Salt bars w/Kelp meal?

[Nikolye]

So this may seem a bit odd... I keep goats and they get a bit of kelp meal as a treat with some dried peas and sunflower seeds. I've been going outside of my safety soaper zone alot lately with all sorts of fun things and i just can't get the salt bar with kelp meal out of my mind. I mean this stuff stinks, its like opening a bucket of harbor every time and i can't wait to see if it carrys through. it has the consistency of coconut sugar but in bigger granules. I have never made a salt bar so i'm scared and excited like i always am(which is silly as i haven't stuffed a batch up entirely...yet)

so questions are as follows...
1.) I use soapcalc.. can i use it as normal for a salt bar, or do i need to figure these maths out on my own? i realize i would figure the salt amount on my own but will all the other things be fine? water/lye amounts wont go all silly because i've added a ridiculous amount of salt? I should be superfatting very high only if i use all tallow or coconut oil? if i use some other oils do i knock down the superfat?

2.) i have not tasted the goats kelp:sick: but i'm assuming its very salty, so i was thinking using half the amount of salt and filling half that with the kelp meal. This seems logical no?

3.) Does the amount of salt you use effect the outcome? meaning as a beginner in the salty world am i better off using say 70% of weight of oils or lower? and if so do i need to change my recipe or superfat? i've used a teaspoon or two of salt in regular bars but thats as far as my sea bar experience goes.

Thanks in advance!

 

[lsg]

My only advice is to use individual soap molds if possible. Salt soap hardens very quickly and if not cut in time is really a chore to get cut.

 

[shunt2011]

Salt bars are made with high CO not tallow. Yes, you need to SF higher for salt bars, most go 15-20% SF. And as stated, highly recommend using individual molds or it's extremely tricky to find just the right time to cut. You can use any amount of salt you choose. Soapers use anywhere from 20-100% salt.

 

[DeeAnna]

You'd use high superfat for a high coconut recipe. A tallow recipe shouldn't need that, even if you made it as a salt bar. The high superfat is used with a high % of coconut to offset the stripping effect of coconut oil soap. Tallow soap will not be as harsh even if made with 100% tallow.

But I don't think you'll be happy with a tallow recipe as a salt bar -- it really won't lather well. Stick with the tried-and-true high coconut recipe for a salt bar.

 

[Seawolfe]

I wouldn't replace too much of the salt with kelp. It WILL be stinky, so you don't want to put too much in. Plus you don't want to add too many botanicals for fear of DOS or other issues. I would start on a fairly low amount - maybe 10% of the oil weight? (just guessing here).

Salt is a lather killer, coconut oil is one of the very few that can lather in salt water - so you need it to be most of the oils.

 

[IrishLass]

Use a very light hand with the kelp...... unless you don't mind your soap smelling like low tide on a hot/humid day. LOL I've used kelp powder in some of my soaps and I personally wouldn't use any more than 1 teaspoon ppo, but that's just me.

Ditto what everyone said in regards to using lots of coconut oil when making salt bars (to ensure lather), although you could certainly try a sample batch with tallow, and then come back to tell us how it turned out!


IrishLass

 

[penelopejane]

It depends if lather is important to you. I make salt bars with 100% OO and with my standard recipe and my family likes them. I don't SF anymore than normal. They seem to lather OK to me but lather probably isn't a priority to me.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

You'd use high superfat for a high coconut recipe. A tallow recipe shouldn't need that, even if you made it as a salt bar. The high superfat is used with a high % of coconut to offset the stripping effect of coconut oil soap. Tallow soap will not be as harsh even if made with 100% tallow.

But I don't think you'll be happy with a tallow recipe as a salt bar -- it really won't lather well. Stick with the tried-and-true high coconut recipe for a salt bar.

Thanks for that tidbit of info, really good to know!

 

[cmzaha]

Use a very light hand with the kelp...... unless you don't mind your soap smelling like low tide on a hot/humid day. LOL I've used kelp powder in some of my soaps and I personally wouldn't use any more than 1 teaspoon ppo, but that's just me.

