Tea tree and pine tar for dry skin?

[Obsidian]

I just got a request for a tea tree and tar soap for dry skin. I've not heard of either of these helping with dryness, will they?

Any suggestions on the % of tar? I don't want to use a lot, just enough to darken the bar some and add a bit of scent.

I'll make what they want and use a lower amount of coconut so it's milder.

 

[Snowbell]

Not an expert by any means. I finally made a pine tar soap ( it's been on my bucket list for a while). From what I have read, pine tar to have full benefits is used at 10%. I used 5% in my own with 5% neem oil. Having never used pine tar soap before, it feels waxy? Not sure if that's the right word. Depending on your brand of pine tar I'm not sure you will even smell the tea tree. I didnt fragrance mine and all I smell is strong pine sol. Be prepared you have less than five minutes to get that sucker into the mold. Good luck.

 

[NsMar42111]

On me, pine tar soap really helps when I have irritated areas or troubled spots like elbows or when I've been in contact with something growing that my skin doesn't like, so it should help on dry skin....

 

[Obsidian]

Oh, I've used pine tar before but usually at 20% or more so I know about the fast trace. 10% sounds like a good amount, I'll fiddle around with a recipe and see what I can coe up with.

Thanks NsMar42111 , I just don't want this soap to be a waste of time. I'm assuming he's used a tar and tea tree soap before that he liked but I don't know if its those ingredients that helped or if it was just a mild soap. They are actually two of my least favorite scents, not looking forward to this batch

 

[Buckscent]

I have done a couple PT and TT loafs. I used 10% PT and people love it, i also use goats milk for my liquid.

 

[KristaY]

PT & TT is one of those batches I keep on hand at all times. I have people that use nothing else and swear by it. I use PT at 15% and TT at 0.6 ppo. I think the TT blends well with the PT scent. I also make it in LS and it's my SIL's favorite because of the scent. Ya, he's a goof ball!:-?

ETA: I also use aloe vera juice as my lye liquid.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Notes on Pine Tar Soap

Notes from my files:

pine tar, a vegetable product, is a thick blackish brown goo with a distinctive woody scent obtained by distillation of the pine tree wood. Good quality pine tar should smell only faintly of pine trees.

Sap: 0.0431
use rate: 10-25% of oil weight.

You can buy pine tar at a local feed store.

Historically, pine tar has been used to heal wounds and to remove the scales of psoriasis, eczema, dry skin, acne and dandruff. In soap, it's also exceptionally good at removing underarm odors.

Soap with pine tar also makes an excellent pet soap. It's very soothing to their skin and tends to discourage bugs from getting on them.

Commercial pine tar soaps generally only have 3% pine tar in them which is not enough. People with psoriasis or eczema need soap with 20% pine tar in it, often curing their condition.

Tips: Warm first in a disposable dish. Add with the oils or at light trace.

Warning: Pine tar added to soap makes it set up in 28 seconds. Be sure you have everything ready to pour before adding it, then immediately pour it into the mold.

Do not discount water.

Natural scent is harsh but mellows as it cures. (if you sub goat's milk, be prepared to banish the soap to an unused room while it cures. The scent of milk and pine tar curing together can bring tears to your eyes!). Cp takes longer to cure. Very hard bar, long-lasting, dark brown; creamy white lather; very soothing.

It's a shame that Pine Tar Soap isn't allowed to be sold by handcrafted soapers because of its perceived medicinal value. It's a wonderful old fashioned soap that folks literally have to search everywhere for. I make it with aloe juice and 20% PT. I mix it with my oils the night before and soap in the morning and even then it comes together in less than a minute. (I set a timer the first time I made it! 28 seconds is correct!!! :mrgreen: )

 

[DeeAnna]

I've heard 20% is the minimum amount of PT for efficacy, but honestly I haven't discovered any real reasoning for that number. It's one of those "they say it is so" pieces of advice, so I don't take it too seriously.

If you wash with PT soap like any other soap, it's rinsed off in seconds, so it has limited time to do any good, if it actually does have some good. Even the old soap makers of 100+ years ago were not convinced it had much effect. But if you want to give a medicinal soap some chance to have an effect, it's better to make a lather and leave the suds on the skin for a minute or two.

I think the infamous "grandpa's pine tar soap" is most likely well under 10% PT -- I'm guessing about 5% from a tidbit I stumbled across once (and promptly lost). My PT soap at 10% is always black-brown, but I've seen other 10% PT soaps that are a caramel brown. "Grandpa's" is a golden brown like brown sugar.

Here are my tips about making PT soap: https://classicbells.com/soap/pineTarSoap.html

 

[Obsidian]

Thanks for the link Deeanna, it was interesting.

I've personally not seen pine tar do a thing for my skin but who knows, it might be just what this guy needs.
I think 10% is enough to give him what he wants without compromising my original recipe too much. I'm reducing the coconut and safflower by 5% each.

 

[earlene]

But if you want to give a medicinal soap some chance to have an effect, it's better to make a lather and leave the suds on the skin for a minute or two.

I concur. I use medicinal shampoo and have to leave it on my scalp for several minutes in order to it to actually work. If I simply lather and rinse it does nothing for my condition. I really don't know if I ever would have come up with this on my own, even though it is quite logical. My doctor told me the first time he prescribed medicinal shampoo. He said, lather it up, pile your hair up on your head and cover with a plastic shower cap. Then leave it for several minutes to allow time for the medicinal lather to penetrate and do it's work. I actually switched from that prescription shampoo to an OTC tar shampoo using the same method when the condition flaired up again. Following this method keeps my scalp in great shape for a long time before I get another flair-up.

 

[Obsidian]

I will suggest he leave the lather on his skin for at least 5 minutes for best results.

I too use medicated shampoo and leave it on my scalp for 10-15 minutes. I generally apply it before I shower so I don't have to stand around in the water as long.

Got the nasty tar soap made. Turns out 10% accelerates just as quickly as 25%, glad I decided to hand stir it.
The tea tree pretty much covers the scent of the tar but it smells just as bad to me. This batch is going in the basement to cure.