Soap for use in salt water - mariners’ soap - sailor soap

[Vicki C]

Hi all, I would like to make bar soap for use in salt water. Commercial sailor soaps are liquid potassium based soaps - bar soaps are mostly coconut oil (I think?). I’ve tried to search in this forum but get directed to saltwater soap which isn't what I want - sailor soap leads me to hello sailor fragrance. Adrianne Arsenault has a video but no recipe. Anybody have a lead or guidance?

 

[basti]

I would try a 100% CO 20% SF soap.

I made the same recipe and had a pair of sailors test it out for me while they were on a trip. They reported back that it lathered nicely and rinsed easily. They did also say the lather was on the creamier side, however they had a slightly undercured bar (4 weeks) and I had similarly creamy results at 4 weeks in the sink. It was bubbly in the sink at 10 weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a comparison for natural salt water at 10 weeks as their bar is now sitting in their shower on land

I just pulled my tester out to try it with some salty water (35g salt mixed into 1000g tap water) and then tap water. I'd say the results are rather similar. Whether this works the same in proper fishy sea water is a different story that would require testing, but unfortunately I can't do that test at the moment due to poor local ocean water quality at this current point in time.

Salty water - Tap water

For transparency, this bar is 13 weeks old and is 100% CO 20% SF made with local sea water, coconut milk powder, and kaolin clay. Those ingredients may or may not contribute to or reduce the lather.

(Edit: Fixed the image!)

 

[Vicki C]

I would try a 100% CO 20% SF soap.

I made the same recipe and had a pair of sailors test it out for me while they were on a trip. They reported back that it lathered nicely and rinsed easily. They did also say the lather was on the creamier side, however they had a slightly undercured bar (4 weeks) and I had similarly creamy results at 4 weeks in the sink. It was bubbly in the sink at 10 weeks. Unfortunately, I don't have a comparison for natural salt water at 10 weeks as their bar is now sitting in their shower on land

I just pulled my tester out to try it with some salty water (35g salt mixed into 1000g tap water) and then tap water. I'd say the results are rather similar. Whether this works the same in proper fishy sea water is a different story that would require testing, but unfortunately I can't do that test at the moment due to poor local ocean water quality at this current point in time.
View attachment 70108
Salty water - Tap water

For transparency, this bar is 13 weeks old and is 100% CO 20% SF made with local sea water, coconut milk powder, and kaolin clay. Those ingredients may or may not contribute to or reduce the lather.

(Edit: Fixed the image!)

Thank you!

 

[TheGecko]

Agree with @basti on her recommendation for the 100% CO, 20% SF.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I turned up two links, one for a similar composition to what @basti provided and one that has other fats in addition to CO. Google can be so unhelpful sometimes. The useful links turned up by searching “bar soap for bathing in saltwater” and were interspersed with many links to yatching/boating forum convos about how much that crowd likes to use liquid dish detergent to bathe!

 

[basti]

that crowd likes to use liquid dish detergent to bathe!

I very clearly recall washing myself, the dishes, and the back of my grandfather's sailboat with the same bottle of dish detergent one summer as a kid. Sailors love their multiuse products

But they do also vouch for Kirk's Castile and Dr. Bronners.

One definite thing to keep in mind is another reason why liquid soap is often preferred and that's a little thing called gravity. A short swim should get your rogue bottle of liquid soap back. But good luck getting your bar soap back haha. I put a paracord loop into the bar I gave them to test and one of them mentioned almost dropping it still.

 

[Vicki C]

I turned up two links, one for a similar composition to what @basti provided and one that has other fats in addition to CO. Google can be so unhelpful sometimes. The useful links turned up by searching “bar soap for bathing in saltwater” and were interspersed with many links to yatching/boating forum convos about how much that crowd likes to use liquid dish detergent to bathe!

Thank you! I’m interested in the one with tallow and both KOH and NaOH. I made some tallow, lard, and coconut oil soap for a local farm and used 10% KOH to counteract the brittleness (if that’s a word) of the tallow. Too bad the company doesn’t give exact ratios.

One definite thing to keep in mind is another reason why liquid soap is often preferred and that's a little thing called gravity. A short swim should get your rogue bottle of liquid soap back. But good luck getting your bar soap back haha. I put a paracord loop into the bar I gave them to test and one of them mentioned almost dropping it still.

You know, I hadn’t considered that - good point! Hmm maybe I could whip some air into it…

 

[Marsi]

Thank you! I’m interested in the one with tallow and both KOH and NaOH. I made some tallow, lard, and coconut oil soap for a local farm and used 10% KOH to counteract the brittleness (if that’s a word) of the tallow. Too bad the company doesn’t give exact ratios.

You know, I hadn’t considered that - good point! Hmm maybe I could whip some air into it…

Whipping air into it will work!

One of the soap challenges was to make a whipped (floating) soap.
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/smf-march-challenge-whipped-soap.58858/
The host made a video on the technique and included that in the challenge notes.

 

[cmzaha]

When I had my boat I whipped my CO soap so it would float if I lost it when we were offshore, and 100% CO is really the only soap that works well in salt water. I superfatted mine at 17% which worked out just fine.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Whipping air into it will work!

One of the soap challenges was to make a whipped (floating) soap.
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/smf-march-challenge-whipped-soap.58858/
The host made a video on the technique and included that in the challenge notes.

I read most of that thread and now I want to make whipped soap!

 

[AliOop]

@Mobjack Bay just in time for this month's Unchallenge.

 

[Vicki C]

I’ve made whipped soap for foam on my beer soap - ok- I can do this!

When I had my boat I whipped my CO soap so it would float if I lost it when we were offshore, and 100% CO is really the only soap that works well in salt water. I superfatted mine at 17% which worked out just fine.

perfect - I’m going to follow your method.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

@Mobjack Bay just in time for this month's Unchallenge.

I’m in the midst of a Murphy’s Law kind of month (imagine 50 g of jojoba oil spreading across my counter after I knocked over the container…) and I don’t think I should try whipped soap until the month is over!

 

[AliOop]

Oh no, not jojoba oil!!

If it makes you feel any better, last month at my house featured the Great Tallow Spillover of 2022. Still not sure how I accidentally knocked the temp dial on the roaster pan to max as I left the room...

 

[Vicki C]

Okay, I made a whipped 95% coconut 5% castor soap - 20% superfat - and it floats! But I am a little concerned that it was mixed well enough with the lye. I’m letting it mellow for a while. I cut it after a few hours, luckily, because it’s quite brittle. It’s scented with white tea and bergamot, a favorite of mine that accelerates like crazy.