Why salt bars?

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kelleyaynn

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Ok, I know this is going to sound really stupid to those "in the know", but I'm wondering what is so special about salt bars. I've never made or used one. I have images of coming home from the beach and jumping in the shower to rinse off the salt, and can't help but think that salt bars would give you the same feeling. I know I must be wrong, but can someone tell me what is so great about salt bars?
 
There are no stupid questions. Washing with a salt bar is kind of like washing with a smooth river rock made of extra hard soap, nice exfoliating feel to it. It's really a matter of personal preference: I love it, my partner doesn't care for it at all. No salty "beachy" residue, it all washes away. I also find (no empirical proof, just my observation) that all the little nicks and cuts I manage to acquire heal quicker when I'm using a salt bar than when I'm using a regular soap.
 
kelleyaynn said:
Ok, I know this is going to sound really stupid to those "in the know", but I'm wondering what is so special about salt bars. I've never made or used one. I have images of coming home from the beach and jumping in the shower to rinse off the salt, and can't help but think that salt bars would give you the same feeling. I know I must be wrong, but can someone tell me what is so great about salt bars?

kelleyaynn -

It's not stupid at all! I made a batch and my first reaction was "Eh...what's the big deal?" I thought it was drying and just didn't care for it. But I kept seeing posts by people raving about how wonderful salt bars are, yada, yada.

I decided to try a 2nd batch with more salt (70%) and a higher SF. I also added a bit of OO because I thought it would make it less drying. I let it cure for 6 weeks and thought it was better.

To make a long story short - I thought I ought to start using up the older batch which at that time had been curing for about 4 months. I was surprised at how much nicer it was although still a little drying. The second batch is even nicer. I've found it's gently exfoliating, softens the skin and this may be subjective but I think my facial skin looks better. My skin looks finer and the pores appear smaller.

After receiving advice from another SMF member (Thanks ChrisShepp!), I made a 3rd batch beginning of January and I used whipping cream in it, upped the SF (17%) and upped the salt (75%). Chris didn't suggest the whipping cream - I just wanted to try it. :D

I'm very excited about this batch because it seems like it's really going to have great lather. Time will tell because salt bars do seem to need a longer than usual curing time.

I'm already planning my next batch. :wink:
 
after four weeks of cure, I didn't see what the fuss was about. three or four months later they are very nice. however, I need to tweak as I still find them a bit drying. I may use 10% castor the next time.
 
they also last forever after a long cure! i have a bar that started off in the shower about 6 months ago, but i wanted to use it in the kitchen about 2 months ago for something and so i ended up leaving it there and i still use it multiple times everyday. it was only about a 3 oz bar to begin with too.

it is a bit drying but that is why i use it in the kitchen, it cleans well. :) if i do it again i will use more SF and try some milk and an egg in it.
 
judymoody said:
after four weeks of cure, I didn't see what the fuss was about. three or four months later they are very nice. however, I need to tweak as I still find them a bit drying. I may use 10% castor the next time.

That's what I did on the 2nd and 3rd batch. I used 10% castor oil.
 
I don't care for salt bars. I do however love sugar bars. They are much more abrasive.
 
I don't care for salt bars. I do however love sugar bars. They are much more abrasive.
Now that's interesting... How do you make a sugar bar? Same concept as a salt bar? How much sugar ppo? I'm intrigued.
 
Hazel said:
judymoody said:
after four weeks of cure, I didn't see what the fuss was about. three or four months later they are very nice. however, I need to tweak as I still find them a bit drying. I may use 10% castor the next time.

That's what I did on the 2nd and 3rd batch. I used 10% castor oil.

i use 80 percent coconut and 10 percent each of castor and shea butter. my salt bars are totally my favorite -- not drying, great lathering, long lasting, and they seem to be great for helping heal small nicks and cuts and acne. i would never advertise the latter claim, but for me they really do work wonders. i love the comment about feeling like a smooth river rock. so true. for me, showering with a salt bar is a zen-like experience :)
 
I love my salt bars. It was the first thing I made when I started soaping again after a long break. I missed having them around. My skin feels so much softer when I've used them in the shower.

