What Do You Like About Salt Bars?

[cmzaha]

The salt bar is one of my favorites. My recipes tend towards 80% salt. I use it to wash my face in the morning - my skin is easily and often damaged and prone to breakouts - salt bars seems to help heal damage more quickly, make breakouts go away faster, and prevent breakouts - all of which kind of makes sense. E.g. when I lived in California, every time I came back from the beach my skin was amazing for the next week; after you get a tattoo, the tattoo artist advises to wash it in saline/salt water until it heals up; salt water is used to clean/irrigate wounds in hospitals, etc.

A not-so-fun to read but interesting literature review that basically says salt water is good for treating psoriasis and beneficial to skin in general, but it depends on the ratio of salt:water:
"Salt water and skin interactions: new lines of evidence" (Carbajo and Maraver, 2018) PMID: 29675710 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-018-1545-z

By the time I was 10 yrs old I knew salt water helped my eczema, by the time I was 15 and driving I spent every weekend at the beach, which is only about 20 miles from me. My mom always accused me of becoming a useless beach rat... Even just the salt air helps which I discovered in my fifties when we had our boat and spent almost every weekend on it. By then I did not play in the water much but I did sit on the water

Sugar solutions have also been used in the past for washing, cleaning and irrigating bed sores or pressure sores.
I also make a sugar bar just like salt bars. Yes, it does work and no sting!!

If salt bars are made with 100% salt and poured in a loaf start checking around the 45 minute mark. They can usually be cut within an hour. Gloves should be worn but I admit I do not do as I say, which my hands never appreciate...

 

[Obsidian]

I also make mine CP and generally use individual molds anymore. I do have one recipe I HP just because I can and I want it to be rustic looking. It has hemp oil and ground nori in it, next time I make it I'm using a notoriously naughty FO that really is better suited for HP.

 

[smengot0]

What’s the best way to incorporate the salt please? At trace?

 

[amd]

Yes. Add the salt in increments and stir in after each addition once your batter has reached trace. Don't be like me who once tried it at emulsion. I wound up with a funky salt bar that was greasy on top and dry and crumbly on the bottom.

 

[dibbles]

At trace, as amd said. I start adding the salt at a lighter trace and once it’s all incorporated and thick enough to keep the salt suspended I start pouring. I use individual cavity molds and stir the batter after pouring 2-3 bars.

 

[smengot0]

Thanks #amd and #dibbles. I appreciate

 

[GeezLouise]

I have hard water and they lather great for me, after a 6 month cure. I'm sorry, my recipes seem to not work well for you It is so weird how some work for one and not another....

Might be the lathering method? We have hard-ish water and with vigorous sopping wet washcloth action am able to get adequate lather. 100% salt (1 salt:1 oil), 100% CO, 20% superfat.

 

[Obsidian]

With vigorous scrubbing I can get castile to lather well too but I'm not going to put that kind of effort into washing. I just use my hands.

Its easier to just make soap that lathers easier for me and that means salt bars with less salt.

 

[smengot0]

I also make my 100% salt bars with 25% Himalayan salt brine with a 17% superfat

“100% salt bars with 25% salt brine” please can you help explain a bit more for us newbie? Thanks

 

[SaltedFig]

My most recent soap is a double-salt bar (both brine in the lye and salt added to the batter), using a recipe designed to also create soda ash in the soap.

I also make my 100% salt bars with 25% Himalayan salt brine with a 17% superfat

“100% salt bars with 25% salt brine” please can you help explain a bit more for us newbie? Thanks

Not cmzaha, but
100% salt bar is a way of expressing the percentage of dry salt added to a recipe to make the salt bar. The percentage is usually by weight of oils, so cmzaha's 100% salt bar means that there is the same weight in salt grains as there is weight of oils in the recipe.
(Occasionally you might bump into someone who uses weight of batter to express the percentage, so asking is always a good idea! ).

25% salt brine means that salt was fully dissolved into the lye water. 25% salt (in water) is close to the saturation for a brine (the German method for making "soleseife" soaps involves creating the saturated salt solution first, then making the lye from that water). Using 25% instead makes it very easy to remember and calculate the portions for making a recipe.

So "100% salt bars with 25% salt brine” is ...

1/ Brine soap: Dry salt, at 25% of the weight of the water in the recipe, is fully dissolved into the water to make a brine. The 25% salt brine is then used to make the lye solution.
2/ The soap batter is made (to about medium trace - slightly thickened batter helps keep the salt suspended)
3/ Salt bar: A further amount of dry salt, at 100% of the weight of the oils in the recipe, is added to the batter shortly before it is poured into the mold(s). The dry salt used is ordinary sea salt or table salt (not Himalayan salt).

Added Note:
Caution: Himalayan salt is used by some in brine soaps (where it is fully dissolved), but is not recommended for use as the dry salt additive.
Reason: The crystal structure of Himalayan salt is very sharp and can cut skin - the larger the salt grain, the deeper the micro cuts.

 

[Terri E]

I absolutely love Himalayan salt bars and make them quite often. Himalayan salt dissolves much faster than sea salt so I have never had a problem with scratching or irritation. I also use the extra fine pink salt in my bars @ 50%. It makes a wonderful bar. I also use way lower coconut oil amounts than most but still have a beautifully bubbly bar
It also has loads of natural minerals to soothe and detox skin!