Ditto what everyone said in regards to using lots of coconut oil when making salt bars (to ensure lather), although you could certainly try a sample batch with tallow, and then come back to tell us how it turned out!


IrishLass

ditto ^^^ My Kelpie bars contain salt and kelp powder. Go lightly

 

[Arimara]

It depends if lather is important to you. I make salt bars with 100% OO and with my standard recipe and my family likes them. I don't SF anymore than normal. They seem to lather OK to me but lather probably isn't a priority to me.

I might have to get ambitious anfd try that sometime but it will be a while before I get to a BJ's or a Costco's. I also rather try that around the beginning of the school year.

 

[Nikolye]

eeeek. Well i'm glad i jumped on here. I only have a wooden loaf mold, so i guess thats that for the salt bar. maybe i can just reformulate my idea and add a bit more salt than my normal 1t ppo and do 1t ppo of the kelp also. Or i can just put my sea bar idea on the back burner awhile, it sounds like my original plan would stink terribly and never come out of my loaf mold! drats! not the end of the world, just an idea i thought was brilliant and thus why this site is so useful!

 

[IrishLass]

eeeek. Well i'm glad i jumped on here. I only have a wooden loaf mold, so i guess thats that for the salt bar.

Don't throw the towel in yet- you can make a salt bar batch in a loaf mold, or even a slab mold if you desire. I have done both since the first day I ever made a salt bar batch. It just takes a little baby-sitting time.

When I make mine, I keep a watchful eye out for the gel stage, and just as soon as my soap firms back up enough from the gel stage to be handled without falling apart- but is still quite hot to the touch yet- I unmold and cut (with gloved hands).

Thankfully, using 100% Coconut Oil as I do with my salt bars, it all goes rather quickly. I'm normally unmolding and cutting my salt bars within the time span of 1.5 to 2 hours after pour.


IrishLass

 

[Nikolye]

Don't throw the towel in yet- you can make a salt bar batch in a loaf mold, or even a slab mold if you desire. I have done both since the first day I ever made a salt bar batch. It just takes a little baby-sitting time.

When I make mine, I keep a watchful eye out for the gel stage, and just as soon as my soap firms back up enough from the gel stage to be handled without falling apart- but is still quite hot to the touch yet- I unmold and cut (with gloved hands).

Thankfully, using 100% Coconut Oil as I do with my salt bars, it all goes rather quickly. I'm normally unmolding and cutting my salt bars within the time span of 1.5 to 2 hours after pour.


IrishLass

ok, ok, i made a 100% coconut oil laundry bar to grate into my laundry soap, i got sick of the crap from the store making my clothes "feel" perfumy... if you can understand that? (my husband looked at me like a total nutter when i said they felt like a smell, ha!) and why on earth would i buy soap for a homeade product anyway!!! anyway, back to point, it started to solidify like an hour later so i cut it before bed and i could of cut it sooner. so like that but a bit more intense. maybe i'll just try it out with a 500g batch. hmmmmmmm:think: easy on the kelp and 70% salt?..... if it is a total disaster maybe i can re-batch? id rather throw in the towl than waste. waste is not something i do or handle well. i'll also keep my eye out for silicone molds at decent price but nothing comes cheap here in N.Z. especially crafty things. I do miss the good ol U.S of A for "stuff!"

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Just go simple - the 70% is good, but forget any sort of tricky FO or fancy colour games. For some reason I try to swirl my salt soaps and it is just a massive pain. Go uncoloured or single colour if you want to keep it a bit less stressful this time round

Edit - I use loaf moulds for my salt bars, too. So don't worry. Just make sure you'll be around and free for the next few hours after moulding, so you can check them and cut when ready

 

[penelopejane]

You can use the quick set salt to your advantage by making a gradient soap and mixing the salt into each section after the colour. Then babysit the finished soap until it's ready to cut.