Attempt #1 Pine tar

[atiz]

These look great! Like black granite or something....
I'm thinking of trying to make a pine tar soap. Never done it, and will see if I get to it, but sounds so interesting!

 

[Ant]

These look great! Like black granite or something....
I'm thinking of trying to make a pine tar soap. Never done it, and will see if I get to it, but sounds so interesting!

They aren't as black as they look in pic, more like a deep, deep blackish chocolate brown stout. I used 2 tbsps of Mad Micas Activated coconut charcoal powder as the colorant. I think next time I make this, I'll use a mica or black oxide for color to get more of a black instead of brown.

Also when you see the batter go from glossy to not quite as glossy, it's time to stop stirring IMMEDIATELY and pour. At that point, there's no more time for even one more go-round -- get 'er in the mold.

This is invaluable information if you decide to do it. I personally had a lot of fun making it.

 

[Obsidian]

I would also be ok paying more if I had someone special to make tar soap for but no one else will touch them. Brown soap seems to turn most people off. Might have to try the auson sometime, it does sound nicer.

@Ant I don't know if any of the neem properties survive the lye but its worth a try. I actually really like the scent once its cured, kinda like black tea.

My favorite pine FO is balsam pine from natures garden. It smells the most realistic, not like a fake Christmas tree.

Your bars look great, glad they turned out well. I'd stay away from Dr. Squatch, I've read some pretty bad reviews that question the authenticity of their oils.

 

[linne1gi]

First attempt at making pine tar soap. Absolutely a

I did the method of splitting the oils, mixing the pine tar into one half of split oils, then added my eo/fo to. Second half of oils I mixed the lye solution into, brought to emulsion, then mixed in by hand 2 tbsps of achivated charcoal. Was at a light trace.

I got impatient and mixed oils and lye solution at 120f temp. Wish I had waited til room temperature. Grrrr.

Added the pine tar oil mix to the light trace batter, stirred by hand.

It was this beautiful, shiny very fluid black mixture for probably 20 seconds then BAM! Within 5 more seconds of stirring it turned to thicccccck batter. Got half of it into the mold, I was using my hands to smoosh it down. It was already taking the shape of the bottom of the bowl by the time I got to the bottom half of mixture.

It looks so bad. Had shiny chunks of soap, then this really gritty looking batter. Just looked under the lid and its pooling little bubbles of something on top.

How can I save it and make it presentable if whatever is pooling reabsorbs?

View attachment 48027 What should i have done instead? Other than soaping at room temp.

I'm so glad you posted this! I have just ordered Pine Tar to make my first Pine Tar soap. I had heard to not stick blend at all - just whisk. Did you stick blend?

 

[Ant]

I'm so glad you posted this! I have just ordered Pine Tar to make my first Pine Tar soap. I had heard to not stick blend at all - just whisk. Did you stick blend?

I followed the method that deeanna described on her website here under the "how to make pine tar soap" second. I split the oils in half, mixed the tar with one half of oils and added the fo into it. Mixed the lye solution into the other half and only stick blended that half to a very light trace.

She describes it fully in her post. Don't do what I did and soap too hot and then over stirred it by hand lol

 

[Becky1024]

I've never made PT soap before so just asking - could you plop the batch in a crockpot and HP it to thin it down enough to put into a mold?

 

[Elise Noel]

They look awesome @Ant ! I really like pine tar soap. Yes it is smelly, but an attractive smelly (for me anyways). My formulation has aloe and colloidal oatmeal in it, but I find that it “melts” faster than all my other soap formulas. Not sure if it’s the formula or the pine tar. Anyone else finds that is disappears faster than regular soap?

 

[linne1gi]

I've never made PT soap before so just asking - could you plop the batch in a crockpot and HP it to thin it down enough to put into a mold?

There are people who HP pine tar soap.

 

[Ant]

I've never made PT soap before so just asking - could you plop the batch in a crockpot and HP it to thin it down enough to put into a mold?

Thats beyond my skill level, I've never hotprocessed before. Hopefully someone else more experienced can chime in for you.

Anyone else finds that is disappears faster than regular soap?

Don't know from experience, but from what I've read pine tar makes a softer soap overall and more soluble.

 

[goat soap rulz!]

I dont know about yall, bet we use pine tar to repel flies around the farm, and that stuff smells horrible! Yall are using it in soap? Does it still smell like burning rubber?

 

[atiz]

I dont know about yall, bet we use pine tar to repel flies around the farm, and that stuff smells horrible! Yall are using it in soap? Does it still smell like burning rubber?

