Salt bar recipe

[fox]

I know there are other threads on salt bars but I'd appreciate some feedback on my proposed recipe. I have trawled the forum to try to get a good idea on how to make a successful salt bar and intend to try it tomorrow.

500g coconut oil
80g lye
100g coarse sea salt (i've read that people have used fine and coarse and i only have coarse so was going to go with that)
167g water

Should be around 17% SF and i've read this counteracts the potentially drying effect of using 100% CO.

I'm waiting on a delivery of pigments for colour but I have no patience, so could I use blue melt and pour soap dye for colouring?

I'm debating which EO to use as scent. Thoughts:

- peppermint
- grapefruit
- neroli
- petitgrain
- lime
- sandalwood
- ylang ylang
- geranium

I'm stuck! Any recommendations or blends would be appreciated.

I'll be using a sillicone loaf mold. Should I insulate or not?

Incidentally, I have bought 50+ EOs over the last few weeks and have found that there are a few I just hate (usually the most expensive ones like valerian root and oakmoss). So i have about five i really won't use. Any thoughts? I know there is a swap thread but i can't post there unil i have 100 posts or three months active membership. I don't like clutter so could maybe give them away to UK members?

 

[Hazel]

Don't swap your EOs until you've blended some together! Oakmoss makes a great anchor for other EOs. Go here first and look up some blends. Try it before you decide you decide to get rid of it.

http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php

Oakmoss can be sensitizing so you'd want to use very little of it. I'm not familiar with valerian root so I'll have to read up on it.

I have to go to work so I'll stop back later.

 

[fox]

Don't swap your EOs until you've blended some together! Oakmoss makes a great anchor for other EOs. Go here first and look up some blends. Try it before you decide you decide to get rid of it.

http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php

Oakmoss can be sensitizing so you'd want to use very little of it. I'm not familiar with valerian root so I'll have to read up on it.

I have to go to work so I'll stop back later.

Thankyou very much. It's nice that you'd offer such advice when we live in a world full of takers. Seems everyone here is just as kind hearted. Will look into blending it. I do own The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless and it doesn't mention it being sensitizing, so thanks for the advice. Great book, incidentally, been reading it most nights.

 

[nattynoo]

I'm a bit of a mint girl.... go the peppermint.

I love how salt soap looks when it gets cut open. Though have not done one with a smaller qty of coarse SS.
Good luck hope it turns out lovely for u.

 

[Sunny]

lavender mint is my vote! (assuming you have lavender ... heh!)

I like coarse salt a lot better than the fine salt. I use at least 50% salt in mine though. (so for your amount, I would be doing 250g or even 350g of salt ... that is just my preference!)

 

[Hazel]

I guess it was rude of me to say don't swap them out. It's your decision. I just hated to see you get rid of something that with a little experimentation you might actually find you like.

Robert Tisserand mentions oakmoss as a sensitizer (also to avoid during pregnancy) but I'm not sure at what percentage. Of course, if you're using it in a small amount and it's in a wash off product then it's probably not going to be a problem.

Lindy...yoo hoo...Lindy...where are you? I'd like to see an expert join into this conversation.

So you're in the UK? I looked up some UK based sites because I thought they'd be more helpful for you because regulations on EOs would probably be different. Although you've probably already seen these sites.

http://www.luminescents.co.uk/catalog/p ... e42abd3f52

http://www.healthylivinganswers.com/aro ... olute.html

What lye calculator are you using? I came up with between 12%-13% superfat using 80 g of lye when I entered the amounts in soapcalc. Also, I've only used fine sea salt in my bars so I can't comment on the coarse salt.

I don't know if the MP soap would color your soap. Hopefully, an expert will step in and offer advice. Do you have any herbs? Herbal powders like turmeric, parsley, etc are great for coloring soaps.

What's your preference on scent? Do you like citrus? Do you prefer something more herbal based? Or do you like sweet scents? I like citrus scents but you need to add a fixitive to help anchor the scent. Hmm...think oakmoss. :wink:

 

[BakingNana]

Lavender mint...or lavender and orange. But I love lavender with spearmint (just a touch, or all you'll smell is spearmint!

 

[fox]

What lye calculator are you using? I came up with between 12%-13% superfat using 80 g of lye when I entered the amounts in soapcalc. Also, I've only used fine sea salt in my bars so I can't comment on the coarse salt. :

Used 'Majestic Mountain Sage' lye calculator. Checked on soapcalc and you're right, get different amounts of lye. Which is a bit worrying since I've made two batches using Majestic already. Which should I use?

