# Fragrance sea salt dollar store



## Bex1982 (Jul 1, 2014)

I want to make a salt bar. I went to bramble berry and picked up their ocean rain fragrance (out of all of them this was the only one i liked for a salt bar), then when I got home I looked on the back and saw that it said it accelerates  
I'm using all coconut with 15-20 sf, haven't decided yet. Co already traces fast and I'd like to make 2 colors so I'm kind of worried. 
I was thinking about adding the fo to my salt and then mixing the salt in right before the pour. I'm wondering if the fo will ooze out or just be incorporated during saponification? Or will the salt stay oily or something? 
The other thing is that I saw sea salt at the dollar store and I was wondering if any of you have used it and if it's real sea salt. It's called San Francisco bay sea salt.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 1, 2014)

nobody? :-(


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## KristaY (Jul 1, 2014)

Bex1982 said:


> I want to make a salt bar. I went to bramble berry and picked up their ocean rain fragrance (out of all of them this was the only one i liked for a salt bar), then when I got home I looked on the back and saw that it said it accelerates
> I'm using all coconut with 15-20 sf, haven't decided yet. Co already traces fast and I'd like to make 2 colors so I'm kind of worried.
> I was thinking about adding the fo to my salt and then mixing the salt in right before the pour. I'm wondering if the fo will ooze out or just be incorporated during saponification? Or will the salt stay oily or something?
> The other thing is that I saw sea salt at the dollar store and I was wondering if any of you have used it and if it's real sea salt. It's called San Francisco bay sea salt.


 
 Sorry, Bex1982. I was waiting for the more experienced salt soapers to chime in by now. I've read a few articles/posts/seen videos, etc of people who do exactly that - add the FO to the salt. It lessens one step and incorportates the salt and FO at the same time. I haven't done it yet so can't vouch for how well it works. Remember too, the salt itself will accelerate so be prepared. I haven't been brave enough to try multi colors so I'd love to hear how it goes when you do it.

 About the salt. I bought a Sam's Club size bottle of Tone's Sea Salt. I had the same concern about it. Was it 100% sea salt? What sea did it come from? I decided to email customer service to ask. I got a reply the next morning that said it's harvested/manufactured from the Pacific, specifically the San Francisco area. Maybe you can find contact info for the company and ask them.

 I know, not much help in this but it was a nice chat anyway! :razz:


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

Hi again! I just watched the Soaping 101 video and she mixes the fragrance with the salt. Plus, she did a 2 color bar. If you haven't seen it, here it is:

 [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVaK5sm0jmc[/ame]


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Thank you! 
I'm going to take a look at the video. I think I might use a different fragrance because I feel like I have too much going against me - CO, salt and the FO... Oh and two colors... Maybe I should find one that doesn't accelerate.


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

I just browsed my curing area and remembered the Mediterranean Salt Bars I did a few weeks ago. I added 1 oz Litsea, 0.5 oz spearmint and 0.2 oz peppermint to total oil weight of 26 oz. Smells amazing but it accelerated enough that I couldn't get all my color to blend. It looked like an in the pot swirl when I poured. It actually came out pretty cool looking - like small waves of pale blue. I also made one with BB's Lemon Verbena and had no trouble. Not what you're going for, I know, scent wise. It seems when I looked at all the BB "water" or "ocean" scents, they accel. You could try to sprint and see how fast you can go from color to mold! Ready....Set...GO!


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

It says online that the salt contains silica and calcium. I don't see that on other sea salt labels but read that silica is natural in sea salt...


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Thank you Kristay! 
Your salt bars sound pretty! You should share a pic  
I'm trying to emulate a bar I made a few years back. I really can't remember the fragrance I used but it was some watery type, I think I got from sweet cakes. BB is local so I thought, yay, I'll save on shipping. I'm actually not that jazzed with the smell after sniffing a while, it sort of smells like that foaming bubbles cleaning stuff. Not bad, but I know I will think of that when I use it.. 
I will try to post a pic of my old salt bar if I still have the picture.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Here it is. I must have mixed seaweed up in there too. LOL.


