I still do not know what is the reason for making a salt soap. What is the attraction? ...is it better than regular and if so what makes it better.
thanks!!
Michele
I don't think salt soaps are necessarily better, but just different.
I personally like them best for sink-side use (i.e., for washing hands). They're quite hard, very long-lasting, and they don't get all soft and goopy if used frequently in a short span of time (i.e., if several people go to wash their hands one after the other). I also find them to be quite refreshing in the shower on a hot summer's day.
I make the 'spa bar' type (as opposed to the soleseife type that Seven mentioned) ) with 100% coconut oil, 25% sea salt as per pound of my oils, and 100% coconut milk (or goat milk), and I superfat them @ 13%. I also like coloring them in such a way that they look like granite.
Here's a pic of one of the best granite-looking salt bars I ever made, sitting next to a piece of actual pink granite from our back yard:
I used a small bit of red Hawaiian sea salt as part of my total sea salt amount, and I swirled the batter with rose clay and a bit of Dead Sea mud. I wanted the mud to come out speckled-looking, so I just tossed the mud into the batter and lightly hand-stirred it around with a spatula.
The more salt you use, the more rock-solid hard they are, and the less lathery (although they still produce good lather when made with a very high amount of coconut oil).
One of these days I want to try my hand at making a soleseife batch.
IrishLass