And are the differences significant? A was led to believe that precise measurements were essential, but if I were making a soap at, say, 5%SF, one calculator might ask for more lye than the other, which could lead to lye-havy soaps if one is incorrect.

 

[Hazel]

I should mention that I'm not an expert soap maker but here goes...

I used the MMS lye calculator and couldn't get it to go over 10% SF. At 10%, the lye amount was 82.77. I noticed the difference in the lye amounts per 1 percent was .092. So, I subtracted 2.76 g to get 80.01 g of lye which is still only 13% SF. I went back to soapcalc and entered 13% SF and it gave me 79.71 g of lye so very close to the 80 g.

How did you get MMS to show 17% SF?

I wouldn't worry about the slight difference in lye amounts. I always round down on lye amounts just because I think the little extra superfat isn't going to make much of a difference. For example, for the amount of 79.7 I would use 79.5 or even just 79. But when making a salt bar, the superfat will be more important so you do want to make sure your lye amount is correct.

I also noticed that soapcalc gave 190 g of water for a 500 g batch. I don't know how important this is but the little extra water might allow you a little more time to get the soap in the mold.

There's not much activity on the board this weekend. Maybe on Monday an expert soap maker will step in and give some advice.

 

[fox]

How did you get MMS to show 17% SF?

I did the same as you but made a miscalculation. Sorted now though, thanks for the help. Will use soapcalc from now on, much easier to calc exact amounts for superfatting.

Just poured my salt soap so just hoping I judge the time to cut it corretly or i might need to buy a chainsaw.

 

[fox]

Don't swap your EOs until you've blended some together! Oakmoss makes a great anchor for other EOs. Go here first and look up some blends. Try it before you decide you decide to get rid of it.

http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php

This website is amazing! I used a blend from it for my salt soap: Citrus Earth. Smells wonderful!

 

[Hazel]

Don't swap your EOs until you've blended some together! Oakmoss makes a great anchor for other EOs. Go here first and look up some blends. Try it before you decide you decide to get rid of it.

http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php

This website is amazing! I used a blend from it for my salt soap: Citrus Earth. Smells wonderful!

I really like this site, too. It helps me consider blends I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Someone posted this link to help people out. I feel bad when I pass on tips and I can't remember who originally gave the advice or link. I'd like to give credit to the person. My memory is sooo bad. :roll:

Citrus Earth sounds wonderful. What EOs does it include? Of course, I also like peppermint and the lavender mint suggested by the other ladies. Lavender vanilla is another nice scent.

I'd love to see pics of your soap and I'm sure you won't need to buy a chainsaw. A hammer and chisel will work just as well.

 

[JackiK]

I did a search for salt bar recipes and came upon this thread. I'm relatively new at this, so bear with me. I want to make sure I purchase the correct type of salt. Where do you guys find it? Do you have to order? There are a zillion places online. Thanks for any advice.

 

[Hazel]

I just use sea salt that I buy at the grocery. I know some people have said they use regular table salt and it works fine. Although I think you'd have to buy the salt without iodine.

 

[JackiK]

I just use sea salt that I buy at the grocery. I know some people have said they use regular table salt and it works fine. Although I think you'd have to buy the salt without iodine.

Thank you so much. I will check next time I'm at the store.

 

[Hazel]

I just use sea salt that I buy at the grocery. I know some people have said they use regular table salt and it works fine. Although I think you'd have to buy the salt without iodine.

Thank you so much. I will check next time I'm at the store.

Remember to post pics! :wink:

 

[SmellyKat]

I did a search for salt bar recipes and came upon this thread. I'm relatively new at this, so bear with me. I want to make sure I purchase the correct type of salt. Where do you guys find it? Do you have to order? There are a zillion places online. Thanks for any advice.

Your local grocery store should carry sea salt. I find mine at Safeway. "Morton" fine sea salt.

Kathie

 

[JackiK]

I did a search for salt bar recipes and came upon this thread. I'm relatively new at this, so bear with me. I want to make sure I purchase the correct type of salt. Where do you guys find it? Do you have to order? There are a zillion places online. Thanks for any advice.

Your local grocery store should carry sea salt. I find mine at Safeway. "Morton" fine sea salt.

Kathie

Thank you, Kathie.