First salt bar in the mold.

[boyago]

I do my HP salt bars at 80% coconut oil, 15% avocado oil, 5% castor oil, and SF at 20%. I do 50% salt and prefer fine black lava sea salt.

I've never heard of black lava sea salt. Is it really black and is that where your darker swirlys come from? Also are you HPing that?

 

[girlishcharm2004]

From what I've heard, watch out for stuff with extra minerals, such as Dead Sea salt.

I've heard to watch out for epsom salt and Dead Sea salt -- is it really because of the minerals? Would that mean a coarse kosher salt would be better?

For example, like this? http://www.webstaurantstore.com/regal-bulk-extra-coarse-kosher-salt-8-lbs/10200500.html

 

[Obsidian]

Epsom salt will ruin your soap as its the wrong kind of sodium. Dead sea salt will work but it often will make your soap sweat because of the high mineral count. All sea salt has minerals and so does the ancient sea salt I use with no issues.
I also wonder about kosher salt as I have a big box but I'm afraid the flakes will either dissolve in the batter or be too sharp in the bar. Someone should make a small test batch.
I've also used bath salts that I ground in a coffee grinder. Works good but the pieces were still a bit too big, I really like fine salt for soap.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

.....Someone should make a small test batch.........

Post pictures when you're done :mrgreen:

 

[Lin]

Epson salt ISNT sodium, its magnesium sulfate. I actually wonder how an epson or other magnesium salt bar might work as there's a lot of talk in the last couple years about magnesium deficiency and transdermal magnesium supplementation. There is no accurate test for magnesium deficiency because so little of the body's magnesium is carried in the blood. People with gastrointestinal problems are more likely to be magensium deficient, and less likely to be able to absorb magnesium from an oral supplement. Epson baths are a type of transdermal magnesium supplementation. Magnesium chloride is supposed to be better for a direct transdermal supplementation such as mag oil or lotion but epson which is magnesium sulfate is fine for baths. So if it would physically work in a soap bar, its interesting. Now did I just give away a great idea? haha. I think I might try it..

 

[Obsidian]

You are right Lin. People have tried making magnesium salt bar before and it doesn't work very well. Has something to do with the bar not dissolving in water so it won't lather. Soap scum is made up of magnesium salt so if you used epsom salt in soap, you'd basically be making a bar of soap scum.
I know its been done but I think the bar was a swirl of regular soap and magnesium salt so it would still lather. There was a big discussion on it awhile back but I don't remember all the technical stuff about it.

 

[Lin]

You are right Lye.

I think you've been soaping too much

 

[shunt2011]

Black sea salt is expensive here. I use it to sprinkle on top once in awhile.

 

[robnbill]

I used Hawaiian Black Salt in one of my recipes. I mixed it with standard coarse sea salt. I added French Green Clay for additional color and it looked and felt great. The black sea salt, which is actually sea salt and activated charcoal, gave a very textured look to the green soap.

 

[Obsidian]

Post pictures when you're done :mrgreen:

You are a enabler... kosher salt bars are hardening as we speak. Weird thing is, I used 100% salt and it didn't fast accelerate like fine salt does. I had to wait for it to get thick enough so the salt didn't sink before I could pour it.
Looks like some might have dissolved but that was probably from me stirring it so much.

I think you've been soaping too much

I think you are right

 

[boyago]

So, I was moving my soaps around today and the salt bars seem... dampish? When they went into my beutifull soap drying rack (a cardboard wine box with holes punched in the sides) they were very... soap like. Now they are kind of... damp soap like, little grainy. I know that the salt will pull moister from the air but I also think this will not help them curing any tips on how to keep them? I filled a coffee filter with rice and threw that in thinking the rice would wick moisture better than the soap and moved them into a plastic bin, but not really sure if that makes any sense. Tips welcome.

 

[Obsidian]

I would take them out of the box and put them on a shelf with open air movement. I don't store my salt bars until a 6-8 week cure.

 

[Crombie]

boyago - I made mine HP. You can read about Hawaiian Lava Sea Salt at: http://seasonalitybylogovida.blogspot.com/2011/06/shock-value-hawaiian-black-lava-sea.html. 19% of the salt is some 80 natural elements (electrolytes and trace minerals). robnbill - The rich, deep-black color is indeed due to the addition of activated charcoal. The charcoal comes from burned up coconut shells. Yes, it is expensive. I got a 25-pound pack of the fine grain from the San Francisco Salt Company for $69.80 with free shipping during a special two weeks ago. Why did I use it - in this instance I was going for the color - but, I also found it behaved better than other fine grain salts for some reason (which is why I ordered so much). You can see how it can affect color in the photos. Photo #1 has the Fine Grain Black Lava Sea Salt. Photo #2 is Fine Grain Himalayan Pink Sea Salt. I can tell a difference in the two salts and have a definite preference for the black.

 

[Lin]

Are those both with colorant added?

 

[cmzaha]

I've never heard of black lava sea salt. Is it really black and is that where your darker swirlys come from? Also are you HPing that?

Black Lava Sea Salt is actually Pacific Sea Salt that is infused with Activated Coconut Shell Charcoal. It is a very pretty black

 

[Obsidian]

The black salt definitely makes the brick bars look pretty awesome.

 

[Crombie]

Lin - yes, these salt bars have colorant. I used skin-safe "Vibrance" micas from Nuture Soaps.

 

[robnbill]

This is what my salt bar looks like after 84 days of curing. It was made with Black Sea salt as well as white sea salt with French Green Clay added for color. The Black salt really makes it look like granite when it is being used. The reflection is caused by the shrink wrap.

 

[AKjulz]

Robnbill, lovely soap, and nice stamp too! How coarse was the salt you used?

 

[boyago]

This is what my salt bar looks like after 84 days of curing. It was made with Black Sea salt as well as white sea salt with French Green Clay added for color. The Black salt really makes it look like granite when it is being used. The reflection is caused by the shrink wrap.

That is a fine looking soap!

Do you sell by the name Rob and Bill?