Thank you and presuming the same weight of salt to oils?
Sorry beginner here!
Salt Bars
- Thread starter Marilyn Norgart
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Sorry beginner here!
No worries, happy to answer questions! Some people do 100% salt (equal to weight of oils), but 50% seems to be more common. Definitely use mostly CO or PKO with a high SF, since salt inhibits lather, and CO/PKO are very cleansing.
Thanks a mill x
Are salt bars made with fine salt "scrubby" at all? My partner and I dislike exfoliating soaps in general.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
Mine are a bit scrubby, but I typically use finely ground Himalayan pink salt (from Costco), which most people hate bc they say it scratches their skin.Are salt bars made with fine salt "scrubby" at all? My partner and I dislike exfoliating soaps in general.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
If you want non-scrubby, use the finest grind of plain, non-iodized salt you can find. I don’t find those scrubby at all, but again, my tolerance seems to be higher than others so perhaps they can weigh in with their experiences.
Normally my salt bars made with 100% salt will become smooth like a river rock using a mix of fine Pacific Sea Salt and table salt, but some salt varies and my last big batch of salt ended up prickly from the fine sea salt I used, just a note I would never use Himalayan Sea salt it can abrase the skin which you do not want.Are salt bars made with fine salt "scrubby" at all? My partner and I dislike exfoliating soaps in general.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
I haven't used it myself, but someone here at SMF said that popcorn salt is very smooth in salt bars. I've beeen meaning to buy some to try it out, but jsut haven't done so as yet.
ETA: I forgot to mention that I found plain table salt (the non-iodized version) to be very scratchy until almost 3 years cure. At just shy of 3 years, it finally feels smooth on my skin when using it.
Are salt bars made with fine salt "scrubby" at all? My partner and I dislike exfoliating soaps in general.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
ETA: I forgot to mention that I found plain table salt (the non-iodized version) to be very scratchy until almost 3 years cure. At just shy of 3 years, it finally feels smooth on my skin when using it.
It is interesting for years I used regular table salt with absolutely no problems and will probably go back to it when I make my final move since I will not have local access to supplies.
I use a recipe very much like @shunt2011 uses and we like it a lot at the bathroom sink.
Are salt bars made with fine salt "scrubby" at all? My partner and I dislike exfoliating soaps in general.
As much as folks rave about salt bars, if they're at all scratchy they won't be popular around here.
It's my skin. Not everyone has skin that feels the same amount of scratchiness as mine, as I have noticed repeatedly over the years. especially as related to shared experience here at SMF. But since Babyshoes was asking, and bith she & her partner have a problem with ingredients that may feel exfoliating (which to my skin = scratchy) I felt it fair to provide my experience. I should have also stated my skin may be more sensitive in general. I actually meant to, but apparently left that out. So thankyou for giving me the opportunity to clarify.
Peachy Clean Soap
Well-Known Member
So Agree' and perfect description & Quote...
" Science is magic, Soaping is science, Soap Is Magic" 
paillo
Well-Known Member
I make only salt bars, with fine Pacific sea salt and don't have any problems with scratchiness and have never had a complaint. I also would not use even fine Pink Himalayan salt, used to make those and even at five years they're still scratchy.
In all my years 10+ of making salt bars, I only had one problem with fine Pacific Sea Salt. It was a batch from Winco, which make my bars feel like prickly little needles. Sadly I made 2 batches so had 28 prickly salt bars. It was the only time I used bulk Pacific sea salt from Winco, I always purchased my Salt from San Francisco Salt Company.
Hi there! Have you tried simply dissolving fine sea salt in the lye water before pouring it in to the oils/butters? It works wonderfully !
paillo
Well-Known Member
I order my salts from San Francisco Saltworks too. I also make an activated charcoal facial salt bar with Dead Sea mud, extra activated charcoal, goat milk, CO, Avocado, Castor oils, scented with tea tree, lavender and just a little peppermint. My best batches were when I let a 10-pound bag of Hawaiian black salt harden into a rock and then finely grated it so it's really fine grained.
That would actually be a brine bar, not a salt bar. The amount of salt used for salt bars is more than one is able to dissolve into the lye solution.
I have made a brine bar, but as AliOop said, it is not the same thing. it's been awhile since I made one, and I don't really recall being impressed with it as a soap. I don't recall the recipe, however, so cannot be sure it would have been a good soap ore not. It was years ago and I haven't made one since.
- so personally I like the undissolved salt (salt bars) but sometimes I do both; dissolve salt and leave some undissolved. I think if you don’t like the feeling of the salt, then why not dissolve it?
As Ali said, one is a salt bar, the other is a brine soap.
That's not to say that one is better than the other, but they aren't the same. It's like saying "if you don't like barbecue chicken, you can just cook it in a stew instead" - both are chicken, but that doesn't mean that they are the same thing. Not that one is always better, just different, and some people will prefer one over the other.
I use salt at 80% of my oil weight when I make a salt bar and there is no chance of being able to use that much dissolved salt unless I use far too much water for the soap to be viable
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