What's the Deal with Salt Soap?

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semplice said:
Not Hazel, but if you're using 100% coconut milk, then yes you would add the lye to the coconut milk. The first time I did that, I got a layer of fat on the top, and liquid on the bottom. I stirred it up, and the soap came out great anyway. To combat that, I now use the minimum amount of water needed to dissolve the lye, then add the coconut milk immediately after I've added the lye water to the oils (which I learned to do from this forum!)

You can leave the water as is in Soap Calc, just replace the recommended amount with coconut milk.

Silicone molds do not need to be lined. That's why I switched to them. I SUCKED at lining molds!

I do it similar to the way semplice does it. I had problems with using 100% coconut milk as the liquid. So now I split the liquid amount half water and half coconut milk. I dissolve the lye in the water, add it to the oils and then add the coconut milk.
 
Hazel said:
I do it similar to the way semplice does it. I had problems with using 100% coconut milk as the liquid. So now I split the liquid amount half water and half coconut milk. I dissolve the lye in the water, add it to the oils and then add the coconut milk.

You add the coconut milk before mixing at all or how long after adding the lye water?

I'm seriously considering making IrishLass's salt bar recipe for my second soap-making attempt. I'm really a recipe-follower, so I feel a little lost...

I'm hoping I can find coconut milk at my grocery store. I live in the Boonies, so it's sometimes difficult to find things. I'm pretty sure I couldn't find powdered coconut milk.

Is there anything really important about soaping with milk that I need to know?

ETA: I'll probably just use my wooden loaf mold. I've read that salt soap hardens faster, so how long do I wait before unmolding and cutting into bars?

Thanks for your help!
 
When making salt bars in a loaf, you want to cut them an hour or two after you pour. They harden REALLY quickly!
 
Mom2LilMan said:
You add the coconut milk before mixing at all or how long after adding the lye water?

Not Hazel, but the way I do it is dissolve my total lye amount with an equal amount of water in weight (lye needs to be added to an equal amount of liquid in order to be able to dissolve properly). The rest of my liquid amount that my batch calls I add as coconut milk directly into my oils, making sure to stickblend it in well. You can add the milk to the oils either just before adding the lye solution, or just after the lye solution is mixed in, i.e. when the oils/lye solution are emulsified, but not at trace yet. I've done it both ways with no problem, but since this is your first time, you might find it easier to stickblend it into your oils before adding the lye solution.

Mom2LilMan said:
I'm seriously considering making IrishLass's salt bar recipe for my second soap-making attempt. I'm really a recipe-follower, so I feel a little lost...

Don't hesitate to ask! :)

Mom2LilMan said:
I'm hoping I can find coconut milk at my grocery store. I live in the Boonies, so it's sometimes difficult to find things. I'm pretty sure I couldn't find powdered coconut milk.

If your grocery store has an ethnic aisle with Thai/Asian ingredients, you should be able to find canned coconut milk there. That's where my local grocer stocks theirs. I can't find powdered there, though. But, I'm very blessed to have a large Asian grocery store down the street from me that carries all kinds of hard-to-find goodies, and they sell several brands of powdered coconut milk & coconut cream as well as several brands of coconut milk in cans and in cartons. I'm very spoiled that way.

Mom2LilMan said:
Is there anything really important about soaping with milk that I need to know?

The most important thing is the scorching issue (which the 'split method' completely eliminates), and the possible overheating while gelling issue. Not all milk soaps overheat while gelling, but it's good to keep an eye on things if you plan on gelling and to move your mold to a cooler area if you see your soap raising and/or cracking while going through gel. With my own milk soaps, I've found that overheating/not overheating depends on certain factors. Depending on my particular formula, mine normally don't overheat unless I also add honey, or if the formula contains 100% coconut oil. If I see things getting out of hand when I peek inside my mold, I just uncover my mold and move it to a cooler area. Some soapers like to blow a fan on their overheating soap. Or you could choose not to gel your batch at all by putting it in the fridge immediately after pouring into your mold. That's the beauty of soaping- there are several tricks to get around or avoid potential problems.

Mom2LilMan said:
ETA: I'll probably just use my wooden loaf mold. I've read that salt soap hardens faster, so how long do I wait before unmolding and cutting into bars?

You'll just have to play it by ear (or eye). :wink: With my own salt soap recipe, I'm usually unmolding and cutting within 6 hours or less. I like to gel all my soaps, so I keep an eye on things to see when it's gelling and then firming back up from gel. As soon as I feel that my soap is firm enough to cut (using a gloved finger), but still very warm/hot, I unmold and cut. If I don't cut while the soap is just firm enough and still warm/hot, it will be a royal bugger if not impossible to cut later than that.