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

I just ran in and read all my salt labels. They all say only "sea salt". The silica may be in there as an anti-clumping agent. Wouldn't they have to list it on the packaging though? Hmmmm.... Someone much more experienced in salt bars needs to address this. I have no idea what effect calcium or silica may have on your soap, if any. I don't remember reading anything about them either.


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

Oh wow! That's awesome! It totally looks like something you'd find at the beach. You'd hear the waves every time you wash with it.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Thank you for the compliment on my soap. Knowing myself, I probably won't be able to get it to look like that again!!

So went through my older FO's, I have sweet cakes Paris something or other, it smells like gardenia and will probably accelerate but might work since i'll add it to that salt. The other that seems nice is Sweet cakes clean "type" fragrance, it's sort of lemony. I  think the gardenia one will be kind of beachy Hawaiian. But then again I'm in the pacific northwest and people here seem to like more briny beach or spa beach scents. I am tempted to go with gardenia and just say what the heck. But the lemony one is more refreshing. What do you think?

or I could go with the scrubbing bubbles one LOL


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

Bex1982 said:


> So went through my older FO's, I have sweet cakes Paris something or other, it smells like gardenia and will probably accelerate but might work since i'll add it to that salt. The other that seems nice is Sweet cakes clean "type" fragrance, it's sort of lemony. I think the gardenia one will be kind of beachy Hawaiian. But then again I'm in the pacific northwest and people here seem to like more briny beach or spa beach scents. I am tempted to go with gardenia and just say what the heck. But the lemony one is more refreshing. What do you think?
> 
> or I could go with the scrubbing bubbles one LOL


 
 Hmmm....I'm VERY partial to lemon so gravitate that way but the gardenia is usually popular. Have you thought about mixing them? Maybe a hint of lemon to the gardenia? I like floral and citrus together. Do you happen to have BB's Lettuce FO? That's a great "green" blender and would go well with either one.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

No I don't but I wanted to get that FO. I do have sap moss (which is reaaaaaaaaaalllllllllly strong) and tomato leaf. I did mix the floral with the lemon one but they were each better on their own. Maybe I could add some of the greener scents to the citrus. I have BB's blue man, smells so good, they say it's a mens cologne but it doesn't smell that manly to me. I want this to be feminine though and if blue man suddenly turns masculine in cured soap i'll be a bit bummed.


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

Blue Man! Ya! I made soap with that about 6 months ago. Swirled dark blue and brown to make it more masculine looking but it didn't end up working that way. I think more of my female friends liked it than the men. It was a nice unisex scent in my opinion. If I remember right, maybe a little sweeter than OOB? Can't quite recall as it's all gone. 

 Oh poop. I just went back to my notes on the recipe and it says "accels and turns to dark brown". I split the batch in half, scented only half then colored the other half with blue. I guess that one's out. Unless you don't mind brown salt bars.

 What about Vetyver? (also BB) I just soaped with that one a few days ago and it worked like a dream. I did my first tiger stripe with it and it worked out great. It's a very masculine scent but amazing.

 I'm going to browse my scent inventory and see if I have anything else....


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

I'm really jealous you live so close to BB and can shop when you want! I'd love to actually smell before I buy. Maybe it's a good thing I'm far away, I'd spend too much!

 I just had another thought, you want a more feminine scent right? Have you tried BB's Lavender and Herb? That's an awesome scent. I soaped with it a couple of weeks ago and there was no accel or discolor. I had plenty of time to do a 3 color hangar swirl with it. It's definitely lavender but more complex. Every time I use my body lotion people are drawn in to it. 

 I also had another thought (yes, I have many and most are goofy!) but do you have anything in the tea line? I know some discolor but it may add a layer of sophistication to another scent.


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## cmzaha (Jul 2, 2014)

Bex1982 said:


> Here it is. I must have mixed seaweed up in there too. LOL.


