc1XyVdzuyQw-f9HG42g[/ame]


any thoughts on how it might work if using any of the milks rather than water?


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## pattime (Apr 23, 2014)

Very nice!!
I've got my first ever salt bars curing right now...been about 3 weeks (it's sooooo hard to wait!) and I can''t wait to try them. I've never tried a salt bar, or even HEARD of them until I started reading this forum.

Will definitely have to try this method next  As a noob I totally appreciate your posts and feedback on your results.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 23, 2014)

I just made a batch and wanted them to be sea water colours but they turned out more like swamp water .. which might be more like the actual sea near me, LOL!!

Pics to follow

ETA:  well, I don't know why but even after sitting overnight mine are SOFT!!!!!!  Is this salt brine limited to 100% CO?  I used my regular recipe so I wonder if that's why mine are not as hard as everyone says they should be.


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## Saponista (Apr 27, 2014)

Mine had a mix of PO, CO and EVOO, and was still really hard. What %CO did you use?


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 27, 2014)

Saponista said:


> What %CO did you use?



15% CO
20% butters
65% soft oils

They are starting to harden after a day or two, which is much faster than this recipe of mine usually hardens, so I like that.


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## Saponista (Apr 27, 2014)

I had double the coconut so that probably made the difference in hardness. I'm glad yours seem to have turned out ok in the end. Can we see some pics please mzmolly?


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 27, 2014)

They started out looking quite nice, I liked the swirls .. but the swirls morphed into scribbles.  Odd and not very attractive.


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## Hazel (Apr 27, 2014)

I think the second picture of the soap is really cool! You don't think that's attractive? I bet if you posted this picture on Pinterest (or somewhere), people would be asking how you made such a delicate looking swirl. 

Heck, I want to know how you did it.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 27, 2014)

Hazel said:


> Heck, I want to know how you did it.




umm .. blob/poured too thick soap into mold and stirred with chop stick, LOL!  At first it was nice pale green and grey swirls (which were actually supposed to be green and blue) .. now it's just green with green scribbles but I don't know why or how it morphed.

Fwiw .. it was green chrome oxide and blue mica.


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## Saponista (Apr 28, 2014)

I used chromium oxide and it faded a bit, as did my chestnut mica, but they still stayed basically the same colour, how odd! I like how your soaps turned out though, the little swirl is great.


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## Twiggy (Apr 28, 2014)

WOW, I'm totally dying to make that soap, as that might be the only white soap I will ever would be able to produce! hahahaha So if I understood that right, you perform as usual, so the super fat stays the same - or should I make it much higher than usual (??), and so on, you just add salt to lye water? And is not drying? That's very interesting! What about the coconut oil? I use Babbasu, but I guess it doesn't matter...


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## Saponista (Apr 28, 2014)

I only did 5% superfat like the original recipe, wondering whether I will regret this when I use the soap though. I will update in a few weeks when it's ready to use.


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## Obsidian (Apr 28, 2014)

MzMolly65 said:


> umm .. blob/poured too thick soap into mold and stirred with chop stick, LOL!  At first it was nice pale green and grey swirls (which were actually supposed to be green and blue) .. now it's just green with green scribbles but I don't know why or how it morphed.
> 
> Fwiw .. it was green chrome oxide and blue mica.



I bet the color change is from ash, try washing one of your bars and see if it comes off. My salt bars always get a ton of ash on all sides.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 28, 2014)

> I bet the color change is from ash, try washing one of your bars and see  if it comes off. My salt bars always get a ton of ash on all sides.



You were right .. 

After washing my scribbles are gone :-(

First two photos are the top and 3rd photos is bottom, where the scribble was.


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## Hazel (Apr 28, 2014)

MzMolly65 said:


> umm .. blob/poured too thick soap into mold and stirred with chop stick, LOL!



Thanks! Although, I suppose it would work better if you have a column mold. I still think it looks wonderful. It reminds me of how fern fronds curl when they're just starting to grow.

eta: I posted and then saw your pictures. Those are pretty, too.


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## MzMolly65 (Apr 28, 2014)

Hazel said:


> Thanks! Although, I suppose it would work better if you have a column mold..



Thanks .. I actually get some really nice swirls in the cavities when the mix is thinner than this.  This was a bit of a mess because it thickened so quick.  I'll try again but it will take some practice to get used to how fast the salt makes the batter thicken.

Here's some examples of the swirls when I pour thin


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## Saponista (Apr 28, 2014)

They are absolutely beautiful!


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## Obsidian (Apr 28, 2014)

Looks like you had ash after all lol. Glad you figured it out and your pretty colors are back


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## LunaSkye (Apr 28, 2014)

Thank you for sharing the pic and the link. I now have a better idea about salt bars, though I still have some more reading to do.


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## Twiggy (Apr 29, 2014)

Wow, pretty soap saved, I'm so glad 

Yesterday I've made my own soleseife, and it look pretty, I cut in a right time - maybe even to early as it was very warm still  But I'm very disappointed on color :\ I really thought it will be whiter, and is yellowish - very nice pastel color, but not white. Do you think it will fade a bit or it will stay yellow?

Anyway, the method is super easy, one I got how to do it! For those who willing to try, I would recommend to SB only enough to emulsify, it will trace anyway fast  I made one of my basic recipes, and cannot tell until now on lather and qualities but will update after curing


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## seven (May 4, 2014)

any updates on the soaps? really curious about lather and all that. too soon huh?


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## Saponista (May 4, 2014)

I couldn't resist and tried mine but it was a bit slimy and not much lather so deffo needs a couple more weeks for a proper verdict.