HTH!
IrishLass :)
 
IrishLass said:
the way I do it is dissolve my total lye amount with an equal amount of water in weight (lye needs to be added to an equal amount of liquid in order to be able to dissolve properly). The rest of my liquid amount that my batch calls I add as coconut milk directly into my oils, making sure to stickblend it in well. You can add the milk to the oils either just before adding the lye solution, or just after the lye solution is mixed in, i.e. when the oils/lye solution are emulsified, but not at trace yet. I've done it both ways with no problem, but since this is your first time, you might find it easier to stickblend it into your oils before adding the lye solution.

I see IrishLass already answered your question. I've done it both ways but I generally add the lye solution, blend and then add the milk. It would be best to do it the way IrishLass suggested since she's an experienced soaper. I've been known to really mess up some batches. :lol:
 
Great! Thanks so much for the help! :D

I don't particularly care about my soap gelling at this point in my soaping "career." It's just for home and gift use. Should I cover it at all then? Or just leave it uncovered? I probably won't have room in my fridge.

I'm off to measure my mold and figure out how much of everything I need to get!

Skip skip skip...
 
Based on the measurements of my mold, I come out with needing 71.96 oz. of oil. That seems like a LOT! What would be a more manageable amount? Two containers of Louana coconut oils is 63 oz. Would that work out right?
 
And then fragrance! How much for almost 4 lbs. of soap?

I have the EO sampler from Bramble Berry, so that's about 1/2 oz. each. Otherwise, I have access to purchase only a few EOs like Lavender & Rosemary and some FOs. The FOs say they are skin safe for M&P soap. Would that be OK?

I'm just trying to avoid having to order online. Trying to buy locally for this project.

Thanks for your help!
 
After using SoapCalc, this is what I come up with (20% SF):

63 oz. CO
23.94 oz. water (using the split method should be 9.236 oz.)
9.236 oz. lye
14.704 oz. coconut milk (split)
15.75 oz. salt
Fragrance I'm not sure about yet.

Do these numbers look right then?

Thanks!
 
Today's the day for making salt soap! Since I never heard back from anyone on my previous questions, I'm going with what I posted. I'll be using a little less coconut milk (13.5 oz.) and a little more water b/c I didn't want to buy two cans of milk for needing an ounce more. I'm a little nervous about the soap fitting in my mold, but I think that surely it will. Crossing my fingers! Wish me luck! :D
 
Sorry for not getting back to you, Sarah.

Your liquid amounts looks fine.

From what I can tell on SoapCalc in regards to your lye amount, it looks like you will be using a 20% superfat, which is fine as well.

If you are worried about your soap batter overflowing your mold, just prepare to have a soap-safe container in reach that can act as an extra mold to hold any overflow.

I say go for it and let us know how it turns out!

IrishLass :)
 
63 oz. of oil was JUST the right amount! It fit perfectly in my mold. Whew!

I'm really nervous about this soap!

1) I'm afraid I waited a little too long to stir in the fragrance and salt b/c by the time I poured it into the mold, it was a little gloppy.

2) The soap did gel. That was pretty cool to watch. I didn't see signs of it getting too hot though, so I hope all is well. (Sorry, iPhone pic.)

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3) After two hours, there are still some soft spots that look like they are gelled whereas the rest went back to opaque. I don't know if this is normal or not.

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4) It's really oily. Maybe I should've superfatted at a lower percentage? Will this soap always have oil seeping from it or will the curing process make it less oily?

5) I'm really nervous about knowing when to unmold and cut! Eeek!

This was great fun, though! SIL's soap is going to turn out perfect (not salt soap) after her first batch failed. I can't wait to give away some salt bars. Praying they turn out!
 
I like to cut my salt soap when the soap is still hot and has just hardened back up from gel (use gloves to protect your hands while doing this). Otherwise, they'll get too hard to cut if you wait too long.

As for the oily spots- oftentimes it will absorb right back in. After you cut, just let the soap sit for a few days, and if there are still some oily spots that haven't reabsorbed, just blot them off.


IrishLass :)
 
I did it! Will the bars shrink? They are 3.5 inches square by approx. an inch thick and pretty darn big. Or should I cut them in half maybe?

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There's definitely a "chemical" smell to them when I was cutting them. I'm assuming that's OK at this stage.

So, just leave them on the counter for a day or two before putting them away to cure?

Thanks for your help!
 
They'll shrink as they cure, so I wouldn't cut them in half. And don't worry about the smell- that will pass.

IrishLass :)
 
Your salt bars look great...I've made 2 batches uses IrishLass' recipe....love them. One question do you wrap them? I have a mold with a lid and used that...then wrapped them...I had a volcano like reaction in the middle part of the bar....a crack and some up the soap kind of bubbling up...not bad just cut it off in the area so I had a nice square bar. Ordered some silicone molds from BB that are individual bars....was wondering if I should just cover with saran wrap and leave out on the counter.
 
When i was kid i used to go to the sea every year and was instructed to bathe parts of body with bruises and such . Sometimes it was really painfull but wound healed much faster. I guess this salt soap works in similar fashion and it seems that best way to utilyze it is to just drop soap in tub and let it melt.
 
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