Adding Salt

[AK_Homesteaders]

Can salt be added to a rebatch to make the soap harder? I have a batch of soap that is still relatively soft after almost 3 weeks from when I cut the bars. I'll let it go longer, but except for infusing Balm of Gilead buds into the oils, it's my regular recipe. Should be harder by now. So, if I end up rebatching, would salt make it harder? If so, would you add the salt just before putting into the mold, or maybe dissolve it in the water added? Maybe about 25% of oils? I've never used salt in soap before.

Thanks,

Jenny

 

[SimplyE]

Normally, I add 1 tsp salt ppo if I am doing regular CP to make it harder. It is when you are doing a salt bar that you would add a lot more. I have not done it as a rebatch, so I can't help you with that.

HTH!

 

[AK_Homesteaders]

Thank you. I'll let it go a few more weeks to see if it firms up, but so far it is still as soft as the day I cut it. I'll probably add a little salt if I rebatch to see what happens. It's just a small batch because I wasn't sure what the Balm of Gilead would do. I've read that adding a little salt the first time around in cp that it helps, but wasn't sure if it would help a rebatch.

When you add a salt to your regular cp recipe, does it affect the bubbles? Do you do something like add a l sugar to help that? I've started adding sugar to my recipe, and my children love all the extra bubbles. In baking sugar helps bread rise better, but salt off-sets it a little in some recipes. So, I was just wondering if salt did the same thing to soap bubbles.

Thanks,

Jenny

 

[SimplyE]

With salt at 1 tsp ppo, I don't see much of a difference in lack of bubbles. However, I do add sugar a lot, just because I don't use a lot of a cleansing (bubbly) oil anyway.

On the other hand, if you are making a salt bar, which is almost equal weight salt to oils, your bubbles really diminish...thus the reason for using coconut oil (very bubbly) in a salt bar.