Brine fail, help trouble shoot?

[cmzaha]

When I make my brine (Soleseif) soaps I dissolve salts until they no longer dissolve. If I remember that comes out to approx 25%. If there is some undissolved I just toss it in the bucket of oils too. Next I strain the brine adding any remaining salt into the oil bucket. I strain it so I can tell if all the lye has dissolved in the brine.

As for purees I have used purees at 100% by freezing the puree in a bag so the puree it a bit flat then slowly mixing the lye over the frozen puree chunks. It takes quite a lot of stirring and you have to be careful that all the lye is dissolved.

 

[Iluminameluna]

@cmzaha That is exactly what I did. I froze the twice-strained mango puree, AND the seawater, chunked both of them and stirred and stirred as I poured in the lye granules. Worked a treat because the lye solution never really heated up, so the sugars in the mango puree didn't change color at all!

 

[amd]

All this talk about "instant ocean" has me curious. I've made two (successful) brine soaps, using dendritic salt. I've been using one bar that's about 6 weeks cured in my shower this week and I love it. My skin is doing better with it than regular salt bars. So is there a difference in using sea salt vs. regular salt? I was thinking about using some pink himalayan salt in my next batch.

 

[SaltedFig]

Used the FO before, it soaps beautifly. I can only guess the mineral content is similar to dead sea salt, too much of something for soap to form. I'd like to keep experimenting with the instant ocean, see if I can find a amount that would work but its such a waste of ingredients. I should have stuck to regular sea salt

Naturally dehydrated sea water salt contains a mixture of sodium chloride and other salts and minerals in varying amounts, depending on where it's from (location and depth). This salt mixture (natural or artificial), messes with the soap a bit (the stronger the solution, the more likely it is to fail). Sorry to hear that you wasted ingredients.

Sodium chloride (rock salt/sea salt or plain table salt) can be used without worry (even if you make the brine as strong as you can, the soap will still work).

All this talk about "instant ocean" has me curious. I've made two (successful) brine soaps, using dendritic salt. I've been using one bar that's about 6 weeks cured in my shower this week and I love it. My skin is doing better with it than regular salt bars. So is there a difference in using sea salt vs. regular salt? I was thinking about using some pink himalayan salt in my next batch.

"Dendritic" describes the shape of the crystal, so dendritic salt is sodium chloride that has had it's crystal structure modified to form star or branching shapes, using a crystal modifying agent in vacuum production for commercial production. This is why why you often see E535/sodium ferrocyanide/yellow prussiate of soda on the MDS of dendritic salt - this is used as a crystal modifying agent.

Dendritic salt will dissolve easily and quickly, but I don't believe this warrants the additional cost (over regular sea salt) when making a brine solution.

 

[Susie]

Don't use dendritic salt for a regular salt soap. We had a member do that and get all scratched up.

Hubs claims that the "Instant Ocean" brine soaps help his skin more than regular brine soaps. I don't know, as I do not share his skin type. But if it is that easy to keep the hubs happy with my soapmaking hobby, then I am going to be happy to keep making it.

 

[SaltedFig]

Don't use dendritic salt for a regular salt soap. We had a member do that and get all scratched up.

Hubs claims that the "Instant Ocean" brine soaps help his skin more than regular brine soaps. I don't know, as I do not share his skin type. But if it is that easy to keep the hubs happy with my soapmaking hobby, then I am going to be happy to keep making it.

I like seawater for soap (in a sea water concentration) as well. I think the traditional Marseille olive soaps use local seawater, so there's something in it.

... and there's my new thing for the day - I didn't know that dendritic salt scratches (is it as bad as Himalayan?). Thanks Susie

 

[amd]

I tried making a regular salt bar with dendritic salt, and it weeped and oozed like crazy. I stick with canning/pickling salt now. I pick up 5lbs of dendritic salt for $1, so for me it's actually more affordable than sea salt.

I guess I didn't ask my question very well, so I'll try asking this way.... What the heck is "instant ocean"?

 

[Obsidian]

Instant ocean is a brand of marine salt used in salt water aquariums. It supposedly has the same mineral content of natural sea water.
I wouldn't buy it just for soap use, its too pricey and fiddly.

@Susie do you use your regular recipe with the IO? Does it affect lather at all?

 

[amd]

Thanks @Obsidian I was trying to figure out if it's something you buy, or code name for something else, lol.

 

[cmzaha]

I would love to use actual Pacific water, but without a boat anymore I cannot get far enough offshore to get clean seawater. Nope, will not use seawater from the shore. During my fishing days I use to bring a few gallons home from Catalina Island. Pretty blue pristine water off some parts of the Island.

 

[Deniece]

I did a batch of Soleseife and although all seamed to go well, didn't get it it out of mold in time to cut bars. It just crumbled lare chunks off as I tried to cut the bars. Also single bar molds have small surface cracks. How can I rebate and add some moisturizing as well?

 

[OldHippie]

Tried a brine soap today but used marine salt (instant ocean) instead of regular salt.

Instant Ocean is "formulated", and is not sea salt. Some might argue that it is not "natural".

 

[Iluminameluna]

I use a seawater from shore (no way to get on a boat) but I pass it through a ceramic filter meant to make any water potable. It works like a dream. A friend of mine gets me the water. I know it's pure because it stays nice and clear in its glass jug for over a month. I don't think it'd do that if there were impurities in it. Just my opinion, though.

 

[artemis]

but I pass it through a ceramic filter meant to make any water potable. It works like a dream.

Asking because I don't know: if it makes it potable, sure it still have salt in it? I thought salt content is part of what makes it undrinkable?

 

[Iluminameluna]

Asking because I don't know: if it makes it potable, sure it still have salt in it? I thought salt content is part of what makes it undrinkable?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. The filter is usually sold to filter FRESH water, but I use it to filter sea water. The salt content remains intact.