Wow, tried this Euro salt recipe, love it!

[Hazel]

I cure regular salt bars for 8 weeks because I've found the lather was better. However, I use 70% salt in the regular bars. I'm not sure how long brine soap should cure. Since the salt content is lower, it may not need as long of a cure and I plan on testing at 4 weeks. (Next Friday )

Hopefully, someone who has been making these longer can answer your question.

 

[Dorymae]

Thank you! I guess I'll personally try one at 4 weeks and if I like it I'll send it to the testers at 6wks.

The batch turned out well so far, cut easily no crumbles and although it is fairly hard (not rock hard) I was very surprised at how creamy it looks and feels. (cause yeah.... you know I had to try a sliver of it!) I don't think I've been this impatient about a cure in a long time! Really can't wait to try the real thing.

 

[Hazel]

I'm kicking myself now that I didn't make one in a feminine or unisex scent for me. I'll have to put that on my to-do list.

 

[navigator9]

I've avoided reading this thread. I' ve only made one batch of salt soap, and it was early on in my soap making days. It was a total disaster. If I remember correctly, I used a combo of kosher and sea salt. It traced instantly. It killed my stick blender. I glopped it into the mold, and while still warm, it was hard, so I tried to cut it with my Tank, and broke a wire. What was I thinking??? It was crumbly and ugly. And so rough! I hated it. My friends that I gifted it to didn't think much of it either. I was just never able to grasp the benefit of adding salt to soap.

Today I caved in and read this thread from start to finish. I have to say, you almost have me convinced to try again. This method of dissolving the salt first, producing a smoother soap, solves the roughness problem for me. Your soaps all look beautiful! Mine looked like chunks of cement, greenish cement, but still cement.

I guess my final problem is understanding what the benefits of using salt actually are, besides the texture and hardness. Are there any benefits for the skin? I still find it hard to believe they're not drying. What I love about handmade soaps are the wonderful, creaminess of them. Salt bars seem like everything I'm trying to avoid. Do I really want to try these?

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, you want to try these, right now today. I don't know why salt makes soap nice but salt bars are my favorite. I have super dry skin, even aged castile is too drying for me but I can use salt bars all day.
I also think it help some skin conditions. I had a fungal infection on one spot of skin. My doc tried all kinds of medicine over the course of a year and nothing helped. Just a couple weeks of using salt bars and it was gone.
Salt bars shouldn't be rough, did you use coarse sea salt? You always want to use fine salt, add it at thin trace and use cavity molds so you don't have to cut.
Now I want to send you a salt bar, you poor deprived soaper, you don't know what you are missing lol.

 

[Dorymae]

I guess my final problem is understanding what the benefits of using salt actually are, besides the texture and hardness. Are there any benefits for the skin? I still find it hard to believe they're not drying. What I love about handmade soaps are the wonderful, creaminess of them. Salt bars seem like everything I'm trying to avoid. Do I really want to try these?

Think of different types of salt like different types of soap. Not all of them will do the same things. Pacific Sea salt is different then dead sea salt, which is different then Himalayan salts, which are different then Hawaiian sea salts. Each salt has its own composition of minerals and it is the minerals that give the benefits. Many claims have been made and many cultures still regularly use hot springs or salt waters for the therapeutic qualities. You should research the salt you want to use so you have a little background on it.

 

[cmzaha]

Think of different types of salt like different types of soap. Not all of them will do the same things. Pacific Sea salt is different then dead sea salt, which is different then Himalayan salts, which are different then Hawaiian sea salts. Each salt has its own composition of minerals and it is the minerals that give the benefits. Many claims have been made and many cultures still regularly use hot springs or salt waters for the therapeutic qualities. You should research the salt you want to use so you have a little background on it.

