What Do You Like About Salt Bars?

[earlene]

I am still undecided on salt bars. I made bar last year that I took with me to Hawaii while it was still pretty young and felt it was too drying to my skin, even with the high humidity in Hawaii. I plan to bring one of those bars with me on our trip in July, so it will be over a year old, and I can make a better assessment of how my skin reacts to it in the same conditions. I'll try it here at home as well. That's a 100% CO salt bar. I have not tried it much since using up that first bar because they require such a long cure, though.

 

[DeeAnna]

You might like the soap much better now, @earlene. My reaction was the same as yours -- my recent batch of salt soap was too harsh at first, but it's MUCH better now that it's a little older. I didn't expect that, frankly, but the salt bar experts are correct -- a generous cure time is important for this type of soap to be at its best.

 

[cmzaha]

It really is not advised to use medium salt and you really should not use it if selling. Medium salt can lacerate the skin no matter what some say. Salt water is a natural exfoliant without out having rough salt. If you want added exfoliation in a salt bar use oatmeal or your exfoliant of choice. Lacerations can be severe and unlike some say the salt does not melt when using the salt bar. I know some will dispute this but I have made salt bars since I started making soap trying all types and extra fine to medium salt. The medium was disaster.

ETA: I use a 17% superfat, 80% CO, 1% sorbitol, 100% salt with a 1 yr cure and the bars are wonderful

 

[earlene]

Finally an update on my feeling about salt bars:

I posted here that the jury was still out. And the posts below are also pertinent:

I am still undecided on salt bars. I made bar last year that I took with me to Hawaii while it was still pretty young and felt it was too drying to my skin, even with the high humidity in Hawaii. I plan to bring one of those bars with me on our trip in July, so it will be over a year old, and I can make a better assessment of how my skin reacts to it in the same conditions. I'll try it here at home as well. That's a 100% CO salt bar. I have not tried it much since using up that first bar because they require such a long cure, though.

You might like the soap much better now, @earlene. My reaction was the same as yours -- my recent batch of salt soap was too harsh at first, but it's MUCH better now that it's a little older. I didn't expect that, frankly, but the salt bar experts are correct -- a generous cure time is important for this type of soap to be at its best.

Well very recently, I tried this soap again and at long last I do like it. It took this long for my salt soap to reach a cure to result in a smooth enough soap that I can say it is no longer rough or drying to my skin. The soap was made April 2018 and it took almost 3 years cure to become a soap that my skin would like.

 

[amd]

@earlene I'm in the same boat. It takes several YEARS of aging a salt bar for me to be able to tolerate it on my skin. My husband though will take them off the cure rack at a month old if he has to have it now. I usually try to hold his at least 2 months. Although right now he has a significant stash and I haven't had to make any for two years, I might be able to use some of his soaps now.

 

[dibbles]

The soap was made April 2018 and it took almost 3 years cure to become a soap that my skin would like.

That's an awfully long time to have to wait for a soap. But at least now you know what it takes for you to be able to enjoy it and can decide if salt bars are worthwhile for you.

 

[earlene]

That's an awfully long time to have to wait for a soap. But at least now you know what it takes for you to be able to enjoy it and can decide if salt bars are worthwhile for you.

I know, right? Still, as you say, it is good to know AND I still have a few bars of that soap yet to use. Needless to say, it won't be one I'll be making often, but definitely I will make it again once in a while.

 

[dibbles]

I know, right? Still, as you say, it is good to know AND I still have a few bars of that soap yet to use. Needless to say, it won't be one I'll be making often, but definitely I will make it again once in a while.

Better start now

 

[Kcryss]

Wow, I've seen the threads/conversations off and on about salt bars and paid little attention to them. It didn't sound like anything I would want to try so didn't even bother reading the threads.

Now that I've gone through this entire conversation, I can't wait to make a salt bar!

Is it better to CP this type of soap? I've only made one batch of CP so not sure I even know how to do it.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Finally an update on my feeling about salt bars:

I posted here that the jury was still out. And the posts below are also pertinent:




Well very recently, I tried this soap again and at long last I do like it. It took this long for my salt soap to reach a cure to result in a smooth enough soap that I can say it is no longer rough or drying to my skin. The soap was made April 2018 and it took almost 3 years cure to become a soap that my skin would like.

