# First salt bar in the mold.



## boyago (Dec 8, 2013)

Fingers crossed, wish me luck.

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Bout an hour in.  Soap is the about as firm as jello.





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Bout an hour 15.  Probably too late to think about how verticle round molds were probably a bad idea.
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About two hours in.  Still pretty gooshy, not much heat coming of the molds. With a squeeze it seems to come away from the mold a little so hopeful.
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After about three hours the popped out likety split.  Cutting a little too quick and rough gonna wait to finish em up.
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Okay, should have given another hour or two but they cut okay and I didn't want to leave them overnight.


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## Obsidian (Dec 8, 2013)

Can't wait to see pictures, I'm sure they will be lovely.


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## boyago (Dec 9, 2013)

Okay, Miss Lil soaper helped me put the salt bars into the drying box this morning.  They didn't seem as hard as I expected from what I've read but they also didn't really squish at all when I cut them.  Couple weeks and I'll give them a shot.
I did get allot of air bubbles even after tamping them a bunch.  Saw a bin of "neck massagers" at the thrift store the other day.  Just not sure if I want a second hand vibrator.


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## Obsidian (Dec 9, 2013)

They look good, especially for being made in a round mold. How much salt did you use? I found they don't set super fast unless you use a lot of salt. If I only use 50% salt, I often have to wait 4 hours or more before I can cut, 100% salt might only need 1 hour to set.
I really do like cavity molds for salt bars, makes things much easier.


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## boyago (Dec 9, 2013)

I did 50% total weight, it just felt weird pouring that much salt.  CO 50% RBO 20%, Castor, Almond and Sunflower at 10%.  Then I went a little crazy with the additives, Oatmeal, bentonite, and powdered kelp.  Kind of just mashed together a couple recipes I found.  We'll see if it works out.


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## Obsidian (Dec 9, 2013)

Yeah, using 100% is a lot of salt but it does make a incredibly hard bar. Have you tried lathering any of the scraps/crumbs? I've never heard of a salt bar with under 80% CO.


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## boyago (Dec 9, 2013)

No it's only been a day so I haven't dove in yet.  The bowls and mixer did froth up this morning when I started cleaning up, yeah I'm a little lazy when it comes to cleaning up.


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## cmzaha (Dec 9, 2013)

I use 110%-120% salt in my bars and they set up in 45-60 min max. After 1 hr they usually become impossible to cut without huge chipping


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## Obsidian (Dec 9, 2013)

Thats not lazy, I have a greasy bowl from a batch almost two weeks ago thats needs a good scrubbing. I put it on the porch and am ignoring it, maybe the cleaning fairies will come one of these days.


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## boyago (Dec 9, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> Yeah, using 100% is a lot of salt but it does make a incredibly hard bar. Have you tried lathering any of the scraps/crumbs? I've never heard of a salt bar with under 80% CO.



yeah...  Just tried some crumbs out of the cutter and the lather was pretty dismal.  Was hoping with 50% salt I could the reduced CO would be okay.  Will give it a little more time before I do something else with it.


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## Obsidian (Dec 9, 2013)

Aw, thats too bad but it could improve. I made salt bars with neem and pine tar, it just about killed the lather but after a long cure, it lathers pretty good now.
One thing about salt bars though, they are really easy to rebatch. No cooking involved, you just shred it and dump it in with fresh batter and some more salt.


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## boyago (Dec 11, 2013)

Not sure how much or what kind of lather to expect in a salt bar.  Here is a pic after a quick rub.  The larger bubbles popped but this is a pretty fair representation.  A tripod may have been nice as I just nearly dropped my phone several time trying to take this pic.


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## Obsidian (Dec 11, 2013)

That doesn't look too bad for a young bar. I've found salt bars do best with a minimum of 8 weeks cure and even then, it might take a bit to get the lather worked up. Once you get lather though, you'll have a lot.


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## boyago (Dec 11, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> That doesn't look too bad for a young bar. I've found salt bars do best with a minimum of 8 weeks cure and even then, it might take a bit to get the lather worked up. Once you get lather though, you'll have a lot.



Well thank you for being my sole compatriot and benefactor in this.


