# Using salt to harden bars



## TeriDk (Jan 25, 2013)

Greetings all.  I've read that you can use a bit of salt to help harden bars.  Can anyone tell me how you do it.  I prefer not to use the sodium lactate (if I got that right).  As always, thank you for sharing your wisdom in all things soaping.


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## lsg (Jan 25, 2013)

I use about a tsp. of salt per pound of oils.  Dissolve it in the liquid before adding the lye.  You can also try adding stearic acid.


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## paillo (Jan 26, 2013)

I add about the same amount of salt lsg recommends, along with about the same amount of sodium lactate, then clay and silk -- then add the liquid, then the lye. I think the salt really helps with the hardness. Sodium lactate, as I understand it, is a natural humectant. Would be curious as to why you don't like to use it? You may have good reasons that would make me reconsider using it


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## walkinwounded (Jan 26, 2013)

I don't make soap without Sodium Lactate, as I understand it, it is a natural ingredient. I find it adds that extra ooomf to the soaps lather and when I HP it helps the pourability of it, it is also a great humectant as Paillo said, that is used in creams abroad for this quality and its AHA ability. I never found the salt helped much in the way of hardening oppose to a good long cure. i let my soap cure for 4-5 months and the bars that I added salt to were just as hard as the ones without. I however never paid much attention to the length a bar lasted with or without which may be a benefit to salt.


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## paillo (Jan 26, 2013)

I think for me (though I have no real evidence to actually back this up) it adds to the INITIAL hardness, so helps for slicing and stamping. There's no substitute for a proper cure, as we all know, and with or without salt, my final results are the same after curing 

Light dawns... I actually haven't been adding salt to the lye liquid until the last couple of months, and am just putting 2 and 2 together with a recent problem. I stamp my soaps using a hammer and wood/rubber stamp, and have had several batches that were initially brittle enough to crack under even gentle pounding on the stamp. Hmmmmm. I think I'll ditch the salt, as I never had that problem before.


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## TeriDk (Jan 27, 2013)

paillo said:


> I think for me (though I have no real evidence to actually back this up) it adds to the INITIAL hardness, so helps for slicing and stamping. There's no substitute for a proper cure, as we all know, and with or without salt, my final results are the same after curing
> 
> Light dawns... I actually haven't been adding salt to the lye liquid until the last couple of months, and am just putting 2 and 2 together with a recent problem. I stamp my soaps using a hammer and wood/rubber stamp, and have had several batches that were initially brittle enough to crack under even gentle pounding on the stamp. Hmmmmm. I think I'll ditch the salt, as I never had that problem before.



Thanks for the thought.


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## TeriDk (Jan 27, 2013)

I searched SL and see its a natural product.  I have salt but no SL at the moment.  Some of my soaps get stamped and certainly do not want to see them crumble if I were to add a bit of salt.  Sounds like a tsp of salt per lb of oil if I decide to try it.  It might be better to use the SL.  Thank you very much.


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