My question then is: is it worth the wait? I mean, three years is a long time for soap to cure to the point where it is suitable to use.

 

[MarinaB]

Finally an update on my feeling about salt bars:

I posted here that the jury was still out. And the posts below are also pertinent:




Well very recently, I tried this soap again and at long last I do like it. It took this long for my salt soap to reach a cure to result in a smooth enough soap that I can say it is no longer rough or drying to my skin. The soap was made April 2018 and it took almost 3 years cure to become a soap that my skin would like.

Is it 80 coconut and 20 olive? Salt %?

 

[earlene]

My question then is: is it worth the wait? I mean, three years is a long time for soap to cure to the point where it is suitable to use.

I guess it depends on your personal perspective. Did I feel it was worth the wait while the jury was still out? Well about 2 1/2 years into it, I guess I doubted they ever would be, but I kept on waiting and watching, because, after all, I had made the soap and what else could I do?

Now, sure, I do think it is worth the wait, but there are at least two caveats.
1. My skin may react differently than yours or anyone else's, so a 3-year cure isn't necessarily standard for everyone. For me, it was, with this particular soap for my particular skin. Apparently others don't need as long a cure, so the determining factor is how one's skin reacts, not time alone.
2. It also depends on each person's tolerance for waiting, i.e., how patience factors into their personality or at least into their soap crafting.

Is it 80 coconut and 20 olive? Salt %?

Looking that up.
100% CO; Salt:Oils = 1:1 (equal amount of salt to CO) SF = 20%
Also ROE & EDTA for chelation, a green mica as colorant, and an EO* mix, the fragrance though still present, has become quite faint.

That was my first salt bar, so I used a formula that seemed to me at the time, fairly standard (based on what I had read here & elsewhere).

My second salt bar is in no way standard, because I harvested the salt myself, which probably contained other components in addition to sodium chloride. I haven't tested it in awhile, but it is a copious latherer.


*I will probably resist the urge to fragrance my next batch since it seems a waste with such a long cure.

 

[penelopejane]

I make salt soap with 30% CO, 45% OO, Avocado or Almond and Ricebran. It takes 9 months to cure and to stop sweating. It goes really hard and is long lasting (unlike 100% CO). It is great for the kitchen sink/handbasin when you use it 20 times a day as it stays hard.

 

[Rsapienza]

I make salt soap with 30% CO, 45% OO, Avocado or Almond and Ricebran. It takes 9 months to cure and to stop sweating. It goes really hard and is long lasting (unlike 100% CO). It is great for the kitchen sink/handbasin when you use it 20 times a day as it stays hard.

Do you get a lather out of this? How much salt do you use?

 

[AAShillito]

Here's a recipe I got from another forum member

80% CO
20% Avocado Oil
SF 17%
35% salt (so if you have 1000g total oil, add 350g salt, do not subtract from your total oils)

I like pickling & canning salt or regular table salt. I tried a batch with extra fine pink himalayan salt, but it was too scratchy to be used directly on skin. The only time my salt bars have been weepy was when I used dendritic salt - I think it was too fine of a salt and dissolved in humidity. I've also read that dead sea salt will be weepy.

Pink Himalayan salt is crazy! I made a salt bar at the beginning of April. I had read here about the scratchiness so I put the salt in my vitamix and ground it to a powder first. It still feels scratchy but not horrible. But it's too new still unfortunately to try to use. I may try a brine bar with it next though.

 

[AAShillito]

I've just used my Pink Grapefruit and Sea Salt bar for the first time today. It's just a baby - only 3 weeks since making but I broke a bar so thought I'd try it for hand soap. It DOES feel nice! Good lather and clean feeling afterwards, but not too dry.
Here's the recipe I used:
Coconut Oil: 75%
Apricot Kernel Oil: 10%
Canola Oil: 10%
Castor Oil: 5%
Superfat 15%
Lye Concentration 30%
Fine sea salt: 50% of oil weight
EOs: Pink grapefruit and May Chang
View attachment 34225

So pretty!

 

[amd]

I had read here about the scratchiness so I put the salt in my vitamix and ground it to a powder first.

By grinding it, you've probably made it sharper as it grinds into shards rather than nicely rounded granules.