# How to make a M&P salt bar?



## candice19

I attempted to make a M&P salt bar, and I was sooooo excited.  My 2.5 ounce test recipe used:

1.5 ounces of dead sea salt
1.5 scant ounces M&P goat milk base
fragrance, color

I poured into a round silicone mold, and stirred for a bit until the salt became suspended.  The salt didn't melt because it was medium sized grains.

2 days later, the exposed part of the soap looks fantastic!  I go to unmold, and omg, it's SOGGY on the inside, and totally just breaking apart.  Not hard breaks, but breaking apart like wet sand.  Sorry I have no pictures.

Where did I go wrong?  How do you make a M&P salt bar?


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## pepperi27

I think it would be better to add epsom salts instead. The dead sea salts will disintegrate the base over time so unless your selling them immediately I would not advise using it. I heard somewhere someone else using the epsom salts but I haven't tried yet.


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## topcat

Hi Candice,

I made some MP salt soaps a while ago and they were great!  I used plain ordinary cooking salt (iodine free) which is just fine sea salt.  It was a real trial and error thing, though and I haven't tried to duplicate it yet....

These are my notes I made before, during and after:-



> Sea Spa Soap
> 
> 
> NOTE:  Try idea with MP soap – add same weight salt to soap base and pour into moulds?.....NO, NO, NO!!!  I used 600g base to 400g salt and made a mess!!!
> 
> 
> Halve the salt, so to 500gm clear base add 150gm sea salt, 6 drops colour and 1 tsp (40 drops) may chang eo
> 
> Okay…………still turned into a sludgy concrete!!!
> 
> Just have to manhandle into moulds pressing as you go to form it solid enough to take the shape and not have too many gaps.*grin*………



I ended up forcing the sludge into moulds very firmly - and I mean firmly - you really want to pack it in well, or else when it sets and cools it can become crumbly.

HTH!

Tanya


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## topcat

Here is a recipe I found on the net a while ago and haven't yet tried.  It seems to solve the problem of concrete-like sludge! :wink: 



> Melt and Pour Soap Recipe - Spa Soap
> by Carrie Grosvenor
> I love, love, love this soap. I make it all the time, and it gets used up, given away, or sold within a few days of the batch coming out of the molds. It looks gorgeous and works like a charm. This is Spa Soap (well, that’s what I’ve called it anyway - you’re free to come up with a more creative name of course), and it’s one of the best-selling soaps I’ve ever made.
> To make Spa Soap, you have to first whip up a batch of bath salts. Go ahead, I’ll wait. All done? Great! Let’s move on.
> I don’t have exact amounts to give you for this recipe, ’cause I usually just play around with the soap base I have on hand. If you need specific amounts though, let me know and I’ll measure next time I make them. Don’t be intimidated by the extra step here - it sounds a lot more complicated than it is.
> Here’s what you’ll need:
> •	transparent melt and pour soap base
> •	deep, individual soap molds - I use mini loaf pans, the ones that make single servings
> •	bath salts
> •	a shallow plastic tray that can handle the heat of melted soap
> •	soap colourant, any colour
> •	essential or fragrance oil, any scent (ocean scents are really nice in this one)
> •	basic melt and pour supplies: sharp knife, double boiler, spoons, etc.
> Melt a small amount of the soap base in a double boiler. You don’t need to add scent or colour at all. When the soap is melted and smooth, pour it into the plastic tray to create a thin layer of soap about 1/4 inch thick. Immediately sprinkle the bath salts over the soap, and press down gently to make sure they stick. (The soap is, of course, hot, so wear a glove or a ziploc freezer baggie over your hand to keep it protected.) Set aside to harden.
> When this bit of soap is cool and solid, remove it from the tray and tear it up into pieces. The pieces don’t need to be uniform, but they shouldn’t be any larger than one inch square. Divide the salty soap bits between your molds, scattered randomly.
> Melt enough soap base to fill the prepared molds. Add your colour and scent when the soap is melted, and pour it over the soap bits in the molds. Once again you’re required to have patience and wait until the bars have set - at least several hours, but it’s safest to leave them overnight.
> Pop the soap out of the molds (if you use bakeware like I do, running a sharp knife around the edges of the soap usually does the trick) and smooth any ragged edges with a vegetable peeler. Ta-da! Spa Soap!
> Wrap the bars in clear plastic wrap to keep them free of moisture until they’re ready to use.



