# Salt bar with lard?



## Obsidian (Nov 20, 2013)

Has anyone ever used lard in a salt bar? I just made a small batch with 80% CO, 15% lard and 5% Castor. Used 62.5% salt, scented with tea tree oil and a touch of coconut lime FO.
I'm hoping the lard will increase the creaminess and conditioning.


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## cmzaha (Nov 20, 2013)

It should be great. I love lard in soap


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## sunfloweracres (Nov 20, 2013)

Sounds great. How did it turn out?


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## Obsidian (Nov 20, 2013)

I love lard too, all my soaps have at least a little. Not sure why I never thought about using it in a salt bar before this. So far they look really good. My salt bars never harden as fast as other peoples do, I won't be able to unmold until tomorrow.
I'm really surprised by the scent. I had very little of the lime coconut to mix with the tea tree oil but it really helped cover the medicinal smell.


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## judymoody (Nov 20, 2013)

My understanding is that the only oil that reliably will produce lather in salt water is coconut oil.  That's why they used to call CO soap "marine soap"  and it was used by sailors on the open sea.  However, I am very curious about your results.  Received wisdom isn't always accurate.  Please report on your soap when it's ready.


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## Obsidian (Nov 21, 2013)

I normally use 80% CO, 15% OO and 5% castor for my salt bars and they lather just fine. I think the lard might have helped keep it from hitting instance trace too. It was still relatively thin when I poured, just thick enough to keep the salt suspended which worked great for my cavity mold.

I did a experiment once, made a 100% PKO salt bar and it had 0 lather. Was like trying to wash with a piece of plastic, really weird. I definitely will report back on these bars.

The salt bars I made with neem and pine oil have improved a great deal too. At first there was very little lather, it was extremely thin and watery. Now it lathers like a normal salt bar should. I need to move it into the shower to see how they do on my skin issues.


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## girlishcharm2004 (Nov 21, 2013)

Obsidian said:


> I did a experiment once, made a 100% PKO salt bar and it had 0 lather. Was like trying to wash with a piece of plastic, really weird. I definitely will report back on these bars.



Ha ha! Forgive me for saying, but that sounded hilarious and I had this great mental image of washing with plastic!!!

And you're bar sounds absolutely delightful!  Lard sounds like a great addition to a salt bar soap!


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## Crombie (Nov 22, 2013)

*Salt bars*

I made some salt bars using 80% CO, 15% avocado oil, and 5% castor oil, superfatted at 20%.  I held back 1.5 oz of the avocado and mixed with my FO and added at the end of the cook as a SF.  I used 50% fine black lava salt.  The bars have amazing lather.  Once they firm up some, but still warm, you can use a planer on them and get rid of the crumbles. I called these Santa's Chimney Bricks.

Add-on comment.  I made these a week ago and was going to wait 2 weeks to use but husband wanted to try them.  We are both in love with this soap.  It could not possibly have more lather than it does and it feels really good on your skin.  Remember, with salt bars you don't use a washcloth - you use them right on your skin.  They were not drying at all.  I was planning to give these out for Christmas gift but my husband begged me to save him some so I will be making more this next weekend.


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## Crombie (Nov 22, 2013)

*Salt bars*

I forgot to add that I added 1 tsp ppo Sodium Lactate to lye water right before adding to melted oils.


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## CaraCara (Nov 22, 2013)

Nice! For HP do you add the salt at the end of the cook or during? Might be a silly question but I've only ever made it CP and the results have been meh.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 22, 2013)

May I ask why you used Sodium Lactate?  I've never used it in my salt bars as I usually only use it in my other recipes to make it harder and easier to unmold but find that my salt bars are hard after about 2-3 hours.   Just curious if maybe I'm missing something that add goodness to the salt bars.


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## cmzaha (Nov 22, 2013)

judymoody said:


> My understanding is that the only oil that reliably will produce lather in salt water is coconut oil. That's why they used to call CO soap "marine soap" and it was used by sailors on the open sea. However, I am very curious about your results. Received wisdom isn't always accurate. Please report on your soap when it's ready.


 
80% coconut will still give a nice lathering salt bar. It is very true that 100% coconut soap is the "Sailors" soap. Used it many times when out fishing to wash my hands in the salt water. But I find adding in small percentage of shea or avocado make a nicer salt bar. 

Your salt bar will not harden as fast with only 62% salt. I use up to 110% salt in my bars which harden in 45 min to 1 hr


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## Obsidian (Nov 22, 2013)

Just did a test lather and I think I've found a keeper. These bars have a much richer lather then any of my other salt bars. I do love lard


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## Ancel (Nov 22, 2013)

Me too, Oink oink


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## Crombie (Nov 23, 2013)

*Salt Bars SL Question*

CaraCara:  In HP you add the salt at the end of the cook (and work really, really fast!)   I also highly recommend using silicone molds with cavities instead of a regular loaf mold - then you don't have to worry about when to cut them.


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## Crombie (Nov 23, 2013)

Shunt2011:  I use SL in all my HP soaps - not for the hardness, but for the fluidity and smoothness it gives the soap.


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## Ruthie (Nov 23, 2013)

This is great to read. I REALLY WANTED to add lard to my first salt bar experiments, but was not brave enough.  I am a huge fan of lard. But personally, I do not find the salt bars to "feel" as good as what I have read. They are fine, but nothing special IMO. I'm thinking the lard would help.