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## cmzaha (Dec 12, 2013)

My pumpkin salt bars give a very thick creamy lather, almost like using lotion using 75% coconut oil. If I do a 50% salt bar I use 40% coconut oil with 20% superfat


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## Crombie (Dec 13, 2013)

I do my HP salt bars at 80% coconut oil, 15% avocado oil, 5% castor oil, and SF at 20%.  I do 50% salt and prefer fine black lava sea salt.  This is now my very favorite soap and if it was the only soap I could make - it would be this one.  I have extremely sensitive dry skin (or should I say HAD?) and I am able to use this soap every day and don't use lotion as frequently since I started using it.  I want to do round ones like boyago later this month.  Here is a picture of the salt bars I made for Christmas, "Santa's Chimney Bricks", scented with Sugared Cranberries FO.  (I used 1 tsp ppo SL)


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## girlishcharm2004 (Dec 13, 2013)

What type of salt does everyone use?  I've heard to use sea salt.  Doesn't that get expensive?  Would rock salt be a bad idea?


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Dec 13, 2013)

From what I've heard, watch out for stuff with extra minerals, such as Dead Sea salt.


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## shunt2011 (Dec 13, 2013)

I do 80% Coconut, 15% Avocado or Olive and 5% Castor.  I superfat at 20% and use between 50-75% Sea Salt.  I love my salt bars.  I'm going to try one with a 25% superfat just for fun.


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## Nevada (Dec 13, 2013)

I made a Salt Bar with 60% Salt and 40% Lard. 53% Fine Table salt. SF 14%.
Scented with Lavender, Anise and Patchouli. My friend who works at proctor gamble says it smells like a light Irish Spring! Lots of lather at 16 weeks and not slimy at all. 
Hain Fine Sea Salt is inexpensive find at WM
Roy


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## boyago (Dec 13, 2013)

Crombie said:


> I do my HP salt bars at 80% coconut oil, 15% avocado oil, 5% castor oil, and SF at 20%.  I do 50% salt and prefer fine black lava sea salt.



I've never heard of black lava sea salt.  Is it really black and is that where your darker swirlys come from?  Also are you HPing that?


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## girlishcharm2004 (Dec 13, 2013)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> From what I've heard, watch out for stuff with extra minerals, such as Dead Sea salt.



I've heard to watch out for epsom salt and Dead Sea salt -- is it really because of the minerals?  Would that mean a coarse kosher salt would be better?  

For example, like this? http://www.webstaurantstore.com/regal-bulk-extra-coarse-kosher-salt-8-lbs/10200500.html


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## Obsidian (Dec 13, 2013)

Epsom salt will ruin your soap as its the wrong kind of sodium. Dead sea salt will work but it often will make your soap sweat because of the high mineral count. All sea salt has minerals and so does the ancient sea salt I use with no issues.
I also wonder about kosher salt as I have a big box but I'm afraid the flakes will either dissolve in the batter or be too sharp in the bar. Someone should make a small test batch.
I've also used bath salts that I ground in a coffee grinder. Works good but the pieces were still a bit too big, I really like fine salt for soap.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Dec 13, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> .....Someone should make a small test batch.........



Post pictures when you're done :mrgreen:


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## Lin (Dec 13, 2013)

Epson salt ISNT sodium, its magnesium sulfate. I actually wonder how an epson or other magnesium salt bar might work as there's a lot of talk in the last couple years about magnesium deficiency and transdermal magnesium supplementation. There is no accurate test for magnesium deficiency because so little of the body's magnesium is carried in the blood. People with gastrointestinal problems are more likely to be magensium deficient, and less likely to be able to absorb magnesium from an oral supplement. Epson baths are a type of transdermal magnesium supplementation. Magnesium chloride is supposed to be better for a direct transdermal supplementation such as mag oil or lotion but epson which is magnesium sulfate is fine for baths. So if it would physically work in a soap bar, its interesting. Now did I just give away a great idea? haha. I think I might try it..


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## Obsidian (Dec 13, 2013)

You are right Lin. People have tried making magnesium salt bar before and it doesn't work very well. Has something to do with the bar not dissolving in water so it won't lather. Soap scum is made up of magnesium salt so if you used epsom salt in soap, you'd basically be making a bar of soap scum.
I know its been done but I think the bar was a swirl of regular soap and magnesium salt so it would still lather. There was a big discussion on it awhile back but I don't remember all the technical stuff about it.


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## Lin (Dec 13, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> You are right Lye.


I think you've been soaping too much


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## shunt2011 (Dec 13, 2013)

Black sea salt is expensive here.  I use it to sprinkle on top once in awhile.


