Mommysoaper
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I think your soaps look great smee! I have not tried soaping with pine tar yet, not sure I want to since it's crazy messy (I think) but I really like yours!
Pine Tar Batch # 3 - Simply Amazing!FANTASTIC UPDATE!
- Thread starter Dennis
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Here is my first pine tar soap. As usual the PVC mold gave me trouble even after mineral oil and freezing. Anyway, the recipe is 32% Olive, 24% each coconut and lard, 10% pine tar and 5% each of Castor and Avocado. I do have some voids do to the thickness going into the mold and some evidence of overheating but I do love the color. I can't wait to try it in a couple of weeks.
adoptapitbull
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I'm just going to throw out the assumption that a pine tar salt soap would be impossible to mold, correct?
I LOVE salt soap and make it exclusively. I have several customers asking about pine tar and I've said before that I didn't believe it would work well in a salt soap. Think it'd be possible if I added less than my standard amount of salt and poured at Superman speed?
I LOVE salt soap and make it exclusively. I have several customers asking about pine tar and I've said before that I didn't believe it would work well in a salt soap. Think it'd be possible if I added less than my standard amount of salt and poured at Superman speed?
"...I didn't believe it would work well in a salt soap...."
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I would make a test batch just to make sure, especially if you haven't ever made pine tar soap before. I believe pine tar is a bit of a temperamental ingredient, and you're adding another unusual ingredient to the mix.
Some tips -- Have your ingredients COLD. Not cool, not room temp ... COLD. Keep the oils as cool as possible without them hardening up. Use refrigerator-cold lye solution. Have the oils, pine tar, fragrance, and other ingredients thoroughly mixed before adding the lye solution. I didn't use castor in my pine tar batch because I had heard it can be troublesome, but obviously I can't verify that from personal experience. Use oils and FOs that slow or don't affect trace. Leave the stick blender off -- hand stir only.
I had 5-10 minutes to stir the batter together with a spatula before the batter reached light trace. That was plenty of time to get everything really well mixed, and the soap behaved very well for me. It was a little soft when I unmolded, but not too bad. Just needed a gentle touch. After 2 weeks, it is curing and hardening nicely.
I don't see why it wouldn't work, but I would make a test batch just to make sure, especially if you haven't ever made pine tar soap before. I believe pine tar is a bit of a temperamental ingredient, and you're adding another unusual ingredient to the mix.
Some tips -- Have your ingredients COLD. Not cool, not room temp ... COLD. Keep the oils as cool as possible without them hardening up. Use refrigerator-cold lye solution. Have the oils, pine tar, fragrance, and other ingredients thoroughly mixed before adding the lye solution. I didn't use castor in my pine tar batch because I had heard it can be troublesome, but obviously I can't verify that from personal experience. Use oils and FOs that slow or don't affect trace. Leave the stick blender off -- hand stir only.
I had 5-10 minutes to stir the batter together with a spatula before the batter reached light trace. That was plenty of time to get everything really well mixed, and the soap behaved very well for me. It was a little soft when I unmolded, but not too bad. Just needed a gentle touch. After 2 weeks, it is curing and hardening nicely.
amanda_hughes
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I thoroughly enjoyed (loved) reading this thread. I laughed a lot! Lol.. but this has definitely tickled my brain. I'm gonna have to experiment with this Pine Tar. Thank you for that 
adoptapitbull
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I thoroughly enjoyed (loved) reading this thread. I laughed a lot! Lol.. but this has definitely tickled my brain. I'm gonna have to experiment with this Pine Tar. Thank you for that
x2!
Having a farm, I go to the feed store and see that can of Pine Tar all the time. It's calling my name!
I will try a small salt bar batch just out of curiosity. A friend of mine has psoriasis so I will give the batch to her to test once I'm done.
Do we have a general consensus on scent? Can we add fragrance or will the tar stink it up?
The pine tar (PT) has a hot rubber or smoky odor, so spicy, woodsy, pine-y scents will go well with this, IMO. I made a 10% PT recipe, and added an EO blend of rosemary, Texas cedarwood, and lavender, 3% of my total oil weight.
The PT odor is really distinct at first, but fades with cure. After a month of cure, the PT odor, although not overly strong, is still dominant over the EO blend. I do think the EOs have mellowed the PT odor some -- the cedarwood especially. Next batch, I would probably make cedarwood the main EO over the rosemary and lavender. Some folks just use lavender and I could see how that would work too, especially if you had a strong, camporaceous lavender. This is not the recipe for sissy scents!
The PT odor is really distinct at first, but fades with cure. After a month of cure, the PT odor, although not overly strong, is still dominant over the EO blend. I do think the EOs have mellowed the PT odor some -- the cedarwood especially. Next batch, I would probably make cedarwood the main EO over the rosemary and lavender. Some folks just use lavender and I could see how that would work too, especially if you had a strong, camporaceous lavender. This is not the recipe for sissy scents!
amanda_hughes
Well-Known Member
How do you think nag champa fo would hold up against the PT?
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