I did not cut them fast enough though and they are a bit crumbly :( We'll see how they hold up after 3 months of curing.

They kind of smell funny though. The FO I used was supposed to be Chipotle Caramel. I got some on my hands and It would NOT come out. My co-workers kept asking who had curry. o_O
 
paillo said:
Hazel said:
judymoody said:
after four weeks of cure, I didn't see what the fuss was about. three or four months later they are very nice. however, I need to tweak as I still find them a bit drying. I may use 10% castor the next time.

That's what I did on the 2nd and 3rd batch. I used 10% castor oil.

i use 80 percent coconut and 10 percent each of castor and shea butter. my salt bars are totally my favorite -- not drying, great lathering, long lasting, and they seem to be great for helping heal small nicks and cuts and acne. i would never advertise the latter claim, but for me they really do work wonders. i love the comment about feeling like a smooth river rock. so true. for me, showering with a salt bar is a zen-like experience :)

paillo -

Do you think increasing butter from 5% to 10% makes a big difference in bars?
 
kelleyaynn said:
Ok, I know this is going to sound really stupid to those "in the know", but I'm wondering what is so special about salt bars. I've never made or used one. I have images of coming home from the beach and jumping in the shower to rinse off the salt, and can't help but think that salt bars would give you the same feeling. I know I must be wrong, but can someone tell me what is so great about salt bars?

Kelley, it is nothing like that at all!! I made my first batch of salt bars with this wonderful "Sea Fresh" EO. I thought it would dry my skin to leather!! hahaha It is the very opposite! Very hard bar of soap, creamy and not drying at all. I love them!! Never used one before until now. I used coconut milk for the liquid. I hope you try a batch!!
 
paillo said:
i use 80 percent coconut and 10 percent each of castor and shea butter. my salt bars are totally my favorite -- not drying, great lathering, long lasting, and they seem to be great for helping heal small nicks and cuts and acne. i would never advertise the latter claim, but for me they really do work wonders. i love the comment about feeling like a smooth river rock. so true. for me, showering with a salt bar is a zen-like experience :)
I wanted to try the salt bars for some time and I really liked your recipe. But now I'm wondering how much should I superfat? 20% seems a bit too much with all that castor and shea. Though I do have dry skin. I'd really appreciate some advice on this.
 
margarita said:
paillo said:
i use 80 percent coconut and 10 percent each of castor and shea butter. my salt bars are totally my favorite -- not drying, great lathering, long lasting, and they seem to be great for helping heal small nicks and cuts and acne. i would never advertise the latter claim, but for me they really do work wonders. i love the comment about feeling like a smooth river rock. so true. for me, showering with a salt bar is a zen-like experience :)

I wanted to try the salt bars for some time and I really liked your recipe. But now I'm wondering how much should I superfat? 20% seems a bit too much with all that castor and shea. Though I do have dry skin. I'd really appreciate some advice on this.

i usually do superfat about 20 percent. lately i've started making them with half distilled water and half buttermilk at trace, and i almost always add a little clay. i'm totally addicted to buttermilk as my favorite milk in soap. salt bars with this recipe aren't oily or greasy at all, nor drying -- just perfect, imho :)

oh yeah, and i use 75 to 80 percent salt for the total volume of the oils.
 
You either love them or hate them, I love mine. I used CC oil about 80%, the rest OO and a little Castor. I superfatted 20% and added about 75% fine sea salt . The salt will sting the heck out of a scrape, but they do seem to heal very fast after using.
 
ok, i have a question... i put the recipe into soapcalc and i accidentally left it at the preset 5% superfat, then i went back and changed the SF to 20% but the hardness, cleansing, etc #'s didn't change at all. so how do i know what the "real" numbers are?
 
krissy said:
ok, i have a question... i put the recipe into soapcalc and i accidentally left it at the preset 5% superfat, then i went back and changed the SF to 20% but the hardness, cleansing, etc #'s didn't change at all. so how do i know what the "real" numbers are?

The only number that will change in soapcalc is the lye amount. I think that the other numbers are the same regardless of the lye discount. I've made soaps at different superfatting, and they don't appear to be different in use, except for the conditioning value. I'm sure someone else with more experience will chime in as well.
 
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