I haven't made one (yet!), but from what I've read I gather that how bad it smells really depends on the kind of pine tar. Some are described as more "burnt rubbery" than others.
I'm getting more and more curious about this, will really need to get some pine tar...

 

[Ant]

What atiz said. Depends on what brand you use. I imagine how much you use along with what fo/eo that's used that compliments the pine tar smell will affect the end result.

The Auson brand I used has a smoke smell rather than the rubber. Today, the smell isn't as strong thank god. Seriously thought it wouldn't be usable but if it keeps mellowing I will be happy lol Will be curious how it develops over the next few weeks.

 

[Lynne]

I don't notice any rubber smell coming from the Auson brand you recommended. Out of can, super strong but right now its mellowed out considerably than yesterday. I'm getting the smoke and the fo. If the smoke dies down more, I think he will like it.

He tried one from Dr. Squatch and that had this great piney tree smell he loved, I thought it was nice too but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't use much pine tar In it, like for label appeal. Manly man use pine tar as I roar from mountain marketing lol Used one from Grandpas company and that one he didn't care for, strong smoked meat smell.

Out of stock already =(

 

[Obsidian]

Even the more burnt rubber smelling pine tar mellows with cure

 

[RacerSpuffy]

I’ve had success with warming up the pine tar to around 100-105 (for ease of sucking into a large syringe). I prep all the oils and lye water first and then mix them and stick blend. Just when I think it’s emulsified I stop stick blending and get out a hand whisk. Then I take the pine tar syringe and squirt it into the emulsification and stir with the whisk. Once it’s a uniform color (10s or so) I pour. May need multiple syringes depending on how much you are making. I got the largest one I could find at the same place I got my pine tar, Tractor Supply Company.

 

[Ant]

Then I take the pine tar syringe and squirt it into the emulsification and stir with the whisk.

Do you ever have issues with getting the pine tar thoroughly mixed before it sets up? I was worried about spots of free floating pine tar when I made that.

 

[Malleebird]

Also when you see the batter go from glossy to not quite as glossy, it's time to stop stirring IMMEDIATELY and pour. At that point, there's no more time for even one more go-round -- get 'er in the mold.

DeeAnna, I wondered if you would have any idea why my pine tar did what it did last week ? I posted in "What soapy things...." #16,352. As I said in the post I followed your instructions to the letter, only tweaking the oils a bit according to what I had. The pine tar I used was 100% Pure Stockholm Tar.
It unmolded and cut beautifully in the end... too beautifully actually It looks nothing remotely like the other pictures I've seen !
I was just a little disappointed in the colour and thought that I would up the pine tar to 15% next time.
Thinking back...and reading the link you put in to David Fischer, the only thing I didn't do was to stir the pine tar first. Could this have been the problem ?

 

[DeeAnna]

I'm not quite sure what your specific concern is. Would be nice if you'd just summarized the other post here. But the picture makes me wonder -- are you puzzled that the color is lighter than other people's pine tar soap?

You mention "pure Stockholm tar" but I have no idea what that product is, especially since you're located in Australia and might be sourcing this product from companies not selling in the US. A direct link to the exact product would be nice.

Assuming your concern is about the color -- No, it won't make a difference whether you stir the pine tar into the oils or stir it into the batter as the last ingredient added. The problem that can happen by stirring the PT into the batter at the end is the PT might not get mixed into the batter well enough. This won't greatly affect the overall color, however.

Most of the time pine tar soap is pretty dark, but some is honey colored like yours. The color variation may be due to the specific product used and perhaps even to differences from batch to batch. The color may also vary from company to company based on how each manufacturer does the pyrolysis (the heating process that creates the tar). Also, some "pine tar" is not pure pine tar, or it is a tar made from woods other than pine (birch tar is an example).

If you don't like the color, I'd try another brand. It's not a defect -- it's just a normal variation in a product made from natural raw materials. I actually like this color, but that's just me.

 

[Malleebird]

Thanks @DeeAnna... I'm thrilled if you think my soap is Okay I was just so worried that I'd done something major wrong when......after I added the lye I had to stir for 45 minutes before I noticed any change at all, and even then it just change from dark chocolate to milk chocolate and was still glossy.
Here is the link to the fact sheet about the pine tar I used.
http://equinade.com/pdfs/FS_stockholmtar.pdf

 

[Malleebird]

No, it won't make a difference whether you stir the pine tar into the oils or stir it into the batter as the last ingredient added. The problem that can happen by stirring the PT into the batter at the end is the PT might not get mixed into the batter well enough. This won't greatly affect the overall color, however.

Just re read your response @DeeAnna.... sorry I had meant that I didn't stir the container of pine tar before I used it.