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## batty (May 4, 2014)

I tried this last night with one of my older salt soap recipes. After reading this thread, I looked at the original tutorial, the tutorial that he referenced, and one other video tutorial. I noticed that some were using salt at 20% of the liquid, while in the video tutorial she uses salt as 20% of the oils. It seemed like a lot to dissolve in her lye water, but in the video it looks like it all dissolved. Anyway, I tried it out going for the 20% of oils since I usually do almost 100% salt, and I wasn't opposed to having salt left in the bar. I also decided to add some olive oil into the recipe so I did 
60% CO
39% OO
1% Castor
All I had was course sea salt, so of course it did not completely dissolve. I kind of attacked the salt with my stick blender so that it would at least get a bit smaller. I found that it did not thicken anywhere near as fast as the tutorials implied. It was also a bit soft unmolding it today. I did a combo of mints/eucalyptus/tea tree, with some finely ground mint tea leaves, so at the very worst it smells refreshing! Can't wait to see what a good cure does to it.


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## Twiggy (May 6, 2014)

seven said:


> any updates on the soaps? really curious about lather and all that. too soon huh?


I will update as soon it will cure


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## Mellifera (May 7, 2014)

I'll add an update when mine has cured. I was feeling adventurous and did it as a Bastille: 75 OO/25 CO. I dissolved the salt in about 75% of the water called for, then added some goat milk at trace. I scented with orange/patch/cedarwood. 

We'll see!


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## Mellifera (May 8, 2014)

Well, it hasn't cured yet, obviously, but when I took the soap out of the divided mold today, there were little "ends" from under the dividers, and I couldn't resist. I took a few of these shards and tried them out. Less than 24 hours old, and they gave me a low, creamy lather, not unlike other salt bars that I've used, though sparser. I'm anxious to see what they'll do in a week, a month, or two.


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## Mellifera (May 11, 2014)

OK, it's only 4 days old, but call me crazy. I took a bar into the shower. This was a 25% salt to water weight, 75/25 EVOO/Coconut, with some cedar and citrus EOs for a nice masculine scent. ETA Forgot that I put some goat milk in as well, about 1/4 of the liquid (from memory--my book is downstairs).

Four days. If you use it with just water (no sponge, no net, no cloth), you get low lather that bubbles up with more water and work. But take it in the shower and use a net thingy, and holy Moses in a Mustang. Bubbles everywhere. Lather and bubbly love with no toil. And no trouble. 

I was amazed because I've actually had a complaint (as I mentioned in another post) from a person I gifted a soap to (same 75/25, IIRC, but no salt) who said that it "didn't lather." If this one bursts into song--err bubbles--in four days with a net, what will it do in a couple of months? 

Also, call me even crazier, but I washed my hair with it. Just for the heck of it. My hair is wavy/curly and fine, a horrid combination, in my opinion. Feel nice. Soft. Not stripped. 

So I'm liking this method. Definitely a keeper.


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## Skatergirl46 (May 15, 2014)

If you like it now, just imagine how nice it will be in 6 months.


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## Mellifera (May 15, 2014)

The bar in the shower will also be the test bar for how it stands up to adverse conditions. Because while I always remember to put the soap back in the draining soap dish, someone else just plunks it on the wet ledge. Harumph.


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## Paintguru (May 22, 2014)

May have to try this.  The two aspects that I don't like about salt bars are the crumbly nature of them and the fact that they are slightly drying.  This technique seems to address those two issues with the fact that you can use your standard recipe with typical levels of coconut oil and get hard but not crumbly bars.  Plus, this allows me to use my master batch of non-salt oils in and make "salt" bars.  If the lather is in fact all that and a bag of donuts, it may be a great combo!


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## OliveOil2 (May 22, 2014)

I am so amazed with the results! I also tried mine after four or five days, and lots of bubbles, I was so impressed that I made another batch right away. It's been about a month, and I tried one in the shower yesterday, love the smooth feeling, and of course the bubbles.
For my recipe I had lots of soda ash, that washed off, and the colors seemed muted, much lighter than the same color in a regular bar of soap. I haven't experienced this with the salt bars. Overall I am so excited about this recipe, think they will be a favorite for sure.


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## paillo (May 23, 2014)

The bubbles are amazing, the bars are rock-hard but still creamy, and they last a long, long, time. My hubby has declared these his favorite kind of soap, and I'm not allowed to ever, ever run out


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## nframe (May 23, 2014)

Just to add my voice to the praises: I, too, made this a couple of months ago.  I followed the Soaping 101 recipe and made it with 100% coconut oil, 20% sea salt and 20% SF.  It is scented with aniseed and it is WONDERFUL.  Here it is:


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## lsg (May 23, 2014)

I made a version of the recipe this morning.  My soap traced very quickly.  I had to get it into the molds as fast as possible.


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## seven (May 23, 2014)

thanks for the update guys... putting this into my 'must do' list


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## Twiggy (May 23, 2014)

seven said:


> thanks for the update guys... putting this into my 'must do' list



You must! The end effect is amazing – well the look at least hahaha I didn’t try my yet, is still on a cure rack, but can’t wait to see if it actually makes any bubbles LOL I’ve made it with my regular recipe for some other soap, when I cut it, it was still warm


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## Hazel (May 24, 2014)

Great looking soap! 

nframe - I really like the flowers and it makes me think of a 'spring/summer' type soap. I thought the round would also be nice with yellow and scented citrus.

Twiggy - I love the delicacy of your swirl and the colors make me think 'Zen'. 

I meant to try a batch of this weeks ago, even printed out a recipe but then never got around to making it. I should add it to my lengthy to-do list for this weekend.


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## batty (May 24, 2014)

I have used this method a few times now, and I notice that my salt is not dissolving completely. The different tutorials seem to say both put the salt in the water first AND put it in after the lye. Are you guys getting the salt to completely dissolve? If so, what order are you adding it to the water?


