I dissolved my pink Himalayan salt in distilled water, then boiled off the water, put in over to dry the sludge....makes pink powder...someone else here did that. What a mess, but it is one way to make your Himalayan salt very fine..pretty pink bar, no clay needed!
Benefits of a salt bar?
- Thread starter Carly B
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Thanks for the tip. I will see how the salt bars are after a few months and warn the girls if it is scratchy. I like the idea of a brine bar too. I want to do a bright white bar
A
amd
I used extra fine pink himalayan salt and it left scratches on my husband. I stick with pickling and canning salt now for his salt bars.
My husband loves salt bars for his oily skin. He can barely wait the 4 months I make them cure (I would really like to do 6 months). He has been known to sneak one off the cure rack because he gets too impatient if I'm not on top of his supply, which I am usually not. That reminds me... I have some hidden from him that are almost two years old, I should throw those at him while his finish the last month of curing.
Save those when you need to gain points 
I am the one that successfully “saved” scratchy pink Himilayan salt. I was able to obtain a sugary fine salt, almost a powder. My method and photos are here. My guess is that there are different varieties of pink Himilayan salt being sold and maybe I got lucky. My salt did not contain clay. I know that because every bit of the salt dissolved completely in the water before I started to boil it dry and clay does not dissolve in water.
I couldnt remember who t'was...thanks for posting this info again! My salt did turn out fine also...maybe a tiny bit of clay but still didnt become scratchy in the soap. I believe there are different varieties of pink salt also...some seem to have much more clay, maybe the darker pink salt.
I am glad yours turned out okay, the problem is it only takes one sharp piece to cause a nasty laceration and you do not see it until it is too late. The main point is, why risk it, when salt bars can be colored to match Himalayan salt. A few years ago I made a double batch of salt bars using a fine Pacific Sea Salt from Winco which I had used before and they turned out so prickly I could not sell them. The worst part is, I knew it did not feel right but ignored it, and I have been making salt bars 10+ yrs. I also learned the hard way many many years ago how deceptive it is when you grind soap yourself. Another big no no.
I suppose, in my case, its a perhaps misguided effort to provide the wonderful healing minerals into a soap bar...that Dead Sea salt and Himalayan salt have..but it turns out using them in a soap is problematic so.....better kept to bath salts, tho I have made soleseife bars with Dead Sea salt..not very much in the water compared to what is usually used and they turned out ok. Nice, in fact... ALSO...I use a washcloth with soap always, so the scratch factor does not exist for me.....in the future I will be more mindful. Best practices in general.
It's good that y'all are sharing the info about Himalayan pink salt. I had planned to use some for salt bars but now I'll stick to plain, fine sea salt.
If anyone has bought the Himalayan for soap, you can use it in your cooking. (Is there Himalayan salt that isn't food safe? I've only seen it for cooking.) Meat, and beef in particular, is AMAZING with pink salt. If you have a steak or roast, you can skip any other seasoning or just add a bit of pepper. The minerals of the salt really make the natural flavors come through. You could use it on veg too if you like, but I usually stick with sea or kosher salt because I almost always add garlic, which would probably overpower the subtle mineral flavors.
If anyone has bought the Himalayan for soap, you can use it in your cooking. (Is there Himalayan salt that isn't food safe? I've only seen it for cooking.) Meat, and beef in particular, is AMAZING with pink salt. If you have a steak or roast, you can skip any other seasoning or just add a bit of pepper. The minerals of the salt really make the natural flavors come through. You could use it on veg too if you like, but I usually stick with sea or kosher salt because I almost always add garlic, which would probably overpower the subtle mineral flavors.
...and how many wonderful healing properties do we really think will survive the lye monster. I am guessing very very few and then those wash down the drain in a few seconds.
Yup, much more beneficial 
sirtim100
Well-Known Member
Couldn't resist showing off my first salt bar...
Unscented and pearly white.
Unscented and pearly white.
Thats beautiful!!
sirtim100
Well-Known Member
Thank you both
The effect of the salt in giving such a clean, pristine edge from the mould is wondeful. I really don't much like the idea of using them, but then beauty, like anything, is transient...
Sorry, listening to William Basinski, who tends to turn people into pompous Zen monks, or at least that what he does to me
The effect of the salt in giving such a clean, pristine edge from the mould is wondeful. I really don't much like the idea of using them, but then beauty, like anything, is transient...
Sorry, listening to William Basinski, who tends to turn people into pompous Zen monks, or at least that what he does to me
I've decided that I may not make any more salt bars. Or at least if I do, I will make them with 'manly' scents and 'manly' colours to market to men. I think, even with 20% superfat that they are too drying.
I only have six batches of soap under my belt so far, but with all this talk about salt soap, I decided to give it a shot. My daughter has occasional acne breakouts, so I'm going to see if the salt bars help her out. They turned out looking great, so now we wait for six months. Hopefully, they won't be too drying for her.
Out of curiosity, why would you market a soap that you think is too drying to men?
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I think it's coz a number of people who do sell say that the men look for a more "cleansing" soap, compared to the women who want a more "moisturizing" soap. Can't remember where I read that...
@KiwiMoose how long did the ones you have/sold cure?