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## Obsidian (Nov 23, 2013)

I'll let you know in 4 weeks how much of a difference there is.


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## thunderwagn (Dec 14, 2014)

Is there any update to this? I've been kicking around the idea of using some lard in a batch of salt bars.


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## Obsidian (Dec 14, 2014)

I haven't used one of these bars in quite some time so I just pulled one out and washed my hands. It has lather like you would expect from a salt bar, thick and creamy but it seems to take more work to get the lather built. If I use lard again, I'll also use 5% castor.
I still prefer my 80% CO, 15% OO and 5% castor salt bars. Beer or coconut milk adds extra creaminess and bubbles.


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## xraygrl (Dec 14, 2014)

I have made salt bars with lard before. I can't remember the percentage I used off hand, but it turned out very nice. I also love lard in soap. It imparts hardness, creaminess to the lather, and conditioning.


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## mhawk85 (Jan 18, 2015)

I was just thinking about trying a 100% lard salt bar. I love lard soaps.


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## Susie (Jan 18, 2015)

I doubt you would get any lather to speak of with a 100% lard salt bar.  CO being the primary oil is usually what works best for salt bars.  However, if you try it, please report back.  I would love to add more lard to the salt bars.  I do not like salt bars, but my son's friends think it is wonderful for skin issues.


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## HappyHomeSoapCo (Feb 23, 2015)

I'd love to know everyone's thoughts on the recipe I am planning for a salt bar. I am looking for more of a "regular" bar with added salt benefits rather than a high % salt bar. Here is what I am planning on doing. 60% coconut, 10% olive, 10% shea, 15% castor, 5% tallow. With 50% sea salt ratio. What do you all think of this formula? should I use less salt considering I am only using 60% coconut? I want a good lather that is very conditioning.


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## Obsidian (Feb 23, 2015)

I would lower the castor to 10%, drop the tallow and raise the olive oil. Olive oil will give you more conditioning so you want a decent amount of it. You might want to try only 25% salt and a SF of 15.


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## shunt2011 (Feb 23, 2015)

I too would drop your caster to no more than 10%.  I use 80% CO with other oils and I only use 25% salt most times and 20% SF.  I love salt bars.  They make a lovely creamy lather.


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## HappyHomeSoapCo (Feb 23, 2015)

Ok, yes I was planning on a 15% SF. I always understood castor oil to be very conditioning and bubbly so that is why I thought to make that higher than the olive. What about a water discount? I use 30% water on all my recipes (except beer soap). Do salt bars need the suggested 38%? And now I will only use 25% salt, added at a light trace. Will that still require me to cut after a couple hours? Thanks for all the help! I need to make this batch asap, and don't have time for a test batch. I will be using 125 oz oil in order to fill my 10 lb loaf mold.

So here is my final formula (i like whole numbers for ounces so that is why the % are weird):
125 oz total oil
15% SF
Water at 38% (unless you suggest something else?)

60% coconut
16% olive
9.6% shea
8% castor
6.4% tallow
25% sea salt


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## IrishLass (Feb 23, 2015)

HappyHomeSoapCo said:


> Ok, yes I was planning on a 15% SF. I always understood castor oil to be very conditioning and bubbly so that is why I thought to make that higher than the olive.


 
Castor, although conditioning (at least I find it to be so), is not exactly what I would consider to be a 'bubbly' oil. Instead, I find it to enhance the bubbly lather already present in my formula from oils such as coconut, PKO or babassu. In other words, it gives them 'body'. There is a point of diminishing returns, though. Having 15% castor in a soap superfatted at 15% might be too much. If it were me, I would drop it to no more than 10%, as Shari suggested.




HappyHomeSoapCo said:


> What about a water discount? I use 30% water on all my recipes (except beer soap). Do salt bars need the suggested 38%?


 
Speaking only for myself, I like to use a 'full-water' amount (or close enough to it) when I make my salt bars. I find it makes for easier cutting. 



HappyHomeSoapCo said:


> And now I will only use 25% salt, added at a light trace. Will that still require me to cut after a couple hours?


 
Yes. I cut mine as soon as it firms back up from gel, when the soap is still quite warm/hot. I get the best cutting results that way (I use 25% salt, too).




HappyHomeSoapCo said:


> So here is my final formula (i like whole numbers for ounces so that is why the % are weird):
> 
> 125 oz total oil
> 15% SF
> ...


 
That looks good to me!

IrishLass


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## HappyHomeSoapCo (Feb 23, 2015)

Thank you so much!!! I now, am not so worried to go ahead with such a large batch!!! Thanks everyone!


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## Crombie (Mar 2, 2015)

*Salt Bar*

Even using 50% salt, you will want to use 80% coconut oil and SF at 20%, no matter what your other % of oils are.  You will get significantly reduced lather if you don't from my experience.  And, at 50% salt, it is still considered a salt bar.  Salt bars range in % by 50 - 100%.

Anita
www.sadiesmissionsoaps.com


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## HappyHomeSoapCo (Mar 2, 2015)

Here are my first two salt bars! Made with the recipe I stated above, which includes tallow. I sure hope they prove to be a nice bar! I did wait too long to cut, so some are crumbly on the bottoms. But over all, I am pleased!


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## KristaY (Mar 2, 2015)

Ooohh! Nice work! I love the contrast of color from light to dark in the second one. Great job! :clap:


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