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## OliveOil2 (May 24, 2014)

Even when I heated up the salt water to incorporate the salt, cooled it, and then added the lye there was a thickness to the lye water. I had used 3.6 oz to about 13.6 oz of water, and 40 oz of oils. My recipe was similar to the David Fisher recipe on Ask.Com, but I super fatted at 7%, and used oils that I had on hand. I am so used to superfatting a salt bar at 20% so this was a fun batch. This was a 34% water reduction, since they were way too wet at 36% (first batch) and I had read 33% was perfect, but I wanted to be careful not to have anything seize up.


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## Saponista (May 24, 2014)

I added the salt first and dissolved it as much as I could, there were a few grains in the bottom. Then I added the lye and it almost goes frothy and turns completely white.


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## Twiggy (May 24, 2014)

Thank you Hazel!!! I'm really happy that you like it





batty said:


> I have used this method a few times now, and I notice that my salt is not dissolving completely. The different tutorials seem to say both put the salt in the water first AND put it in after the lye. Are you guys getting the salt to completely dissolve? If so, what order are you adding it to the water?



That the  situation I was worried about when I’ve planned that project. So what I did was- first was salt, then the lye. I’ve measured out the amount of salt I needed and was adding it with small portions to the water. When I noticed that water doesn’t take any more salt I stopped, well only few grams have left in the cup, so I managed to add nearly all salt I was planning to add that way. That is the safe way I think, you have absolute control of you salty water saturation, and can make sure there is nothing left undissolved. 

I think if you have more time, or willing to spend more time, you can dissolve little bit more salt in the same water amount, but I was impatient and didn’t want to spend whole day over dissolving a salt for soap


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## Hazel (May 24, 2014)

Oh yes! I think white/black or cream/black soap are elegant looking. I always say I'm going to make one and then I don't. I end up going for either no color or other colors. Of course, there are a lot of ideas I have for soap and never get around to doing. 

I'm going to make some brine in a little bit. This might help me get motivated to make it tomorrow or Monday.


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## Twiggy (May 24, 2014)

Hazel said:


> Oh yes! I think white/black or cream/black soap are elegant looking. I always say I'm going to make one and then I don't. I end up going for either no color or other colors. Of course, there are a lot of ideas I have for soap and never get around to doing.
> 
> I'm going to make some brine in a little bit. This might help me get motivated to make it tomorrow or Monday.



LOL The same here! So much ideas in my head, and I keep them all locked in… In my case is just the feeling that each time I’m close to make something new and “crazy” I rather to go for something I already know in the end… 

I still don't know if my soap will bubble at all, but will use it any way in a summer


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## Hazel (May 24, 2014)

I'm sure it will be fine. Who knows? It may become your favorite soap. I made some brine (just a small amount) so I can can play tomorrow.


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## MagicalMysterySoap (May 25, 2014)

I tried this tonight doing the hp method. Did not turn out too great. My salt didn't completely dissolve and after the cook was over I had to work really fast since it was a lot drier than my normal batter. I cut it within 2 hours and had a lot of crumbs breaking off. It's not pretty, but I washed my hands with a piece that had broken off and the lather was incredible. I can only imagine how much better it will get once it's done curing.


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## Twiggy (May 25, 2014)

Hazel said:


> I'm sure it will be fine. Who knows? It may become your favorite soap. I made some brine (just a small amount) so I can can play tomorrow.



I really hope so! Thank you Hazel  I’m patient this time, and decided to wait until the full curing time (6-8) weeks – not easy at all, but until now I’m doing fine LOL


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## Paintguru (May 26, 2014)

Well I made a batch of this yesterday and we'll see what happens going forward.  I followed the directions from the link by using 25% salt by weight of water with a 2.5:1 ratio of water to NaOH.  I used my standard formula where the two highest percentage fats/oils are olive oil and lard.  I had zero acceleration during mixing and was able to pour everything easily into individual cavity molds.  Interestingly, at the 24 hour mark, the bars are still relatively soft, I would say softer than if I didn't use the salt.  These likely didn't gel like it would have in a log mold, so that may be the cause of the difference in hardness up to this point.  It will be interesting to see if these do develop into rock hard bars like others have reported.


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## Twiggy (May 27, 2014)

Paintguru said:


> Well I made a batch of this yesterday and we'll see what happens going forward.  I followed the directions from the link by using 25% salt by weight of water with a 2.5:1 ratio of water to NaOH.  I used my standard formula where the two highest percentage fats/oils are olive oil and lard.  I had zero acceleration during mixing and was able to pour everything easily into individual cavity molds.  Interestingly, at the 24 hour mark, the bars are still relatively soft, I would say softer than if I didn't use the salt.  These likely didn't gel like it would have in a log mold, so that may be the cause of the difference in hardness up to this point.  It will be interesting to see if these do develop into rock hard bars like others have reported.


Hmmm that quite bizarre – not that I’m any close to be an experts in salt soaps, but the main characteristic of that soap is the hardness – and it is going to accrue as soon as the soap is cold, so that why all soapers suggest to use individual cavity molds, or cut the soap when is still warm. My definitely went through gel. Very interesting though.


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## Paintguru (May 27, 2014)

Twiggy said:


> Hmmm that quite bizarre – not that I’m any close to be an experts in salt soaps, but the main characteristic of that soap is the hardness – and it is going to accrue as soon as the soap is cold, so that why all soapers suggest to use individual cavity molds, or cut the soap when is still warm. My definitely went through gel. Very interesting though.



Agreed.  I've made plenty of salt soap with say 75% salt based on oil weight, but even then it doesn't harden immediately, but usually within 3-6 hours.  Of course, that is almost 100% coconut oil, so I'm wondering if different fats/oils behave differently with salt.


