Salt Bars

[Catscankim]

I have done so much reading on salt bars and i have settled on one recipe...85% coconut, 10% avocado, 5% castor. 50% salt. I gave out a bunch of guest sized bars to friends and have gotten great feed back. Not just great feedback...ppl actually hunt me down to tell me how much the love them. They are only at a 3 month cure. Been using them myself (sadly they use up quickly in the shower)

I love this recipe. It feels great.

made a loaf. This recipe stays nice and workable the whole time. So much so, that i needed to wait between pours (Did two colors layered and fragranced!)

Considering how workable it was, how long do you think i need to wait to unmold and cut? All my other salt bars were in cavity molds and i just unmolded the next day.

edit...20% superfat
edit again....i usually do my bars in cavity molds, this is my first time in a loaf mold

 

[Obsidian]

Mine usually take around 3 hours to set enough to cut. I've had it take less and once it took over 8 hours.
I generally poke at the loaf periodically until its ready.

 

[Catscankim]

Its been about an hour. I guess it has enough other oils in it to be like “regular soap” lol. The sides come off the mold well enough right now, just not the ends.

I just dont want to miss the unmolding/cutting phase. I usually use the cavity molds and pop them out when i wake up lol. First time with the loaf mold

 

[earlene]

I hope you have cut it by now. How did they come out?

 

[Guspuppy]

My last two salt bars have taken, respectively, 8 hours, and then the other was so soft after 10 hours that I CPOPd it overnight when it was made at noon!! I didn't cut it until 9 am the following morning. My recipe is 85% CO, 10% SAO, 5% castor. 17% SF. I soaped both really cold and don't know if that is why they took so long or what. They were small batches, 500g oils with 50% salt. I was actually astounded at how long they took to be unmoldable!

edited to correct times after looking at my actual notes.

 

[Catscankim]

My last two salt bars have taken, respectively, 14 hours, and then the other was so soft after 8 hours that I CPOPd it overnight when it was made at noon!! I didn't cut it until 9 am the following morning. My recipe is 85% CO, 10% SAO, 5% castor. 17% SF. I soaped both really cold and don't know if that is why they took so long or what. They were small batches, 500g oils with 50% salt. I was actually astounded at how long they took to be unmoldable!

I fell asleep waiting lol. Unmolded around 12 hours. They could have been done a little sooner, but overall they look pretty good. The bottoms were a little crumbly, but i like it. Shall call them rustic lol.

I also soaped cool. My lye was from a batch that i never made a few weeks ago. I tried to warm it up in a tub a hot water, but not really sure how warm it actually got.

This is my 5th batch of salt bars, so i think i am getting pretty good at knowing when to sb to, and when to pour with them. My very first batch was a plop in the mold technique, but they were also 100% CO, 20% sf. Adding the avocado really makes a difference.

I cut them with the cheese cutter because i didnt want to take the chance of breaking a string on my new single bar loaf cutter. The cheese cutter did well lol

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

Is there a trick to prevent the salt from settling to the bottom of the bars? The last few batches I've made as test batches the salt just settles on the bottom and it's crumbly.

 

[Catscankim]

They say to add salt at medium trace, which i didnt do. But my top layer is fine, so i am not sure that is why my bars are crumbly at the bottom. None of my previous batches had salt sink to the bottom. I add very early and stir a lot until it gets to a thicker trace, and i think the salt melts (for lack of a better word), before the pour.

 

[CatahoulaBubble]

They say to add salt at medium trace, which i didnt do. But my top layer is fine, so i am not sure that is why my bars are crumbly at the bottom. None of my previous batches had salt sink to the bottom. I add very early and stir a lot until it gets to a thicker trace, and i think the salt melts (for lack of a better word), before the pour.

Yeah I've tried that. Maybe I'm just using the wrong salt. lol I guess I will have to just pour into individual molds.

 

[Guspuppy]

I use canning salt at a medium trace. SB just a little to make sure its all throughout the batter. Doesn't seem to settle out and I can see salt crystals in the cut bars.

 

[Rsapienza]

I use fine sea salt and always add at medium-thick trace. I never SB, just sort of fold and stir it in good. I think if you added at thin trace, it would sink. I love salt bars! I tuck them away and forget about them for about a year or so. I have yet to attempt a loaf mold. I don't think I will as I like them in individual rectangle and oval molds.

 

[Guspuppy]

I want to get some individual molds for salt bars specifically, I just can't afford it yet!!

 

[shunt2011]

Its been about an hour. I guess it has enough other oils in it to be like “regular soap” lol. The sides come off the mold well enough right now, just not the ends.

I just dont want to miss the unmolding/cutting phase. I usually use the cavity molds and pop them out when i wake up lol. First time with the loaf mold

That’s actually my recipe and I cut them at 3 hours. But it will also depend on where you live and conditions. They are best at a year or more. I don’t personally use them for 12 months. They last long enough for me. Also I add the salt at light-med trace. If it’s too thin I just stir until it’s well combined. If it settles it gets crumbly on the bottom.

 

[Catscankim]

That’s actually my recipe and I cut them at 3 hours. But it will also depend on where you live and conditions. They are best at a year or more. I don’t personally use them for 12 months. They last long enough for me. Also I add the salt at light-med trace. If it’s too thin I just stir until it’s well combined. If it settles it gets crumbly on the bottom.

Thank you for the recipe . I just updated my notes so i remember where i got it. I have several from here... @Zany_in_CO no slime, @Obsidian lard bars.

Next batch i will add the salt at a little bit of a thicker trace.

Everything i have read was to cut no longer than 45 minutes. I made these in the middle of the night after work, so after waiting for an hour, i was done whether I wanted to be or not lol. Actually sat there most of the time holding in the sides of the mold because they bowed out so bad. As i thought they were going to be cuttable in 45 minutes i didnt go through the trouble of tying a string around the middle like i normally do. So i had a drinking hand and a mold-holding hand LOL. Eventually i supported it with two containers of palm oil. Just didnt think it was going to take that long. But my sides came out nice and straight lol.

Its crazy humid here, so that might have played a factor too.

 

[Obsidian]

If I'm planning a salt recipe in a loaf mold, I always make it in the morning so I can watch it through the day.
I don't know why some people get a fast set up and others don't. Mine rarely sets up quickly and I never get the fast trace so many speak of. If anything, high coconut recipes move so slow for me, its frustrating.

 

[cerelife]

My salt soap loaves have to be cut in about an hour, but I use a wooden loaf mold so the added insulation is probably part of the reason.
I also prefer a bar with more salt. My favorite is 80% table salt in a 90% CO 10% Castor recipe with 15% SF. I add the salt at the first sign of trace and then it moves like lightning. This isn't a recipe for swirls or multiple colors!! But it feels great on the skin after a 6 month cure, and even better after a year+ cure I think I got this recipe from Irish Lass, but I'm not sure since it's been years ago.
A couple of notes: the salt does NOT sink to the bottom nor does it 'melt' in this recipe - it remains visible throughout the bar for very mild exfoliation. This is more obvious in bars cut from a loaf mold. The recipe works equally well in individual silicone molds for a smoother/less rustic appearance - just have your molds handy and be prepared to pour fast. The slight graininess of the salt comes through during the first use in the shower, it's just a prettier presentation.

 

[shunt2011]

If I'm planning a salt recipe in a loaf mold, I always make it in the morning so I can watch it through the day.
I don't know why some people get a fast set up and others don't. Mine rarely sets up quickly and I never get the fast trace so many speak of. If anything, high coconut recipes move so slow for me, its frustrating.

Mine don't move fast either. I have plenty time to work with it. Only exception is if a FO goes bad.