Salt bar?

[punkflash54]

I am wanting to make a 100% coconut oil salt batch of soap. i am sorry if this has already been asked here before but can you use any salt for the soap or does it have to be sea salt?

 

[krissy]

i use table salt.

 

[Sunny]

i used coarse sea salt, most salts are fine, just make sure you don't add dead sea salt because the soap will ... malfunction.

 

[punkflash54]

ok sounds good. i have lots of extra table salt so i will probably try that out

 

[PrairieCraft]

I did one the other night with table salt and one with kosher salt. The kosher salt batch is more crumbly and course looking, the table salt batch was neater looking.

 

[soapbuddy]

Don't use epsom salt or sea salt. It will weep. Table salt works the best for me.

 

[BakingNana]

Don't use epsom salt or sea salt. It will weep. Table salt works the best for me.

I've always used good ole Hain's non-iodized sea salt at 75% and haven't had a problem.

 

[soapbuddy]

Don't use epsom salt or sea salt. It will weep. Table salt works the best for me.

I've always used good ole Hain's non-iodized sea salt at 75% and haven't had a problem.

That particular brand might have different processing than the one from the health food store. Mine wept tears and it wasn't pretty.

 

[Jezzy]

I use sea salt all the time too. Just don't use dead sea salt. That will cause a mess too..

Remember with a salt bar you have to cut soon after pooring. I normally cut after 2 hours of pouring while the soap is warm!

 

[IrishLass]

I use sea salt all the time for my salt bars, and so far I have never had any problematic issues. I use the Bob's Red Mill brand sea salt that I get from the healthfood store. I've heard that high humidity levels can cause salt bars to weep, though, which may possibly be a factor in why mine have never wept (I live in a very dry, desert climate).

IrishLass

 

[soapbuddy]

I use sea salt all the time for my salt bars, and so far I have never had any problematic issues. I use the Bob's Red Mill brand sea salt that I get from the healthfood store. I've heard that high humidity levels can cause salt bars to weep, though, which may possibly be a factor in why mine have never wept (I live in a very dry, desert climate).

IrishLass

See that's the thing I don't understand. I live in Palm Springs, which is a desert. Mine should not be doing that.

 

[BakingNana]

@soapbuddy...what brand is it that weeps for you? I did notice that Hain's pours a lot dryer than the Whole Foods 365, although I still don't have problems with the moister one, either. Do you suppose your brand has a particularly high mineral content or something?

 

[glenolam]

I am wanting to make a 100% coconut oil salt batch of soap. i am sorry if this has already been asked here before but can you use any salt for the soap or does it have to be sea salt?

I, too, am interested in making a salt bar, but the recipes I've seen call for Castor oil. At the moment I have a TON of coconut oil on hand so I'd like to use it up...what's your recipe (if you don't mind my asking)?

ETA - I've done a search on this forum and found a few recipes that might work - if I can only figure out the recipe on soap calc!

 

[soapbuddy]

@soapbuddy...what brand is it that weeps for you? I did notice that Hain's pours a lot dryer than the Whole Foods 365, although I still don't have problems with the moister one, either. Do you suppose your brand has a particularly high mineral content or something?

I no longer have this salt, so I don't remember what brand it was. I'll look for Hain's next time I'm there.

 

[SudsyKat]

I just made a salt bar this weekend and I was really happy with the way it turned out - although, of course, I haven't used it yet. I used plain old table salt at 80%.

I was wondering - someone just mentioned castor oil - would that be beneficial in a salt bar recipe the way it is in other soap recipes? I mean, I know that coconut oil is recommended because it will lather, even in salt water. But will adding say, 5%, castor oil help make it even a nicer lather?

 

[nattynoo]

I've asked the castor oil question on another site.
The coconut oil is used cause it lathers in salt water... & seen as its a salt bar it'll give u optimun lather. If u add other oils it will reduce the lather thats all.
I've made a salt bar with 70% co, 20%cocoa butter & 10%castor. It still gives bubbles but not as good as the 100%co.

 

[SudsyKat]

Great - thanks for the reply. I can't wait to try my first batch of salt soap in the shower (although from what I hear, I should wait longer than a month). Someone on this forum mentioned that their salt bars feel great at 4 weeks, but really really great when they let them cure longer.

 

[IrishLass]

I, too, am interested in making a salt bar, but the recipes I've seen call for Castor oil. At the moment I have a TON of coconut oil on hand so I'd like to use it up...what's your recipe (if you don't mind my asking)?

Hmmm... now you've got me curious- where did you get your salt bar recipes? I ask because I've never seen a salt bar recipe that called for castor oil as opposed to coconut oil?

I would definitely ditch the castor in favor of coconut for a salt bar. It's a good thing you have a lot of it on hand because a standard salt bar recipe usually contains 100% coconut oil (coconut oil is one of the few oils known to lather in salt water).

You can modify your salt bar recipe to contain other oils, but like nattynoo, I've not found the lather to be as good as it is with 100% coconut oil...... unless, that is, the amount of salt is lowered. You'll just have to play around and experiment with the salt/oil ratios to see what you like best, but coconut oil should make up a good portion of the recipe if you want it to lather half way decently.

After much experimentation and tweaking, my own salt bar recipe now looks like this:

100% coconut oil
100% coconut milk as my liquid amount
25% sea salt as per weight of my oil amount
13% superfat

IrishLass

 

[Stacey]

Can I ask a question? I thought coconut oil was drying. I had read somewhere that using over 30-40% coconut oil wasn't a good idea because of the drying. Was that wrong?

You know how it is when you're a noob, you read everything...some of it is good and right and some of it...not so much. And ALL of it is a matter of your own personal opinion on how it reacts with your skin.

By adding the 13% SF does that counter act the coconut oil's drying? Or is it because it's a salt bar that it changes everything up enough?

 

[soapbuddy]

I make a 100% coconut oil bar with 20% superfat. It makes a fabulous bar. For a salt bar, I use my regular recipe (which has castor) and add as much salt as the amount of oils. I think there is some confusion between the two.