Tanya


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## candice19

Thanks so much for the recommendations!

Tanya, just want to clarify that your first recipe using the table salt actually got so thick that you could pick it up and press it into molds?

And the second recipe, they say "bath salts" - should I use dead sea, epsom, or table salt?

thanks!!


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## pepperi27

I think i'm going to experiment tonight and do one batch with sea salt and another with epsom and see what happens!


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## candice19

Please let us know how that goes!  I don't have any epsom salt on hand, otherwise I'd try, too


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## topcat

candice19 said:
			
		

> Thanks so much for the recommendations!
> 
> Tanya, just want to clarify that your first recipe using the table salt actually got so thick that you could pick it up and press it into molds?
> 
> And the second recipe, they say "bath salts" - should I use dead sea, epsom, or table salt?
> 
> thanks!!



Yes, once I added the salt the texture was very like rubbery concrete :?   Hard to describe!  It was not stirrable really, but I used my hands (clean of course :wink: ) and scooped some out and pressed into my moulds very firmly so it was well packed in....trying for no gaps in the mix at all in the mould.  Just a sec, I will take a pic of one I have in the cupboard and post it here.....









You can see a sheen on the bar which is moisture from the air - I had it wrapped (not very well  ) in cling film.  In the shower these are awesome!  If you don't use it for a couple of days the salt crystals start "growing" on the soap - very pretty!

I don't know the answer to your second question....I haven't made that recipe yet.  Does anyone know what epsom or dead sea salt is like in MP?  Maybe play it safe and use sea salt - that does work in MP :wink: 

HTH!

Tanya


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## naomiheck

Dead Sea Salts don't work in cold process Salt Bars, so I would imagine they wouldn't in MP either.  Makes a weepy mess.  Stick with regular sea salt.


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## candice19

Thanks for the advice and trial!

I'm going on vacation, but will be SURE to try this out when I get back!


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## llineb

naomiheck said:
			
		

> Dead Sea Salts don't work in cold process Salt Bars, so I would imagine they wouldn't in MP either.  Makes a weepy mess.  Stick with regular sea salt.



oh...i am sooooo bummed.  i just ordered 3 bags of the dead sea salt thinking i was getting a good thing to make my salt scrub bars.  maybe i can use it for canning?
lara


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## scout

I was going thru some notes and found this recipe i had copied from somewhere.  
1/2 lb base ( not sure if melt and pour or rebatch)
1/2 lb foaming bath butter
1lb salt (I am guessing regular table salt.)
1 teas. butter or oil
FO
Color

Melt soap base, gently mix in FBB, Butter/oil, and FO. add color. Mix in salt and be ready to pour gets hard fast.  If using loaf molds cut while still warm or it will get too hard.

If anyone tries this I would love to hear how it turns out.


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## twilightluver

here is a pic of my salt bars..I used Asian Sea Salt,but I let it dry out real good before I used it..This was one of my first soaps to make 3 years ago..[/img]


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## bbkimberly

try sugar too! They make the cutest sugar cube scrubs!!


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## kevie192

topcat said:
			
		

> Here is a recipe I found on the net a while ago and haven't yet tried.  It seems to solve the problem of concrete-like sludge! :wink:



Has anyone actually tried out this recipe? If so, I would really appreciate it if you would share the weights of the ingredients to get this right.

Thanks,

Kevin x


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## BluebirdMama

You did pretty good! 



			
				twilightluver said:
			
		

> here is a pic of my salt bars..I used Asian Sea Salt,but I let it dry out real good before I used it..This was one of my first soaps to make 3 years ago..[/img]


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## tincanac

I'm jealous - wheneve I have tried to do salt bars - I end up with slimy thick sludge and it weeps and weeps and weeps and eventually I had to throw it all out.  I do reckon the embedded version should work though, be warned though - the salt bars, even my CP ones sweat like crazy!


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## ibariaSoap

I've always wanted to try a salt bar - twilight - yours are awesome!


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## the_soaptree

I did a search not too long ago and I came about a thread in the Teachsoap forum, the one linked to Brambleberry. It is a very long thread and it explains in detail how to make a M&P salt bar, some people had great results. Personally I tried it but could not achieve a bar hard enough, having said that, it was perfectly useable, just not something I was confident enough to sell. Check it out if you have time. I don't know how to link


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