Salt soap....again

[IrishLass]

Thank you, new12soap and Irish Lass.

Irish Lass, I'm excited to try your recipe! I made one the other day and I didn't superfat it, well, except for the usual 5%, and I think I added to much salt. 10 Oz to a pound of oil. Is there anything I could do with this bar? I guess it is usable.....but not the best.

Don't worry, Loolee- you may end up liking your soap just fine. You actually added less salt than my first salt bar batches contained. The first salt bars I ever made contained 100% salt as per my oils, were superfatted at 8%, and they didn't come out horrible or anything like that by any means. They were actually great soaps and felt fine to me. I think the high amount of salt actually acted as a sort of buffer to mellow the uber cleansing/drying power of the high amount of CO. Well, that's my theory anyway and I'm sticking to it. :wink: At any rate, they did not feel drying to me, whereas a 100% CO soap without salt and with a superfat below 10% does feel drying to me.

Having said all that, though, in the scheme of things I like the salt bar formula I make now much better.


IrishLass

 

[Loolee]

Irish Lass, My theory is a bit different than yours. I think the salt softens the water. Have you ever bathed in a shower that had a water softener? They use salt to soften it and it makes the water very slippery. My mother in law has one and I hate it b/c it leaves me feeling like I haven't properly rinsed off. I do wonder what kind of salt is used in a water softener.....

That being said, my salt bar leaves my skin really dry... but I've been having issues with dry skin lately anyway... age I guess. I think anyone with better skin will find its very nice.

Have you tried other recipes that have shea and other oils? I've seen several and I was wondering what the differences were.

 

[Genny]

My mother in law has one and I hate it b/c it leaves me feeling like I haven't properly rinsed off. I do wonder what kind of salt is used in a water softener.....
quote]

Usually either solar salt, evaporated salt or rock salt.

 

[alabama49]

IrishLass--thanks for sharing your recipe....I want to try that this weekend!! Can I use Kosher canning salt? I have a 4lbs box left over from canning. Its a pretty fine salt-probably finer than table salt. Also, do you have success using other oils in addition to or instead of coconut oil? I'm a wee bit concerned about the dryness using the 100% coconut oil.
Thanks!

 

[Genny]

Also, do you have success using other oils in addition to or instead of coconut oil? I'm a wee bit concerned about the dryness using the 100% coconut oil.

The important thing about using 100% coconut oil is superfatting. Using only coconut oil with a 5% superfat can be pretty drying. Up that to 20% superfat and it's quite lovely.

 

[Davika]

I need to try this!!

 

[alabama49]

OK-I have to run this thru the soap calc. but where do I list the salt or do I?

 

[Hazel]

Can I use Kosher canning salt?

I recommend starting with a small batch if you want to use Kosher salt. I've never used it myself but a couple of people mentioned they experienced problems with it. Other people have said it works fine for them. You can also use regular table salt.

You can add other oils to your salt bars but you still want to use a high percentage of coconut oil. The CO and salt is what creates the foamy lather. I like to add another oil in even though I use a high superfat. I have dry, sensitive skin and a blend of oils works better for me than using 100% CO.

You don't list the salt when you're calculating the lye for the oils.

 

[brandnew]

I f you have dry skin do you use less than 100% salt in the bars?

 

[Hazel]

You shouldn't find a salt bar drying as long as you use a high superfat. I have dry skin so I use 20% SF in batches in which I use water as the liquid and 17%-18% SF when I add cream or buttermilk. Again, it comes down to personal preference. IrishLass uses 13% SF with coconut milk which works for her and other people who've tried the recipe love it. I tried a lower SF and found the salt bars too drying. I do use less than 100% salt but that's because I found I preferred about 70% salt in my batches.

 

[brandnew]

thanks!and thank you for the other reply!

 

[Hazel]

You're welcome!