Is it me or salt soap "melts away" much faster tha

[aab1]

I've been using salt soaps I made for a few days and they seem to "melt away" much faster when you use them compared to regular soap.

Is this normal? I assume it's the salt that dissolves in water faster than the soap.

They end up being expensive soaps with the high cost of coconut oil and the fast melt rate, but they're still the best soaps I ever used! I take longer showers just to enjoy my salt soaps longer... oh maybe that's why they're melting away so fast lol.

Thanks

 

[Dragonkaz]

It's recommended to cure these bars for a few months to give them quality and life. AFter a couple of days they haven't cured and therefore won't last long.

My salt bars are CO with 70% salt and they last as long as any other soap I make. I use them when they're 3 to 4 months old and I think my current one has been washing for about four weeks ... with many week to go!

Also make sure homemade soaps are let dry when not in use. They'll melt if they're left in a dish with some water.

 

[Fragola]

Some other thread was mentioning the coconut oil as being the culprit.

 

[LuvOurNewf]

My salt bar seems to last as long as the "regular" bars I've made so far. I also use 70% salt to oil ratio. Coconut oil makes up 85%-95% with Shea being the remainder. SF @ 18%.

Actually after curing for 6 weeks and using the present bar everyday for a week it's a bar I don't want to drop as it feels hard as a rock. But I'll take the chance as the lather and feel are great!

 

[carebear]

really? my salt bars last eons. i don't think I've ever even managed to finish one...

 

[paillo]

really? my salt bars last eons. i don't think I've ever even managed to finish one...

ditto here!

 

[Deda]

really? my salt bars last eons. i don't think I've ever even managed to finish one...

ditto here!

Me 3. Mine last forever.

And as for the high cost of coconut, where are you buying it? I pay the same for coconut as olive. Not nearly as much as avocado, PKO or butters.

 

[jcandleattic]

really? my salt bars last eons. i don't think I've ever even managed to finish one...

ditto here!

Me 3. Mine last forever.

And as for the high cost of coconut, where are you buying it? I pay the same for coconut as olive. Not nearly as much as avocado, PKO or butters.

Me 4...
Mine last for-freaking-ever. I usually get tired of the scent before the bar is ever finished...

 

[krissy]

me 5!

i have a bar of salt soap that i keep next to my kitchen sink that is over a year old. it will not die! of course it had a good long cure first.

 

[aab1]

It is true as mentioned in another thread that this soap was only made a few days ago, but compared to an olive oil soap of about the same age it seems to get used faster, but as I said it might be because I enjoy the salt soap so much that I take much longer showers since I made them.

However I used 100% salt (if I put one pound of oils, I add one pound of salt) and find that ratio perfect, though I haven't tried more or less.

 

[jcandleattic]

It is true as mentioned in another thread that this soap was only made a few days ago, but compared to an olive oil soap of about the same age it seems to get used faster, but as I said it might be because I enjoy the salt soap so much that I take much longer showers since I made them.

However I used 100% salt (if I put one pound of oils, I add one pound of salt) and find that ratio perfect, though I haven't tried more or less.

Yep, I was talking about my 100% CO soap with a 1:1 salt/oil ratio.

But I don't use soap without a full cure. It's just not worth it. I have no idea how it will perform in the long run, they are drying and not nice to my skin, they dissolve too quickly - I could go on and on with the cons of why I don't.

The only pro to using uncured soap - IMO - is because you are so proud of your creation you just can't wait. All new soapers go through that!

 

[IrishLass]

it will not die!

Ditto to the max! Mine last for seemingly an eternity.

IrishLass

 

[aab1]

By the way I've been using organic virgin coconut oil (the one I normally cook with) which is why it costs me more.

I'll look into getting cheaper coconut oil if I start making larger quantities of coconut oil soap, is there any benefit or even harm to the oil being virgin for making soap?

Thanks

 

[judymoody]

You can get cheap coconut oil at Walmart Super Centers. Look for Louanna brand in the oils section.

Salt bars definitely benefit from a good cure. There is a huge difference between 4 weeks (meh) and 8 weeks (wow!)

 

[PrairieCraft]

it will not die!

Ditto to the max! Mine last for seemingly an eternity.

IrishLass

I've killed salt bars before to put me out of my misery. Next soap please! So many soaps, not enough showers.

 

[Hazel]

I have a salt bar that I've been using for several months and I may be using it up in the next month. Although, I should mention I only use it a couple of times a week. The other days I alternate between using a different salt bar, a beer soap and a cream soap. :wink:

 

[IrishLass]

I've killed salt bars before to put me out of my misery.

Shhhh. Don't tell anyone, but me, too.

IrishLass

 

[scrubbie]

I am sorry I ask so many questions. It just seems to me that just when I believe, I have heard it all and have a mastery of concepts about CP soaps something new comes. What are salt bars per say and why are they desirable?[/size] What do they do? I have heard of sugar scrubs and sugar scrub bars but not salt bars and what they do? Wouldnt that be drying to the max? Is it a hand bar or a body bar?

 

[Dragonkaz]

I've killed salt bars before to put me out of my misery. Next soap please! So many soaps, not enough showers.

I use the ends of my soap logs to wash with and often throw them out before they're finished, due to having new ones waiting to be trialled!

Soapmaking is definitely a test of patience and is a craft that will reward those who are patient!

 

[IrishLass]

What are salt bars per say and why are they desirable?[/size] What do they do? I have heard of sugar scrubs and sugar scrub bars but not salt bars and what they do? Wouldnt that be drying to the max? Is it a hand bar or a body bar?

Salt bars are just bars of soap to which a large amount of salt has been added. Some use just as much salt as per the amount of oils/fats in their batch (i.e. 100% salt), some use 80% salt as per oils, some 50% salt, and some less than that (I like to use 25% to 30% myself).

The oil of choice to use for a salt bar batch is coconut oil- usually used at 100% in a salt bar batch, since it's powers of being able to lather well in the presense of salt water in comparison to other oils is well known, although I suspect that babassu and PKO might be good candidates as well, or at least might come close (I need to put that to the test and find out for myself).

To me, salt bars make for a very interesting bar of soap. They are super hard and loooong lasting. The lather is not like your typical lather- instead of creamy/bubbly, it's more of a foamy-type lather that's actually pretty nice to use for shaving. A single salt bar lasts for months in my house. And they are very refreshing to use in the shower around here come summer where it's not unusual for our local temps to reach 115F. I don't find them to be drying at all when I shower with them in the summer, but I don't much like using them all over my body in the shower come winter here (the air is too cold and dry), although they are my go-to soap to use by the sink year-round for washing hands because they don't get goopy and stay nice and pretty in the dish.

As for exfoliation- it all depends on the size of your salt crystals, I suppose. I use fine sea salt in mine and don't find them to be exfoliating at all (nor do I want them to be). They are as as hard and smooth as a well-worn river rock.

A couple of anecdotal asides: My nephew found my salt bars to be quite helpful for his face when he was going through puberty, and my hubby who often does a lot of yard work outside in his spare time, finds them very helpful to use on scratched and nicked skin (he says his skin heals quicker when using my salt bars).


IrishLass