Just out of curiosity, did you use medium grain salt, it looks like it is. Word of advice fine grain is much better. I use up to 120% fine grain salt with a two color swirl and it works great and makes a marvelous salt bar. Just watch what is used for fo's if you have a quick moving fo use full water and be quick! Only problem with the aount of salt I use is the bottom edge will be chippy when I cut with my cutter. I add in my fo's into the oils before adding in the lye solution then I know if it is going to accelerate I can scrap the multi color and just move on


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## navigator9 (Jul 2, 2014)

Definitely not the salt bar expert, but to make soaping more manageable in general, I soap cool, and I always add my FOs to my oils before adding the lye. Don't know if that would work in a salt bar, but maybe worth a try? 

I love the pic of your salt bar. Looks like sand and surf to me. Pretty!


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## Obsidian (Jul 2, 2014)

Gardenia is well know to accelerate and rice, it might not be the best choice. I use 100% salt when I make my bars and it never traces fast, in fact I often have to wait for it to get thick enough to suspend the salt before I can pour. I do soap at room temp and add the salt at thin trace, using 20% OO probably helps too.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Kristay: I just looked on the back of blue man, won't work.  
I wanted to try BBs matcha but when I got there and smelled it there was something off about it. I liked the earl grey a lot but I think that discolored too. 

Cmzaha:  I used a mix, mostly fine grain with medium added. It wss a recipe a friend gave me and everyone loved her salt bars. But yes, this time I plan on just using fine sea salt.  

Obsidian: thanks for the gardenia heads up. I'll keep that in mind.


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## kmarvel (Jul 2, 2014)

Bex,

 I made a batch of salt bars last weekend and used the Brambleberry Ocean Rain.  It did not accelerate at all.  I slowly added the fragrance at a light trace, mixed, then poured a little more in, stirred, then slowly added the sea salt.  Worked great. I cut at the 2 hr mark.  I used the Morton's Mediterranean Fine Sea Salt.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

kmarvel said:


> Bex,
> 
> I made a batch of salt bars last weekend and used the Brambleberry Ocean Rain.  It did not accelerate at all.  I slowly added the fragrance at a light trace, mixed, then poured a little more in, stirred, then slowly added the sea salt.  Worked great. I cut at the 2 hr mark.  I used the Morton's Mediterranean Fine Sea Salt.


 
Cool! Did it smell like scrubbing bubbles spray foam? Would you have had enough time to do 2 colors? Thanks


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Here is part of Bramble Berry's message back to me. Anyone concur or not concur? I've never used pink sea salt before. 

 "I would recommend only using Pink Sea Salt. Our production manager has  tried several kinds of salt and that one works best! You can find that  here: http://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=pink+sea+salt "


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## judymoody (Jul 2, 2014)

Seriously?  I just use regular fine grain salt and it works fine.  I'm sure the pink is pretty but you can get good results with other kinds of salt.


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## Obsidian (Jul 2, 2014)

It doesn't matter what kind of salt you use as long as its not dead sea or epsom. I use canning and pickling salt in my bars, its works great and is cheap. I've even used dollar store bath salt after running it through a coffee grinder.

Of course BB is going to recommend pink salt, its what they sell. I've not used pink salt but I have splurged for expensive black hawaiian salt and besides the visual, it wasn't any better then plain salt.


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## KristaY (Jul 2, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> It doesn't matter what kind of salt you use as long as its not dead sea or epsom. I use canning and pickling salt in my bars, its works great and is cheap. I've even used dollar store bath salt after running it through a coffee grinder.
> 
> Of course BB is going to recommend pink salt, its what they sell. I've not used pink salt but I have splurged for expensive black hawaiian salt and besides the visual, it wasn't any better then plain salt.


 
 I agree with Obsidian. I've used many brands, types, locations of harvest, etc and all worked the same. I've also used BB's pink salt and liked it. I like the various colors as it adds interest but in the bar, it came out the same in the end.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 2, 2014)

Thanks guys! I'm still planning to just use regular fine grain salt. I want it to look like my old bar and the pink might mess with the blue coloring. Also even fine it's a bit gritty. Someone commented on their sight that the fine grain pink salt was scratchy. 
Not to mention it costs more. 
I used some grey sea salt in a mens soap but you couldn't even tell it was gray in the soap, so pretty much a waste of money there. Like guys care much anyway LOL.