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## robnbill (Dec 13, 2013)

I used Hawaiian Black Salt in one of my recipes. I mixed it with standard coarse sea salt. I added French Green Clay for additional color and it looked and felt great. The black sea salt, which is actually sea salt and activated charcoal, gave a very textured look to the green soap.


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## Obsidian (Dec 13, 2013)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Post pictures when you're done :mrgreen:


You are a enabler... kosher salt bars are hardening as we speak. Weird thing is, I used 100% salt and it didn't fast accelerate like fine salt does. I had to wait for it to get thick enough so the salt didn't sink before I could pour it.
Looks like some might have dissolved but that was probably from me stirring it so much.



Lin said:


> I think you've been soaping too much


I think you are right


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## boyago (Dec 14, 2013)

So, I was moving my soaps around today and the salt bars seem... dampish?  When they went into my beutifull soap drying rack (a cardboard wine box with holes punched in the sides) they were very... soap like.  Now they are kind of... damp soap like, little grainy.  I know that the salt will pull moister from the air but I also think this will not help them curing any tips on how to keep them?  I filled a coffee filter with rice and threw that in thinking the rice would wick moisture better than the soap and moved them into a plastic bin, but not really sure if that makes any sense.  Tips welcome.


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## Obsidian (Dec 14, 2013)

I would take them out of the box and put them on a shelf with open air movement. I don't store my salt bars until a 6-8 week cure.


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## Crombie (Dec 14, 2013)

boyago - I made mine HP.  You can read about Hawaiian Lava Sea Salt at:  http://seasonalitybylogovida.blogspot.com/2011/06/shock-value-hawaiian-black-lava-sea.html.  19% of the salt is some 80 natural elements (electrolytes and trace minerals).  robnbill - The rich, deep-black color is indeed due to the addition of activated charcoal.  The charcoal comes from burned up coconut shells.  Yes, it is expensive.  I got a 25-pound pack of the fine grain from the San Francisco Salt Company for $69.80 with free shipping during a special two weeks ago.  Why did I use it - in this instance I was going for the color - but, I also found it behaved better than other fine grain salts for some reason (which is why I ordered so much).  You can see how it can affect color in the photos.  Photo #1 has the Fine Grain Black Lava Sea Salt.  Photo #2 is Fine Grain Himalayan Pink Sea Salt.  I can tell a difference in the two salts and have a definite preference for the black.


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## Lin (Dec 15, 2013)

Are those both with colorant added?


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## cmzaha (Dec 15, 2013)

boyago said:


> I've never heard of black lava sea salt. Is it really black and is that where your darker swirlys come from? Also are you HPing that?


 
Black Lava Sea Salt is actually Pacific Sea Salt that is infused with Activated Coconut Shell Charcoal. It is a very pretty black


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## Obsidian (Dec 15, 2013)

The black salt definitely makes the brick bars look pretty awesome.


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## Crombie (Dec 16, 2013)

Lin - yes, these salt bars have colorant.  I used skin-safe "Vibrance" micas from Nuture Soaps.


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## robnbill (Dec 16, 2013)

This is what my salt bar looks like after 84 days of curing. It was made with Black Sea salt as well as white sea salt with French Green Clay added for color. The Black salt really makes it look like granite when it is being used. The reflection is caused by the shrink wrap.


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## AKjulz (Dec 17, 2013)

Robnbill, lovely soap, and nice stamp too!  How coarse was the salt you used?


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## boyago (Dec 17, 2013)

robnbill said:


> This is what my salt bar looks like after 84 days of curing. It was made with Black Sea salt as well as white sea salt with French Green Clay added for color. The Black salt really makes it look like granite when it is being used. The reflection is caused by the shrink wrap.



That is a fine looking soap! 

Do you sell by the name Rob and Bill?


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## robnbill (Dec 17, 2013)

Thanks for the complements. We are not selling soaps. My husband and I started making bars for Xmas gifts and personal use. We really enjoy it. Everyone we know will be getting soap for the holidays this year. The salt was coarse grind. The stamp came from Soap Impressions. I sent the the design and they made a metal stamp out of it.


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## robnbill (Dec 17, 2013)

The one thing I learned on the salt bar is when I did the replacement of oil with salt, I used the weights in ounces. However since salt (in a given volume) weights so much more that oil, I ended up with a smaller batch in volume than I wanted. Correct weights, but did not fill up the mold. The next time I am going to increase the target volume un the recipe.