 

[smengot0]

Not cmzaha, but
100% salt bar is a way of expressing the percentage of dry salt added to a recipe to make the salt bar. The percentage is usually by weight of oils, so cmzaha's 100% salt bar means that there is the same weight in salt grains as there is weight of oils in the recipe.
(Occasionally you might bump into someone who uses weight of batter to express the percentage, so asking is always a good idea! ).

25% salt brine means that salt was fully dissolved into the lye water. 25% salt (in water) is close to the saturation for a brine (the German method for making "soleseife" soaps involves creating the saturated salt solution first, then making the lye from that water). Using 25% instead makes it very easy to remember and calculate the portions for making a recipe.

So "100% salt bars with 25% salt brine” is ...

1/ Brine soap: Dry salt, at 25% of the weight of the water in the recipe, is fully dissolved into the water to make a brine. The 25% salt brine is then used to make the lye solution.
2/ The soap batter is made (to about medium trace - slightly thickened batter helps keep the salt suspended)
3/ Salt bar: A further amount of dry salt, at 100% of the weight of the oils in the recipe, is added to the batter shortly before it is poured into the mold(s). The dry salt used is ordinary sea salt or table salt (not Himalayan salt).

Added Note:
Caution: Himalayan salt is used by some in brine soaps (where it is fully dissolved), but is not recommended for use as the dry salt additive.
Reason: The crystal structure of Himalayan salt is very sharp and can cut skin - the larger the salt grain, the deeper the micro cuts.

Thanks so very much SaltedFig. Your explanations are so helpful. Thank you. I plan trying a Soleseife later today[emoji4]

 

[Harshad]

I absolutely love Himalayan salt bars and make them quite often. Himalayan salt dissolves much faster than sea salt so I have never had a problem with scratching or irritation. I also use the extra fine pink salt in my bars @ 50%. It makes a wonderful bar. I also use way lower coconut oil amounts than most but still have a beautifully bubbly bar
It also has loads of natural minerals to soothe and detox skin!

Can u share the recipe

 

[cmzaha]

Thanks so very much SaltedFig. Your explanations are so helpful. Thank you. I plan trying a Soleseife later today[emoji4]

Salted Fig is correct I use % of my oil weight in salt.

I absolutely love Himalayan salt bars and make them quite often. Himalayan salt dissolves much faster than sea salt so I have never had a problem with scratching or irritation. I also use the extra fine pink salt in my bars @ 50%. It makes a wonderful bar. I also use way lower coconut oil amounts than most but still have a beautifully bubbly bar
It also has loads of natural minerals to soothe and detox skin!

It is usually the loads of minerals that add considerably to the scratchiness of Himalayan Salt. I have run accross x fine that still is scratchy and/or feels like little needles. Batches of salts vary so it is best to run a small test batch when using a new batch of salt. I had one particular fine Pacific sea salt from Winco that was great, the last batch of the same salt made for extremely prickly salt bars that cannot be used directly on the skin.

 

[DeeAnna]

I recently made a batch with 80% coconut and 20% avocado, 15% superfat, and 35% ppo canning salt.

My house is cool this time of year and I actually had to gently warm the loaf to get it to gel. Having to warm a high coconut soap ... first time for me!

It lathers decently well at 1 week old, but leaves a prickly irritation on my forearm after a brief wash. Not sure if it's the young age of the soap (yes, I'm jumping the gun to test it this soon), a slight residue of salt on winter-dry skin, or the high % of coconut with perhaps not enough superfat. Or all of the above. I'll give it awhile and test again.

 

[Alien]

Earlier this year I read about salt bars and became intrigued. I made about 5 - 6 small batches and proceeded to wait for the cure. I realized that, while I knew that some of you (or your family members) liked them, I didn't know why.

Now that I've used several, I know at least one reason why I like them ~ they're great at the bathroom sink as a hand soap. No squishy, sloppy mess! They are firm down to the last sliver.

So, I'm curious . . . why does anyone else like them?

I assume you mean that you add salt to your soap recipe? As well as making the bars ar and last longer, I have very little patience and love that adding salt makes the saponification process take less time, sometimes I can unmold in just a few hours.

I can see that I WAY missed the mark!I ama newbie and have never made salt bars,but will try soon!cant wat!

 

[Dahila]

Ladies do you still add Sodium lactate ?

 

[amd]

I assume you mean that you add salt to your soap recipe? As well as making the bars ar and last longer, I have very little patience and love that adding salt makes the saponification process take less time, sometimes I can unmold in just a few hours.

I can see that I WAY missed the mark!I ama newbie and have never made salt bars,but will try soon!cant wat!

Salt bars will still test your patience, they need a longer cure in the 4 - 6 MONTH range. Sometimes even longer (I think Shari cures hers for 12 months, but don't quote me on that).

 

[shunt2011]

Ladies do you still add Sodium lactate ?

I do not use SL in my salt bars. They are plenty hard enough to get out of the mold and cut.

I do not use SL in my salt bars. They are plenty hard enough to get out of the mold and cut.

@amd you are correct. I really like them best at 12 months. I'll use them at 6. Still using the ones I got from you though (thank you!).

 

[dibbles]

Ladies do you still add Sodium lactate ?

I don't add SL to my salt bars.