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## cmzaha (Jul 2, 2014)

I will mention that grinding salt in food processors or coffee grinders can leave very sharp edges. I cannot say how a burr grinder would do because my burr grinder is way to expensive to use for grinding salt... While I may not be an authority on salt bars I have made and usedthem for 5 yrs trying almost anthing that can be tried. If you play with dead sea salt and percentages it can be used, epsom no. San Francisco Salt Company has great deals on salts and they are pure opposed to what may come from a $.99 store.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 4, 2014)

Well, I made it. I shouldn’t complain because the process went really well. I decided to mix a few of the FOs together and it smells really nice. 
I'm not happy with the colors, I used way too much blue and the green is more of a Christmas green than a sea green  
Also, it just looks like regular soap, it’s all smooth. I kind of liked the cool look of the mix with chunkier salt, it looked like there was actually salt in the bar and gave it a really cool texture. But I realize that can be scratchy (although I used mine with a shower poof thing so I never noticed scratching). 
Anyway, I conformed to the rules lol and I'm still happy with it. If anything I just have to tweak the colors a bit.


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## detroitgirl77 (Jul 5, 2014)

Bex1982 said:


> I want to make a salt bar. I went to bramble berry and picked up their ocean rain fragrance (out of all of them this was the only one i liked for a salt bar), then when I got home I looked on the back and saw that it said it accelerates
> I'm using all coconut with 15-20 sf, haven't decided yet. Co already traces fast and I'd like to make 2 colors so I'm kind of worried.
> I was thinking about adding the fo to my salt and then mixing the salt in right before the pour. I'm wondering if the fo will ooze out or just be incorporated during saponification? Or will the salt stay oily or something?
> The other thing is that I saw sea salt at the dollar store and I was wondering if any of you have used it and if it's real sea salt. It's called San Francisco bay sea salt.



When I made my salt bars,  I used the same sea salt at 50% the weight of oils in my recipe, added just before the pour and they turned out great. Can't beat $1 for that salt!


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## cmzaha (Jul 6, 2014)

Since I sell, I do not use anything from a dollar store, but that is just me. I prefer to purchase my salts from San Francisco Bath Salt Company and know what I am getting. Bex, did you use grocery store fine sea salt? I use 120% salt in my bars using Pacific Sea Salt from SFBSC and it is still gritty and salty looking, bars made with fine table salt will tend to be smoother. Adding in a small portion of coarse ground Kosher table salt (in the blue box) will add in a little more grit. It is not a rock salt but a flaked salt that is a bit heavier.


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## Obsidian (Jul 6, 2014)

I made a batch with 100% kosher salt a while back but haven't used it for more then a occasional hand wash. I just went and washed for about 5 minutes to see what it was like. Its still smooth feeling, not scratchy at all but it does have a chunkier look then the fine salt I normally use.
It really pretty, especially with the blue color I used. I might have to use kosher salt more often.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 6, 2014)

I want to give that a try. So its flakes?


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## Obsidian (Jul 6, 2014)

Yes, smallish flakes but much bigger then table salt.


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## Bex1982 (Jul 6, 2014)

I dd like that the fine salt didn’t cause as much crumbling when I cut. The other one ad really crumbly bottoms. And drag lines.


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## Obsidian (Jul 6, 2014)

Yeah, I used medium salt once and my bars were really ugly. Crumbly edges and a lot of drag marks, not to mention badly scratched skin.
I don't know what kosher salt is like to cut, I used cavity molds.


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## Spice (Jul 6, 2014)

cmzaha said:


> I will mention that grinding salt in food processors or coffee grinders can leave very sharp edges. I cannot say how a burr grinder would do because my burr grinder is way to expensive to use for grinding salt... While I may not be an authority on salt bars I have made and usedthem for 5 yrs trying almost anthing that can be tried. If you play with dead sea salt and percentages it can be used, epsom no. San Francisco Salt Company has great deals on salts and they are pure opposed to what may come from a $.99 store.



This site is great. I will be getting my salt from here.


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