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## Obsidian (Dec 17, 2013)

robnbill said:


> The one thing I learned on the salt bar is when I did the replacement of oil with salt, I used the weights in ounces. However since salt (in a given volume) weights so much more that oil, I ended up with a smaller batch in volume than I wanted. Correct weights, but did not fill up the mold. The next time I am going to increase the target volume un the recipe.



When I make salt bars, I don't alter the amount of oils I use. Instead I just plan on having extra batter that goes into some of my mismatched cavity molds.


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## boyago (Dec 17, 2013)

robnbill said:


> Thanks for the complements. We are not selling soaps. My husband and I started making bars for Xmas gifts and personal use. We really enjoy it. Everyone we know will be getting soap for the holidays this year. The salt was coarse grind. The stamp came from Soap Impressions. I sent the the design and they made a metal stamp out of it.



Bummer, might just be my poor sense of humor but my brain went straight to the act of robbing and billing, thought it was funny.


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## boyago (Dec 22, 2013)

Stumbled on this last night at Whole Foods.





Looked it up to see why it was so expensive.  Their site says that it is just sea salt with activated charcoal.  Kind of expensive don't ya think?


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## Obsidian (Dec 22, 2013)

Not too bad for special batches, the black salt here is .89 a ounce.


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## cmzaha (Dec 22, 2013)

boyago said:


> Stumbled on this last night at Whole Foods.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
San Francisco Salt Company has Black Hawaiian Salt on sale for $19.99 for 5 lbs. Other sizes are available with free shipping over $20. I purchase all my salts from this company


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## cmzaha (Dec 22, 2013)

robnbill said:


> Thanks for the complements. We are not selling soaps. My husband and I started making bars for Xmas gifts and personal use. We really enjoy it. Everyone we know will be getting soap for the holidays this year. The salt was coarse grind. The stamp came from Soap Impressions. I sent the the design and they made a metal stamp out of it.


 
Please warn anyone you give a salt bar made with coarse salt to not rub directly on the skin. Course salt can be extremely abrasive and actually cut the skin. Even medium grind can be to strong. Fine salt in bars is much safer. Your bars are gorgeous


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## robnbill (Dec 22, 2013)

cmzaha said:


> Please warn anyone you give a salt bar made with coarse salt to not rub directly on the skin. Course salt can be extremely abrasive and actually cut the skin. Even medium grind can be to strong. Fine salt in bars is much safer. Your bars are gorgeous




Actually, when you get it wet an rub it between your hands a minute, it becomes smooth. I use it in the shower. Love it. I find it is less exfoliating than oatmeal. Just my two cents.


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## Obsidian (Dec 22, 2013)

I've made a couple batches with course/medium grind salt and I've never found it to be scratchy at all. It smooths down just like the fine salt bars do. I do prefer fine grind though and will use only that from now on.


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## cmzaha (Dec 22, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> I've made a couple batches with course/medium grind salt and I've never found it to be scratchy at all. It smooths down just like the fine salt bars do. I do prefer fine grind though and will use only that from now on.


Take it from experience, that not all salt is the same or smooths with use. I simply will not test my insurance and take a chance. Adding exfolients to salt bars is safer with additives not medium to coarse salt. I have been making salt bars for 6 yrs and have used many types of salt and believe me I have had many salt bar failures in the beginning. Salt bars are my daily soap and I sell many salt bars and simply do not want to test my insurance because someone cut themself with the bar.


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## AlicesWonderhands (Nov 18, 2014)

Lin said:


> Epson salt ISNT sodium, its magnesium sulfate. I actually wonder how an epson or other magnesium salt bar might work as there's a lot of talk in the last couple years about magnesium deficiency and transdermal magnesium supplementation. There is no accurate test for magnesium deficiency because so little of the body's magnesium is carried in the blood. People with gastrointestinal problems are more likely to be magensium deficient, and less likely to be able to absorb magnesium from an oral supplement. Epson baths are a type of transdermal magnesium supplementation. Magnesium chloride is supposed to be better for a direct transdermal supplementation such as mag oil or lotion but epson which is magnesium sulfate is fine for baths. So if it would physically work in a soap bar, its interesting. Now did I just give away a great idea? haha. I think I might try it..



Or bath bombs? I'd love to see how this goes!


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## cmzaha (Nov 18, 2014)

boyago said:


> Not sure how much or what kind of lather to expect in a salt bar. Here is a pic after a quick rub. The larger bubbles popped but this is a pretty fair representation. A tripod may have been nice as I just nearly dropped my phone several time trying to take this pic.