Hawaiian sea salts are Pacific Sea Salt with either alaea volcanic added which gives the red color or activated coconut shell activated charcoal giving the black color which of course will give different properties due to the additives.
I personally find salt bars beneficial for my severe eczema and salt scrubs will stop my severe itching. Last night at market my hubby was bit from something and itching like crazy. I have him a little of my emulisfied salt scrub I make to put on it and leave for a few minutes, he was suprised the itch was gone. Yeah, I convinced him salt works for itching...:smile:

 

[Twiggy]

My salt bar react the same way too, but I let it cure further. I don't know when it's stop 'tingling' or 'burning' (in my case) but at 5 months cure, it's like normal soap. No more unpleasantness, only the dreaded occasional sweating for me.

Wow, so is not just me… That is a big relief I have to tell! My husband loves it, me not so much, but as you said I will let it cure! It is superb news that it will be better

 

[navigator9]

Yes, you want to try these, right now today. I don't know why salt makes soap nice but salt bars are my favorite. I have super dry skin, even aged castile is too drying for me but I can use salt bars all day.
I also think it help some skin conditions. I had a fungal infection on one spot of skin. My doc tried all kinds of medicine over the course of a year and nothing helped. Just a couple weeks of using salt bars and it was gone.
Salt bars shouldn't be rough, did you use coarse sea salt? You always want to use fine salt, add it at thin trace and use cavity molds so you don't have to cut.
Now I want to send you a salt bar, you poor deprived soaper, you don't know what you are missing lol.

ROTFL.......OK, OK, I'm convinced!!! It's hard for me to imagine that you can't use castile, but you can use salty soap, just can't wrap my mind around that, so I'm gonna have to try it myself and see. Yes, I did use course salt, that's what was being used back then. I will try fine salt, and I have single cavity molds.

Carolyn and Dorymae, I never knew sea salts were so interesting....I'm off to do some research. I'm getting excited about this!

 

[paillo]

I use various salts and clays for their various minerals and additives too. My favorite salts are Aussie black, Red Alaea, Pink Himalayan, and some of the more exotic chef salts. It's fun to research salt benefits - in the beginning I had no idea there are so many, and it seemed counterintuitive that they wouldn't be drying.

I know I cannot advertise this, but just among us I too find salt soaps amazingly helpful with certain skin conditions. For decades I had eczema on my hands that no medicated creams cured. And rosacea on my face. Both completely disappeared, never to reappear, when I started using salt soaps some years ago. I can't use any other kind of soap on my face, and my facial salt soaps outsell everything else I make by a huge margin. I'm a true believer.

 

[navigator9]

OK, I went salt crazy and ordered pink Himalayan, Dead Sea, and Celtic sea salt! If I want to make a nice, moisturizing bar, would you have any recommendations for a recipe? This is what I have on hand, OO, PKO, avocado, coconut and castor. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to trying this. Glad I finally gave in and read this thread!

 

[Dorymae]

The recipe I used is similar but with tallow instead of PKO. It is very creamy and wonderful looking. It is only days old so I can't tell if it is as good as it looks. (only used a little on my hands and it feels good so far) I used the Himalayan salt as well. I'll try to dig up a picture for you this afternoon. (I took a picture of the loaf before I cut)

 

[navigator9]

Forgot to ask this in my last post....how about Epsom Salts? Not sea salt, but while I was researching, I came across this, sounds pretty good.

Epsom Salts

This salt is a rich source of magnesium. Magnesium helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins. Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulfates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulfates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. Soak in a tub full of hot water with a few cups of Epsom Salts. This is good for relaxing muscles and drawing toxins from the body. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient, exfoliator, and much more. Soak for 15-20 minutes.
http://www.crystalinks.com/seasalthealing.html

And Dorymae, I look forward to seeing your results!

 

[cmzaha]

Forgot to ask this in my last post....how about Epsom Salts? Not sea salt, but while I was researching, I came across this, sounds pretty good.