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## Twiggy (May 27, 2014)

Paintguru said:


> Agreed.  I've made plenty of salt soap with say 75% salt based on oil weight, but even then it doesn't harden immediately, but usually within 3-6 hours.  Of course, that is almost 100% coconut oil, so I'm wondering if different fats/oils behave differently with salt.



I used my basic recipe, and I don’t do CO at all, but Babbasu instead. So it was around 15% BO, and some other oils: OO, CB, Almond…. I made it at 4 pm, it went to oven, did gel, and I unmolded around 7pm. The soap was still little warm, but I cut it straight and I must say it was firm enough to do that without any problem or damage to the soap itself. Let’s see how your soap will turn out


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## lsg (May 27, 2014)

My recipe didn't turn out as smooth and pretty as the pictures shown here. It traced really fast, I guess I shouldn't have used my stick blender. Oh well, even though my bars are not smooth and pretty, I am sure they will be good soap.


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## Paintguru (May 27, 2014)

lsg said:


> My recipe didn't turn out as smooth and pretty as the pictures shown here. It traced really fast, I guess I shouldn't have used my stick blender. Oh well, even though my bars are not smooth and pretty, I am sure they will be good soap.



So odd, I stick blended mine for a good 5 minutes without much thickening at all.    Must be some weird interaction going on.


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## Twiggy (May 27, 2014)

Paintguru said:


> So odd, I stick blended mine for a good 5 minutes without much thickening at all.    Must be some weird interaction going on.



Me too, maybe less than 5 min, it got thick quite fast, but I did SB my soap as well.


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## Saponista (May 27, 2014)

I had more than enough time to swirl mine and mess around with colours before it traced, then I had to cut it after only 4 hours as it was hard as rock by then.


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## Twiggy (May 27, 2014)

OMG, pls post pictures with that beauty after cuting!


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## Saponista (May 27, 2014)

I was too lazy to take one before so this is for you twiggy  


Sorry it's a bit dark, but it's late here and that's the best I could do. It has a few holes from bubbles so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to prevent them forming?


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## lsg (May 27, 2014)

Beautiful!


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## Seawolfe (May 27, 2014)

I'm guessing that its important to use at least 25% coconut oil in any recipe with 25% and up salt or it wont lather at all? Does Babasou oil lather with salt?


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## Saponista (May 27, 2014)

I used 30% coconut and had mega lather so I bet you could get away with a fair bit less.


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## Paintguru (May 27, 2014)

Mine is 20% coconut....48hrs in, still can indent with my finger if I push with any reasonable force.  Looks like a failed experiment on my end.


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## Saponista (May 27, 2014)

That's so strange paint guru. I wonder what is different about your recipe. What sort of salt did you use?


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## Saponista (May 27, 2014)

I looked at your recipe guru and I also have high quantities of olive and lard in my recipe so it can't be that causing it to remain soft.


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## Hazel (May 27, 2014)

_*@ Saponista - *_

Those are gorgeous! I love the colors and you did a wonderful swirl. It makes me think of a tropical seascape.



Well, I did 25% salt (I just used table salt since it was an experiment) and not all the salt dissolved. Since I made extra, the salt at the bottom didn't come out when I poured what I needed for the batch. So, I'd say the brine was possibly only 20%. I blended at room temp and didn't use the SB too much. I know the instructions said not too let it trace but I did take it to a light trace. Then I split the soap and colored the portions. I was quite pleased with how easy it was to work with since I was using an FO which some people said had accelerated on them. But I figured the cool temp helped slow it down. Also, I used 27% lye concentration which I'm positive helped. They're also quite hard today but not as hard as a regular salt bar even though I used 90% CO. However, I use 70% salt in my regular recipe.


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## grayceworks (May 27, 2014)

I've been following this thread, waiting for when I have enough energy to try a new batch... I think it will have to wait another week though, fibro has been kicking my butt pretty hard for a few weeks now. Bleh. BUT, I just had to stop in and say how PRETTY everyone's soaps are! They cheer me up, even when I'm too tired to make any. 

Paillo, I love those hearts! They look like raspberry sorbet. Yumm! 

Saponista, I like those colors on the first ones - they remind me of the wild grapes growing on the vines that would climb up the trees in the forest where I grew up. The leaves were a lighter green than the pine needles, and the grapes were a frosty purple. But the grapes and vines didn't have much scent, all you smelled was the pine trees and earthy scent of the forest.



And yes, your second ones look like the ocean, with the wave crests and swirls-- very pretty! 

Nframe, those are so cute! They look like springtime peeking out from under a late snow.

Anise is the perfect scent for that! It reminds me of spritz cookies in the winter which have anise and almond. Yumm! 

MzMolly, love all your swirls! I'm tempted to try a very minimalist scribbly swirl in a batch, maybe with charcoal on white. I'd give it some high-falutin' sounding name and a fancy label and sell it for twice as much, for the extra fancy ingredients in the swirled part. Oh, wait. I don't sell yet. LOL but just think of the possibilities for crazy unintended swirl effects! 

Twiggy, yours too! Beautiful elegant minimalist swirls! My swirls are like someone filled a whole page with scribbles lol. Yours is an elegant pen and ink drawing, beautiful! 

Hazel, I know what you mean about doing black and white. I have done red and white, blue and white, but for some reason, that bag of charcoal sitting there intimidates me! And Hazel, yours is gorgeous! It looks like Agate, one of my favorite stones to collect!


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## Paintguru (May 28, 2014)

Saponista said:


> I looked at your recipe guru and I also have high quantities of olive and lard in my recipe so it can't be that causing it to remain soft.