They will improve with time, but your recipe, in my opinion, is not going to give luscious. Not trying to hijack your thread but this pic is what you can get from a salt bar with 4-6 month age time and a different formula. This particular bar has 110% salt to oil


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## boyago (Nov 18, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> They will improve with time, but your recipe, in my opinion, is not going to give luscious. Not trying to hijack your thread but this pic is what you can get from a salt bar with 4-6 month age time and a different formula. This particular bar has 110% salt to oil



You would be correct.  That bar is almost a year old.  I was just thinking about giving the salt bar another go and will definitely use much more CO. 

Here is a pic for those who want to see what the poor results of my bar, and the recipe I used: I did 50% total weight (of salt), it just felt weird pouring that much salt.  CO  50% RBO 20%, Castor, Almond and Sunflower at 10%.  Then I went a little  crazy with the additives, Oatmeal, bentonite, and powdered kelp.  Kind  of just mashed together a couple recipes I found.  We'll see if it works  out.

When I try them again I'm going to way up the CO, and dropping the sunflower and almond oils and drop all the silly additives.


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## cmzaha (Nov 18, 2014)

I actually do one that has kelp powder, caffeine, fine oats for scrubby, with no affect to the lather. 90% co 10 castor works everytime  and is not in the least drying. I use them almost daily. As I mentioned somewhere before, I tried the other oils, some butter etc and ended up scraping the bars :thumbdown: I tried some palm in the hopes of adding some longevity to the salt bars but it was a real lather killer


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## JustBeachy (Nov 18, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> They will improve with time, but your recipe, in my opinion, is not going to give luscious. Not trying to hijack your thread but this pic is what you can get from a salt bar with 4-6 month age time and a different formula. This particular bar has 110% salt to oil



That's some good lather for a salt bar.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 19, 2014)

Nice job!  Question: Can you feel the salt in the bars?


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## Obsidian (Nov 19, 2014)

Not when you use fine salt. I have a batch I made a year ago with medium grind and its scratchy, enough so that I worry about it cutting me. I'm going to toss it since its not safe to use.


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## JustBeachy (Nov 19, 2014)

DWinMadison said:


> Nice job!  Question: Can you feel the salt in the bars?




I've tried them with everything from coarse to fine. The coarse salt bar's look really cool, but it's like bathing with a rasp when you try to use them. 8) If you use too coarse a grind, exfoliation becomes the biggest understatement since Noah said it looks like rain. 

I have one medium grind kosher sea salt that I still use. Seems like the granules are more rounded, so they don't scratch, yet give a good feel to them. The rest of the salts I use are all fine grain.


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## Obsidian (Nov 19, 2014)

I have used a medium grain kosher too but the stuff I have is flakey and its not scratchy at all.


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## kmarvel (Nov 20, 2014)

boyago said:


> Well thank you for being my sole compatriot and benefactor in this.


 
Your salt bars look pretty good, boyago. I never thought to put them in a pringles can as a mold. With regular soap I will do that on occasion.
Good job!



JustBeachy said:


> That's some good lather for a salt bar.


 
WOW!!!! I have never had any of my salt bars have that much lather!!
I use a 50% ratio in my salt recipe.



girlishcharm2004 said:


> What type of salt does everyone use? I've heard to use sea salt. Doesn't that get expensive? Would rock salt be a bad idea?


 
I use the generic Mediterranean sea salt from Wal mart. The Fine salt.


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## Obsidian (Nov 21, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> They will improve with time, but your recipe, in my opinion, is not going to give luscious. Not trying to hijack your thread but this pic is what you can get from a salt bar with 4-6 month age time and a different formula. This particular bar has 110% salt to oil



Well Carolyn, you've convinced me to try your recipe. My salt bar lather is close to yours but I want better. Making a 1lb batch tomorrow.


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## jules92207 (Nov 21, 2014)

Your picture says 1000 words... So trying 90/10 co and castor next. That is some serious bubbles.


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## boyago (Nov 21, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> Your salt bars look pretty good, boyago. I never thought to put them in a pringles can as a mold. With regular soap I will do that on occasion.
> Good job!
> .



Those are from 2" PVC.  I like to use those for new soaps or stuff more for hands and face.  Then for body bars I like the 3".  They are cheap and easy and I like the size in my hand.


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