Epsom Salts

This salt is a rich source of magnesium. Magnesium helps to regulate the activity of more than 325 enzymes and performs a vital role in orchestrating many bodily functions, from muscle control and electrical impulses to energy production and the elimination of harmful toxins. Epsom Salt also delivers sulfates, which are extremely difficult to get through food but which readily absorb through the skin. Sulfates serve a wide variety of functions in the body, playing a vital role in the formation of brain tissue, joint proteins and the mucin proteins that line the walls of the digestive tract. Sulfates also stimulate the pancreas to generate digestive enzymes and are believed to help detoxify the body's residue of medicines and environmental contaminants. Soak in a tub full of hot water with a few cups of Epsom Salts. This is good for relaxing muscles and drawing toxins from the body. When magnesium sulfate is absorbed through the skin, such as in a bath, it draws toxins from the body, sedates the nervous system, reduces swelling, relaxes muscles, is a natural emollient, exfoliator, and much more. Soak for 15-20 minutes.
http://www.crystalinks.com/seasalthealing.html

And Dorymae, I look forward to seeing your results!

Do Not use Epsom salts in soap. Also I do not recommend using Dead Sea Salts, both with the minerals present create a sticky, waxy, sweaty bar of soap with 0 lather no matter how much pko or co is used.
Dead Sea can be used and I use it in my salt bars, but it has to be kept to low percentages. Sorry I do not share my percentage since it took me a long tie to figure out. Wasted many a salt bar getting to the right mix that would work. If you already had one big disappointment please stay away from the DS or you are going to be disappointed again. Save it for nice salt scrub.

 

[navigator9]

Do Not use Epsom salts in soap. Also I do not recommend using Dead Sea Salts, both with the minerals present create a sticky, waxy, sweaty bar of soap with 0 lather no matter how much pko or co is used.
Dead Sea can be used and I use it in my salt bars, but it has to be kept to low percentages. Sorry I do not share my percentage since it took me a long tie to figure out. Wasted many a salt bar getting to the right mix that would work. If you already had one big disappointment please stay away from the DS or you are going to be disappointed again. Save it for nice salt scrub.

Thanks for the info, Carolyn. Now I'm off to see what else I can do with the Dead Sea salt. lol Also, I never meant to ask for anyone's specific recipe, just a general recommendation for the oils that I have, like "be sure to use at least 50% coconut for lather, don't bother with the PKO, it will be hard enough anyway" something like that.

 

[Obsidian]

I would stick with the recipe from the first post but maybe replace the safflower oil with avocado, I just love avocado in soap. Since it uses 30% coconut, I would also increase the SF if you have really dry skin. When I get around to trying this myself, I will probably use 10%SF.

 

[navigator9]

I would stick with the recipe from the first post but maybe replace the safflower oil with avocado, I just love avocado in soap. Since it uses 30% coconut, I would also increase the SF if you have really dry skin. When I get around to trying this myself, I will probably use 10%SF.

Thank you for your input! I love avocado too. I even rub a couple of drops between my hands, and rub through the ends of my hair. I'm really looking forward to trying the salt soap, I have some rosacea, and at 64, my skin is dryer than it used to be, although, since using my own soap, much less than before. The idea that salt soap can be moisturizing is intriguing to me, and I'm really looking forward to trying it.

 

[cmzaha]

I made this with lard, coconut at 30%, palm oil, rbo, olive, and castor with coconut milk and baleno peat (mud) for liquid. Superfatted at 8% which is a big superfat for me. I did add in about 15% dead sea salt and it is a fantastic bar of soap. I also makes these very scrubbie. In fact my hubby told me to make no other kind for my mens soaps. My brine is not quite as strong since I soap with a 50/50 lye solution. I added my salt into my liquid mix until it would not longer dissolve

 

[Dorymae]

Ok here are photos of the small loaf and the slice. Beautiful creamy white color.

 

[navigator9]

I made this with lard, coconut at 30%, palm oil, rbo, olive, and castor with coconut milk and baleno peat (mud) for liquid. Superfatted at 8% which is a big superfat for me. I did add in about 15% dead sea salt and it is a fantastic bar of soap. I also makes these very scrubbie. In fact my hubby told me to make no other kind for my mens soaps. My brine is not quite as strong since I soap with a 50/50 lye solution. I added my salt into my liquid mix until it would not longer dissolve

Ok here are photos of the small loaf and the slice. Beautiful creamy white color.

Thanks Dorymae, I'll keep the DS salt to 10% for this first time, just to be safe. I've put together a recipe with OO, PKO and avocado, now I just have to wait for the salt!