Yeah I may try one more half batch soon to see if it was a fluke of some sort.  Maybe I'll cut back on the water/lye from 2.5:1 to 2:1.


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## Twiggy (May 28, 2014)

Saponista said:


> I was too lazy to take one before so this is for you twiggy  View attachment 8032
> 
> 
> Sorry it's a bit dark, but it's late here and that's the best I could do. It has a few holes from bubbles so I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas of how to prevent them forming?



Woooo, looks like a summer sky! Thank you Saponista


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## paillo (May 28, 2014)

Grayceworks, what beautiful tributes to beautiful soaps! Love your complementary photos. Thank you! Hope the fibro releases its grip and that you have the energy to soap soon, feel better...


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## Saponista (May 28, 2014)

Your soaps are beautiful too hazel, they remind me of pebbles on the beach. 

I love the way you post pictures of what our soaps remind you of grayce, it must take lots of effort to find all the relevant pictures.


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## Hazel (May 28, 2014)

_*@ Saponista - *_

Thanks for the compliment! 

_*@ grayceworks - *_

I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Thanks for sharing the pretty pictures because they add emphasis to how you described the soaps. I wouldn't have thought my soap looked like agate if you hadn't posted a picture. I also wouldn't have thought of pebbles on a beach until Saponista mentioned it. However, I had a little extra after pouring these four and used tiny molds for the overflow. I thought one of them looked like flint which amused me since it's Ohio's state gemstone. Seriously, flint _*is*_ considered a gemstone.   







_*
eta*_: I forgot to mention about the activated charcoal. Don't let it intimidate you and remember...less is more. :grin:

I've learned to use half the amount that I think I might need. I only used 1/16 tsp in approximately 5 oz of soap. I'd originally looked at it and thought "1/8 tsp" which is why I used less. I thought it turned out well.


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## grayceworks (May 30, 2014)

Hazel said:


> _*@ grayceworks - *_
> 
> _*eta*_: I forgot to mention about the activated charcoal. Don't let it intimidate you and remember...less is more. :grin:
> 
> I've learned to use half the amount that I think I might need. I only used 1/16 tsp in approximately 5 oz of soap. I'd originally looked at it and thought "1/8 tsp" which is why I used less. I thought it turned out well.



Ok, I think I might try it in my next batch. Thanks! 

BTW, sorry about the scary bunnies... I just couldn't resist. It was my evil twin, she made me do it. :angel:


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## Hazel (May 30, 2014)

Don't worry about it. I was just joking and I was really amused by them. I like twisted humor. :grin:


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## Twiggy (Jun 13, 2014)

So I have little update on my soap Today I tried my salt water soap. It has cured for 6 weeks now. I cut little piece of it, and wash my hands. It lather with some difficulties at the beginning, but I reached the point of nice fluffy lather after few seconds. It leaves skin nice and smooth, BUT… and now the strangest soap stories of my life – after I’ve rinsed the bubbles off I had very strong tingling like pins and needles feeling all over the area which was washed with that soap :Kitten Love: – quite unpleasant I must admit…. Not burning the skin, it doesn’t zap, the ph is ok. What just happened here???? My soap recipe is just an ordinary soap recipe I use for most of my soaps, the only different is the lye water was prepared with salt. The feeling last for some minutes, like 10 or so. Any ideas???


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## Saponista (Jun 16, 2014)

Was your skin irritated or damaged before you washed with the soap? It might be the salt irritating sensitive skin? The tingling sounds a bit like an allergic reaction too though. I am allergic to whey protein and when I touch things that have high amounts in I get a weird pins and needles sensation and it goes red. Did you use any oils or fragrance that you haven't used before?


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## Twiggy (Jun 17, 2014)

It is very odd, as the soap was based on my regular recipe I’m using with no problems. So all ingredients was tested on me before. It may be salt, as I just now remembered that my nerve system reacting strange when it comes to salt baths and so on. When I tried to soak my feet in salt water (MgCl2 x 6H2O) is a magnesium salt, I got a strange cramp in my legs – painless but very unpleasant. Maybe that is the reason behind. My husband did not experience anything like that when using the soap.


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## julieanne (Jun 17, 2014)

Cool!  What is the lather about for these brine bars? Nice?! Dissapointing?


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## Mellifera (Jun 17, 2014)

Twiggy, sorry to hear about your reaction!

Julieanne, my 75/25 olive/coconut brine bar lathered beautifully as a 4-day-old. I haven't tried it since, but I assume it only got better! And they are so smooth and glossy!


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## Saponista (Jun 17, 2014)

Mine have reached full cure now and lather beautifully, the lather is more bubbly than my regular soap bars. I am completely in love with this recipe.


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## btz (Jun 24, 2014)

Twiggy said:


> So I have little update on my soap Today I tried my salt water soap. It has cured for 6 weeks now. I cut little piece of it, and wash my hands. It lather with some difficulties at the beginning, but I reached the point of nice fluffy lather after few seconds. It leaves skin nice and smooth, BUT… and now the strangest soap stories of my life – after I’ve rinsed the bubbles off I had very strong tingling like pins and needles feeling all over the area which was washed with that soap :Kitten Love: – quite unpleasant I must admit…. Not burning the skin, it doesn’t zap, the ph is ok. What just happened here???? My soap recipe is just an ordinary soap recipe I use for most of my soaps, the only different is the lye water was prepared with salt. The feeling last for some minutes, like 10 or so. Any ideas???



My salt bar react the same way too, but I let it cure further. I don't know when it's stop 'tingling' or 'burning' (in my case) but at 5 months cure, it's like normal soap. No more unpleasantness, only the dreaded occasional sweating for me.


