First Salt Soap

[scotsman]

Finally gave in and made my first salt bars. I just took a new day job and have been working nonstop and have very little free time so the fact that I could make the soap, remove it from the mold, and cut the bars all in the span of a few hours appealed to me. I'm also in the process of negotiating a deal with a couple high-end salons in the area that are interested in carrying a selection of my soaps. A fancy salt bar seemed like a solid bet to help reel them in.
My base oils were coconut, castor, olive, and shea butter. For the salt I used a blend of Hawaiian black lava salt and grey celtic sea salt. The fragrance is one I blended myself and haven't thought of a name for yet. It's a very clean-smelling unisex spa-type fragrance.
The batch came together really easily...almost too easily, lol! I read many places that the batter has a tendency to set up immediately after mixing in the salt and I was afraid I would have to mash it into the mold. I didn't experience this personally. When I added the salt at very light trace it did thicken up but not to the point that I had to mash it in. It was more just like a heavy trace that I had to glop into the mold. I was able to pull it out of the mold and cut it after just two hours, although I may want to go for less than two hours on the next one because it was already starting to get crumbly and hard to cut. I probably destroyed the edge on my chef knife. I only did a small batch in one of my test molds because of the high cost of the salt and because this was my first salt soap and I wasn't sure how it would come out. All-in-all I am pleased with the results. I'm not thrilled about the crumbly edges but I guess that goes with the territory for this type of soap. From start to finish it only took a little over 3 hours. Now I'm off to bed as I have to be up for work in another 3 hours, lol! Here's the pics. Let me know what y'all think.


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[kylie_au]

I think they look great. Your salt bars make me want to go make a batch too

 

[AKjulz]

Those look wonderful! Did you add any colorant to it, or is the color just from the salts? I'm not familiar with either of the salts you used. I use pink Himalayan. Wonder if there is any difference in the end result from the different types if salt or if it's just label appeal...

 

[KristaY]

They look great, Scotsman! I love the look of the black Hawaiian salt. The bars look like smooth, small slabs of granite. Maybe you could incorporate "stone" or some other interesting sounding rock in the name. You're really good at alliterations! (I loved "color catastrophes" & "fragrance fails")

 

[scotsman]

 

[scotsman]

@AKjulz - Thank you. I didn't add any colorants. All the color comes from the salt. The black lava salt naturally contains activated charcoal and the celtic sea salt I used along with it is naturally grey in color with interspersed black flecks. I wasn't sure what the finished color would be but I knew working time is limited with salt bars and I didn't want to be farting around trying to get colors blended in and having it seize on me. Definitely glad I decided not to add colors cuz I'm really digging the natural color of it.

@KristaY - Thanks. Yeah it does kinda look like granite. I might go with that when I name it. I used to be a writer and musician so literary devices like alliteration and rhyming come naturally to me. I often use them unknowingly while speaking to people. Tends to get me funny looks but my fiancée finds it hilarious.

Hopefully these soaps will be really nice after a good long cure. I usually try my bars at one week, three weeks, and six weeks to see how they are progressing. Actually I've got some bars from my first batches ever sitting on the shelf in one of my bathroom closets. Perhaps I will break them out eventually to see what a multi-year cure will do for them, lol! For some reason my last pic didn't post so I'll try again.

 

[Claudia]

They're gorgeous and make me want to have another go at making salt soap!

 

[scotsman]

Thank you. I found it to be rather straightforward and easy and am looking forward to making them again soon. I just have to find a cheaper source for salt because the stuff I bought is cost-prohibitive to make bars for sale. The Hawaiian black lava salt cost me about $1.50/oz.

 

[Obsidian]

You don't have to use sea salt, you can use canning salt from the grocery store. If you do get sea salt again, I really recommend you use the fine kind. The course stuff you used can be scratchy, even cut the skin sometimes.

 

[scotsman]

@Obsidian - I used the gourmet sea salt for the label appeal. Duly noted about the fine grain salt. I didn't even think about the fact that it would be too scratchy of worse. I'll try the fine grind next time. I guess I'll use these ones for my dad, my brothers, and I. We all have skin as tough as rhino hide, lol!

 

[Corinne]

These look so amazing... Now I really want to make salt bars! I love that you used different kinds of salt--I was thinking of trying some pink salt but I didn't know there were other kinds too!

 

[seven]

great job @scotsman

i'm liking the color, and you're one brave soul to do a salt bar in a loaf mold! i always chickened out and opted for an individual instead

 

[Aline]

I love them! My first thought was granite but the close up picture looks a bit like pumice. Either way, I could see them sitting in an exclusive spa

 

[cmzaha]

@Obsidian - I used the gourmet sea salt for the label appeal. Duly noted about the fine grain salt. I didn't even think about the fact that it would be too scratchy of worse. I'll try the fine grind next time. I guess I'll use these ones for my dad, my brothers, and I. We all have skin as tough as rhino hide, lol!

Absolutely go with fine grind next time. Heads up on Gray Sea Salt, it tends to be sharp. It is best to get in different types of salts and try small batches. Table salt even with iodine works fine and if you want a little scrub add in coarse kosher salt which is a flaked salt

 

[Dorymae]

Thank you. I found it to be rather straightforward and easy and am looking forward to making them again soon. I just have to find a cheaper source for salt because the stuff I bought is cost-prohibitive to make bars for sale. The Hawaiian black lava salt cost me about $1.50/oz.

Wow $1.50 an ounce! Okay, go here and you'll find 5lbs of black lava Hawaiian salt for $27.45 (.35 per ounce) and FREE SHIPPING! It is a great place for salt...shhhhh lol

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=391#.U81j67GGeHQ

 

[scotsman]

Thanks everybody for the kind words. I was a little nervous going into this one because I've read about so many salt bar mishaps but it seems my fear was all for nothing because it turned out to be really easy...or maybe I just got lucky and the next one will be a headache, lol!

@seven - I only used the loaf mold because other than individual cavity plastic molds and my homemade silicone molds the loaf was the only small mold I had on hand. Soon I'm going to be building a couple wooden or plexiglass slab molds with dividers and I had planned to make a small one specifically for test batches.

 

[jules92207]

Those are gorgeous, scotsman! Love the color, I think the fancy salt made this batch extra special, even if you can use less costly salt. Its always nice to have a fancy soap. I have made my bars with both kinds and either work for me.

 

[scotsman]

@Dorymae - Thank you for sharing your source. For a long time I only bought my supplies locally and am only recently within the last year really starting to source my materials online. I used to live in Philadelphia so there were always a large number of cheap places I could go for just about any supplies I needed. Now that I live in the suburbs of central Florida my local options are limited at best so I was forced to get with the times. The only problem is that I'm a very impatient guy and hate waiting for the stuff to come in the mail, lol!

 

[cmzaha]

Wow $1.50 an ounce! Okay, go here and you'll find 5lbs of black lava Hawaiian salt for $27.45 (.35 per ounce) and FREE SHIPPING! It is a great place for salt...shhhhh lol

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=391#.U81j67GGeHQ

This is where I purchase all my salts. They usually ship the next day
www.sfbsc.comhttp://www.bing.com/search?FORM=IE8SRC&q=san+francisco+salt+company&src=IE-SearchBox#

 

[Dorymae]

This is where I purchase all my salts. They usually ship the next day
www.sfbsc.com

Thank you! I see some prices are lower there, some higher but you just saved me about $10 on my next order if I split it between the two! With the free shipping there is no reason not to do just that!