Salt bars...what size of salt grain do I get???

SoapyGoats · Apr 30, 2014

I'm thinking of trying a salt bar, but what grain-size should I get?
I'm looking at these 2 salts. (Saffire Blue has fine grain of each salt as well)

http://www.saffireblue.ca/shop/salts-and-lye/himalayan-sea-salt-coarse

http://www.saffireblue.ca/shop/salts-and-lye/dead-sea-salt-coarse

jules92207 · Apr 30, 2014

I just made a batch and I followed these directions:

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/beyondbasics/ss/How-To-Make-Salt-Soap-Bars.htm

On this section the recommendation is not to use dead sea salt:
http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/beyondbasics/ss/How-To-Make-Salt-Soap-Bars_6.htm

Mine have only been sitting a few days but they smell and look amazing, I can't wait to try them!

Seawolfe · Apr 30, 2014

I would be afraid to use coarse salt as anything but an accent on the top, I would be worried it would be scratchy and even more crumbly than regular salt.

Mind you, Ive only made 2 salt bars, but I love them dearly and will keep making them with plain old canning salt

Edit - If I had to pick from the website in the OP, I would pick fine sea salt and fine himalayan salt - maybe both and make a two toned salt bar, half with red and half with white

Sagebrush · Apr 30, 2014

I've only used pink Himalayan salt, so I can't speak for any other salts. But, I do recommend fine grain. The first salt bar batch I made, I used coarse and it's almost unusable. I put it away for about a year to see if that would help (or at least make the heart grow fonder)

The big pieces of salt just crumble out and don't dissolve.
I've made two batches since with the fine salt and 93% coconut oil/7% Shea butter, and they're luxurious!

Obsidian · Apr 30, 2014

I use either fine grain sea salt or canning salt. I did use medium grain once and it was pretty scratchy, I had red streaks all over my body after using a bar. I could see the potential for a cut.

SoapyGoats · Apr 30, 2014

Ok, thanks! I'll get fine grain then.

Soap Techniques · Apr 30, 2014

SoapyGoats said:
http://www.saffireblue.ca/shop/salts-and-lye/dead-sea-salt-coarse

Dead sea salt usually does not work well in soap, as it contains a high percentage of minerals that interfere with saponification. DEAD sea salt has a different mineral content than regular (sea) salt.

Saponista · May 3, 2014

I made a rookie mistake and used really coarse rock salt to make my first ever salt bars. They set within seconds so I had to shove my gloves hands into hot solid soap 'batter' and try and smoosh it into the mold. I did separate cavity molds and the soap did turn out ok, but it was very crumbly and a bit sharp on the skin so I would use fine grain. Have you thought about using the euro salt bar recipe 'soleseife' in another thread? You dissolve the salt in the water first. I made that recently and was really pleased with it, much better than my crumbly disaster bar.

SoapyGoats · May 3, 2014

Does it still have a salt scrubby feel? Or does it feel like regular soap?

Saponista · May 4, 2014

I haven't ever made a salt bar with fine grain salt so I can't compare, but it does feel a bit scrubby as 100% of the salt didn't completely dissolve.

Obsidian · May 4, 2014

Salt bars don't feel scrubby at all. The salt dissolves quickly as you use the bar so there really isn't time for it to be scrubby.

cmzaha · May 12, 2014

Actually depending on the type of salt some will stay a bit scrubby. My "Kelpie" bars are always a bit scrubby even with fine salt but it is the particular salt I use. On the other hand my Pumpkin Salt bars become just like a piece of glass. Salt water does naturally have gentle exfoliation properties and softens

jules92207 · May 13, 2014

I've noticed a pretty big difference in the definition of "fine" too - I've gotten two different brands of "fine sea salt" and I noticed one was definitely bigger than the other in size.

Just an interesting observation.

Silverwolf · May 13, 2014

If the salt is too coarse just run it through a coffee grinder and you can get powdered salt this way if your so inclined.

Sagebrush · May 13, 2014

Just a note...I went to buy Himalayan pink sea salt from Salt Works and noticed that the same salt powdered instead of fine grain was half the price. I was maybe going to give the soleseife soap a try, so I bought the powdered because it will dissolve faster.

Annfine · Mar 15, 2017

I don't think the salt grain size matters, because the salt will be dissolved in distilled water. Unless your not dissolving your salt, but putting the grains directly in the soap.

lenarenee · Mar 15, 2017

I've used several grains and types of salt and ended up liking the finest grain, and usually the cheapest priced salt. The finer the grain the more cohesive the end result of your bar; meaning it have a more uniform, solid texture that's also more professional looking. I also mixes better - even with an accelerating fo. The larger grains make a more rustic looking bar.

Himalayan salt, even in small amounts was scratchy.

toxikon · Mar 15, 2017

Silverwolf said:
If the salt is too coarse just run it through a coffee grinder and you can get powdered salt this way if your so inclined.

I was always under the impression that grinding down coarse salt was a bad idea because it would make little sharp shards of salt that could irritate skin.

Arimara · Mar 15, 2017

Annfine said:
I don't think the salt grain size matters, because the salt will be dissolved in distilled water. Unless your not dissolving your salt, but putting the grains directly in the soap.

That's exactly how you make salt bars. You will ALWAYS want a fine or extra fine grain of pure salt and you may want to really do the research before attempting to use pink himalayan salt in a salt bar.

toxikon said:
I was always under the impression that grinding down coarse salt was a bad idea because it would make little sharp shards of salt that could irritate skin.

KEEP THAT IDEA AFLOAT!!! Microscopic cuts on your skin will make you hate salt bars for forever and a day.

BrewerGeorge · Mar 15, 2017

Arimara said:
...

KEEP THAT IDEA AFLOAT!!! Microscopic cuts on your skin will make you hate salt bars for forever and a day.

The best way to make super fine salt from bigger crystals is to dissolve as much as you can in hot distilled water and then boil away the water. You can get crystals as fine as talcum powder that way.

Salt bars...what size of salt grain do I get???

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