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## OliveOil2 (Jun 24, 2014)

Twiggy, I am sorry to hear about your reaction! I hope that the finished bars don't do this.

I do love these bars and they are very different from regular salt bars, the bubbles are bigger than salt bars, and more like regular soap bubbles. At first I thought my recipe was prone to Ash, after steaming and three batches (Duh) I figured out the opaque quality is from the salt being in a brine. They feel like velvet on the outside, and are more easily dented even though the bars are very hard now. I used 30% coconut oil and 25% salt in the brine. Another note, I was looking at a European site, trying to translate from German, and it was noted to use 33% lye water ratio, so far I only went to 34% so maybe then they will dent less?


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## Nevada (Jun 24, 2014)

"They feel like velvet on the outside"
Workmate called it "Divinity" with the velvety texture and snow white colour.

Made a Peppermint Tea Tree Brine soap 8 weeks ago. Great Bar! 
Olive 45%, CO 30%, Sunflower ho 15%, Castor 5%, Canola 5%
First time I used Canola, only used it because I ran out SO
32% water: oil 8% Salt: oil. Dissolved Salt in water before adding lye.
10% SF, very conditioning. Nice soap for the summer, 
Roy


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## paillo (Jun 26, 2014)

Velvety - what a great description, it's perfect! So finding I have to educate my customers about this technique, but hoping once they've tried it they'll love it...


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## Dorymae (Jun 26, 2014)

I've never made brine soap before but reading this thread is inspiring!:wink:  So tonight I have a batch that is hopefully reaching gel about now.  How long of a cure time on these or should I treat it as any soap?  I have alerted my guinea pigs that I'm trying out a new recipe and told them 6-8 weeks. (Do you think that is enough time?)

I'm really hoping I can perfect a few recipes of this - it sounds wonderful.

I made this with my mango soap recipe (modified with more CO) and used Himalayan pink salt (Also sprinkled it on top).

Fingers crossed!


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## Hazel (Jun 27, 2014)

I cure regular salt bars for 8 weeks because I've found the lather was better. However, I use 70% salt in the regular bars. I'm not sure how long brine soap should cure. Since the salt content is lower, it may not need as long of a cure and I plan on testing at 4 weeks. (Next Friday  )

Hopefully, someone who has been making these longer can answer your question.


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## Dorymae (Jun 28, 2014)

Thank you!  I guess I'll personally try one at 4 weeks and if I like it I'll send it to the testers at 6wks.

The batch turned out well so far, cut easily no crumbles and although it is fairly hard (not rock hard) I was very surprised at how creamy it looks and feels. (cause yeah.... you know I had to try a sliver of it!)  I don't think I've been this impatient about a cure in a long time!  Really can't wait to try the real thing.


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## Hazel (Jun 28, 2014)

I'm kicking myself now that I didn't make one in a feminine or unisex scent for me. I'll have to put that on my to-do list.


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## navigator9 (Jun 28, 2014)

I've avoided reading this thread. I' ve only made one batch of salt soap, and it was early on in my soap making days. It was a total disaster. If I remember correctly, I used a combo of kosher and sea salt. It traced instantly. It killed my stick blender. I glopped it into the mold, and while still warm, it was hard, so I tried to cut it with my Tank, and broke a wire. What was I thinking??? It was crumbly and ugly. And so rough! I hated it. My friends that I gifted it to didn't think much of it either. I was just never able to grasp the benefit of adding salt to soap.

Today I caved in and read this thread from start to finish. I have to say, you almost have me convinced to try again. This method of dissolving the salt first, producing a smoother soap, solves the roughness problem for me. Your soaps all look beautiful! Mine looked like chunks of cement, greenish cement, but still cement. 

I guess my final problem is understanding what the benefits of using salt actually are, besides the texture and hardness. Are there any benefits for the skin? I still find it hard to believe they're not drying. What I love about handmade soaps are the wonderful, creaminess of them. Salt bars seem like everything I'm trying to avoid. Do I really want to try these?


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## Obsidian (Jun 28, 2014)

Yes, you want to try these, right now today. I don't know why salt makes soap nice but salt bars are my favorite. I have super dry skin, even aged castile is too drying for me but I can use salt bars all day.
I also think it help some skin conditions. I had a fungal infection on one spot of skin. My doc tried all kinds of medicine over the course of a year and nothing helped. Just a couple weeks of using salt bars and it was gone.
Salt bars shouldn't be rough, did you use coarse sea salt? You always want to use fine salt, add it at thin trace and use cavity molds so you don't have to cut.
Now I want to send you a salt bar, you poor deprived soaper, you don't know what you are missing lol.


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## Dorymae (Jun 28, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> I guess my final problem is understanding what the benefits of using salt actually are, besides the texture and hardness. Are there any benefits for the skin? I still find it hard to believe they're not drying. What I love about handmade soaps are the wonderful, creaminess of them. Salt bars seem like everything I'm trying to avoid. Do I really want to try these?




Think of different types of salt like different types of soap.  Not all of them will do the same things.  Pacific Sea salt is different then dead sea salt, which is different then Himalayan salts, which are different then Hawaiian sea salts.  Each salt has its own composition of minerals and it is the minerals that give the benefits.  Many claims have been made and many cultures still regularly use hot springs or salt waters for the therapeutic qualities.  You should research the salt you want to use so you have a little background on it.


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## cmzaha (Jun 28, 2014)

Dorymae said:


> Think of different types of salt like different types of soap. Not all of them will do the same things. Pacific Sea salt is different then dead sea salt, which is different then Himalayan salts, which are different then Hawaiian sea salts. Each salt has its own composition of minerals and it is the minerals that give the benefits. Many claims have been made and many cultures still regularly use hot springs or salt waters for the therapeutic qualities. You should research the salt you want to use so you have a little background on it.


 
Hawaiian sea salts are Pacific Sea Salt with either alaea volcanic added which gives the red color or activated coconut shell activated charcoal giving the black color which of course will give different properties due to the additives. 
I personally find salt bars beneficial for my severe eczema and salt scrubs will stop my severe itching. Last night at market my hubby was bit from something and itching like crazy. I have him a little of my emulisfied salt scrub I make to put on it and leave for a few minutes, he was suprised the itch was gone. Yeah, I convinced him salt works for itching...:smile:


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## Twiggy (Jun 28, 2014)

btz said:


> My salt bar react the same way too, but I let it cure further. I don't know when it's stop 'tingling' or 'burning' (in my case) but at 5 months cure, it's like normal soap. No more unpleasantness, only the dreaded occasional sweating for me.



Wow, so is not just me… That is a big relief I have to tell! My husband loves it, me not so much, but as you said I will let it cure! It is superb news that it will be better


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## navigator9 (Jun 28, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> Yes, you want to try these, right now today. I  don't know why salt makes soap nice but salt bars are my favorite. I  have super dry skin, even aged castile is too drying for me but I can  use salt bars all day.
> I also think it help some skin conditions. I had a fungal infection on  one spot of skin. My doc tried all kinds of medicine over the course of a  year and nothing helped. Just a couple weeks of using salt bars and it  was gone.
> Salt bars shouldn't be rough, did you use coarse sea salt? You always  want to use fine salt, add it at thin trace and use cavity molds so you  don't have to cut.
> Now I want to send you a salt bar, you poor deprived soaper, you don't know what you are missing lol.



ROTFL.......OK,  OK, I'm convinced!!! It's hard for me to imagine that you can't use  castile, but you can use salty soap, just can't wrap my mind around  that, so I'm gonna have to try it myself and see. Yes, I did use course  salt, that's what was being used back then. I will try fine salt, and I  have single cavity molds.

Carolyn and Dorymae, I never knew sea salts were so interesting....I'm off to do some research. I'm getting excited about this!


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## paillo (Jun 29, 2014)

I use various salts and clays for their various minerals and additives too. My favorite salts are Aussie black, Red Alaea, Pink Himalayan, and some of the more exotic chef salts. It's fun to research salt benefits - in the beginning I had no idea there are so many, and it seemed counterintuitive that they wouldn't be drying.

I know I cannot advertise this, but just among us I too find salt soaps amazingly helpful with certain skin conditions. For decades I had eczema on my hands that no medicated creams cured. And rosacea on my face. Both completely disappeared, never to reappear, when I started using salt soaps some years ago. I can't use any other kind of soap on my face, and my facial salt soaps outsell everything else I make by a huge margin. I'm a true believer.


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

OK, I went salt crazy and ordered pink Himalayan, Dead Sea, and Celtic sea salt! If I want to make a nice, moisturizing bar, would you have any recommendations for a recipe? This is what I have on hand, OO, PKO, avocado, coconut and castor. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to trying this. Glad I finally gave in and read this thread!


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## Dorymae (Jun 29, 2014)

The recipe I used is similar but with tallow instead of PKO. It is very creamy and wonderful looking. It is only days old so I can't tell if it is as good as it looks. (only used a little on my hands and it feels good so far)  I used the Himalayan salt as well.  I'll try to dig up a picture for you this afternoon. (I took a picture of the loaf before I cut)


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

Forgot to ask this in my last post....how about Epsom Salts? Not sea salt, but while I was researching, I came across this, sounds pretty good.

Epsom Salts

This salt is a rich source of magnesium. Magnesium helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins. Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulfates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulfates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. Soak in a tub full of hot water with a few cups of Epsom Salts. This is good for relaxing muscles and drawing toxins from the body. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient, exfoliator, and much more. Soak for 15-20 minutes. 
http://www.crystalinks.com/seasalthealing.html

And Dorymae, I look forward to seeing your results!


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## cmzaha (Jun 29, 2014)

navigator9 said:


> Forgot to ask this in my last post....how about Epsom Salts? Not sea salt, but while I was researching, I came across this, sounds pretty good.
> 
> Epsom Salts
> 
> ...


Do Not use Epsom salts in soap. Also I do not recommend using Dead Sea Salts, both with the minerals present create a sticky, waxy, sweaty bar of soap with 0 lather no matter how much pko or co is used. 
Dead Sea can be used and I use it in my salt bars, but it has to be kept to low percentages. Sorry I do not share my percentage since it took me a long tie to figure out. Wasted many a salt bar getting to the right mix that would work. If you already had one big disappointment please stay away from the DS or you are going to be disappointed again. Save it for nice salt scrub.


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> Do Not use Epsom salts in soap. Also I do not recommend using Dead Sea Salts, both with the minerals present create a sticky, waxy, sweaty bar of soap with 0 lather no matter how much pko or co is used.
> Dead Sea can be used and I use it in my salt bars, but it has to be kept to low percentages. Sorry I do not share my percentage since it took me a long tie to figure out. Wasted many a salt bar getting to the right mix that would work. If you already had one big disappointment please stay away from the DS or you are going to be disappointed again. Save it for nice salt scrub.



Thanks for the info, Carolyn. Now I'm off to see what else I can do with the Dead Sea salt. lol Also, I never meant to ask for anyone's specific recipe, just a general recommendation for the oils that I have, like "be sure to use at least 50% coconut for lather, don't bother with the PKO, it will be hard enough anyway" something like that.


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## Obsidian (Jun 29, 2014)

I would stick with the recipe from the first post but maybe replace the safflower oil with avocado, I just love avocado in soap. Since it uses 30% coconut, I would also increase the SF if you have really dry skin. When I get around to trying this myself, I will probably use 10%SF.


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> I would stick with the recipe from the first post but maybe replace the safflower oil with avocado, I just love avocado in soap. Since it uses 30% coconut, I would also increase the SF if you have really dry skin. When I get around to trying this myself, I will probably use 10%SF.



Thank you for your input! I love avocado too. I even rub a couple of drops between my hands, and rub through the ends of my hair. I'm really looking forward to trying the salt soap, I have some rosacea, and at 64, my skin is dryer than it used to be, although, since using my own soap, much less than before. The idea that salt soap can be moisturizing is intriguing to me, and I'm really looking forward to trying it.


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## cmzaha (Jun 29, 2014)

I made this with lard, coconut at 30%, palm oil, rbo, olive, and castor with coconut milk and baleno peat (mud) for liquid. Superfatted at 8% which is a big superfat for me. I did add in about 15% dead sea salt and it is a fantastic bar of soap. I also makes these very scrubbie. In fact my hubby told me to make no other kind for my mens soaps. My brine is not quite as strong since I soap with a 50/50 lye solution. I added my salt into my liquid mix until it would not longer dissolve


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## Dorymae (Jun 29, 2014)

Ok here are photos of the small loaf and the slice.  Beautiful creamy white color.


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> I made this with lard, coconut at 30%, palm oil, rbo, olive, and castor with coconut milk and baleno peat (mud) for liquid. Superfatted at 8% which is a big superfat for me. I did add in about 15% dead sea salt and it is a fantastic bar of soap. I also makes these very scrubbie. In fact my hubby told me to make no other kind for my mens soaps. My brine is not quite as strong since I soap with a 50/50 lye solution. I added my salt into my liquid mix until it would not longer dissolve





Dorymae said:


> Ok here are photos of the small loaf and the slice.  Beautiful creamy white color.



Thanks Dorymae, I'll keep the DS salt to 10% for this first time, just to be safe. I've put together a recipe with OO, PKO and avocado, now I just have to wait for the salt!


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## navigator9 (Jun 29, 2014)

Dorymae said:


> Ok here are photos of the small loaf and the slice.  Beautiful creamy white color.



Carolyn, that's one beautiful bar of soap. It looks creamy and smooth, and I love the pink salt on top.


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## cmzaha (Jun 29, 2014)

Thanks for the complement Navigator9 but that was Dorymae's soapie!  Also since I sell I would never put medium grain even on the top of the soap. People are not smart enough to flick it off and it can badly abrase the skin JMO


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## Dorymae (Jun 30, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> Thanks for the complement Navigator9 but that was Dorymae's soapie!  Also since I sell I would never put medium grain even on the top of the soap. People are not smart enough to flick it off and it can badly abrase the skin JMO



I sell also however this is my first salt water soap, so it is just for me and my guinea pigs, and we know not to rub raw salt on us!  Eventually when I perfect a recipe for it I will add it to the line up, but that won't be for at least 6 months. (Assuming everyone loves this particular recipe.)


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## seven (Jul 2, 2014)

Dorymae yours looks very pretty with the pink salt on top.

One quick question, does any of you who made this soap experienced any sweating? I'm gonna make some tonight with activated charcoal, but tot i ask first. My salt bars sweat, so i'm wondering about this.


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## Saponista (Jul 2, 2014)

No sweating on either of my attempts, buy I don't live in a humid climate so it's probably not much help.


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## seven (Jul 2, 2014)

ok, Saponista, thanks


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## navigator9 (Jul 2, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> Thanks for the complement Navigator9 but that was Dorymae's soapie!  Also since I sell I would never put medium grain even on the top of the soap. People are not smart enough to flick it off and it can badly abrase the skin JMO



Ooops, sorry Dorymae! I guess I should have paid attention when I got the notice that my eye exam was due. lol

Still waiting for my salt to arrive....making plans and getting antsy to start! I told some friends and they are anxious to be guinea pigs. :-D


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## Dorymae (Jul 2, 2014)

No harm no foul, and you did make a good point for anyone who doesn't know.... People in general do not know what to do with things you put in your soap.  So if you put on a decoration that could scratch, like a plastic decoration you do need to be clear to take them off.  It seems like common sense but you know common sense is not common anymore!


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## seven (Jul 2, 2014)

Made a tiny tester batch with charcoal, scented with lemongrass and peppermint eo. I did use more coconut than normal (35%) coz i was paranoid it won't lather.

We'll see...


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## Hazel (Jul 2, 2014)

Saponista said:


> No sweating on either of my attempts, buy I don't live in a humid climate so it's probably not much help.



seven - 

The same for me. I hope you find out that soleseife doesn't sweat.


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## Obsidian (Jul 6, 2014)

Made my first brine soap today and I'm wondering how these bars will be to cut. Do they need to be cut quickly like a salt bar or can I wait until the loaf is much firmer?


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## cmzaha (Jul 6, 2014)

If I remember I cut mine in about 4 hours. Mine did not set up quite as fast as my regular salt bars. Making some tonight and will try to pay more attention to cutting time


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## Obsidian (Jul 6, 2014)

I ended up cutting mine around 5 hours or so. They were still soft but not enough to leave drag marks, they are really nice looking bars.


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## Ellacho (Jul 6, 2014)

I think it depends on how much you add water in the recipe. I followed the original brine salt soap recipe and  I added 36% water as % of oils. After 24 hours later, I was a bit worried because it was still so soft. I had to wait for full two days before I was able to cut the soap. But once it was out the mold, surprisingly, it hardened quickly and now it is as hard as a rock! For my next brine salt soap, I am going to add 30% ~ 33% water to see how it goes. Perhaps I don't have to wait for two days to cut the soap.


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