June 2016 Soap of the Month

[Candybee]

June 2016 Soap of the Month

 

This month I am making salt bars using Dead Sea mud and sea salt. I love using salt bars in the Summer as they exfoliate and polish the skin leaving it feeling soft and smooth. Perfect for those hot summer days when you want to show off your smooth skin. They are also rich in natural minerals from the Dead Sea mud and sea salts which helps to remineralize your skin.

 

For this recipe I am using full water with a 15% superfat and soaping at room temperature. The mold I am using is a flat slab mold from Brambleberry with dividers to make 18 bars of soap. I like using this mold for salt bars as I don't have to worry about cutting the bars. Salt bars can be crumbly or hard to cut depending on your recipe. With this recipe and mold they pop right out and have smooth sides but are slightly crumbly.

 

I'm using a 40 oz oil recipe with 40 oz of salt. I normally use a 56 oz oil recipe for this mold but because I am adding salt I have adjusted the recipe for you.

 

I am using (Pacific) sea salt but you can use regular table salt or any sea salt you prefer. I also like adding premium oils like shea butter and sweet almond for a more luxury bar.

 

Dead Sea Mud Salt Bars

 

INGREDIENTS:

Superfat @ 15%
Full Water @ 38%

OILS: (40oz Recipe)

 

• 20 oz Coconut Oil (50%)
• 8 oz Palm Kernal Oil (20%)
• 5 oz Palm Oil (12.5%)
• 3 oz Shea Butter (7.5%)
• 2 oz Sweet Almond Oil (5%)
• 2 oz Castor Oil (5%)

 

ADDITIVES:

• 40 oz Sea Salt
• 9 oz Coconut Milk
• 6 oz Aloe Vera Juice
• 5.70oz (161.47g) Lye
• 1 tbs Dead Sea Mud (FNWL)
• 2 tsp Copper Penny Mica (Nurture Supplies)
• 2 tsp Activated Charcoal (SMR)
• 3.5oz FO (optional)

 

EQUIPMENT:

• Container (for lye solution)
• Large Spoon (to stir lye solution)
• Large bowl (for soaping oils)
• Stick blender or hand whisk
• 18 bar mold that can hold 5-6 lbs
• Rubber spatula
• Set of measuring spoons
• 1 small block of wood for column swirl
• 1 Chop stick (or bamboo skewer)
• 2 extra bowls able to hold 35 oz
• Mold liner (if your mold needs one - I use freezer wrap but a small cut up plastic garbage bag works fine)

INSTRUCTIONS:

 

Preparing your mold

Take out all of the dividers (including the side dividers) but leave the bottom piece in the mold. Take your liner (I use freezer wrap) and line the bottom over the top of the bottom piece. Replace the four side dividers only leaving out the middle dividers.

 

Place your column piece ( I use a wood column)  in the center of my mold. (I will be pouring the colored batter over the centered wood piece to do a column swirl.)

 

Note: The dividers (from Brambleberry) for this mold make it unnecessary to line the mold. But I find the soap sticks to the bottom piece so I personally prefer to line the bottom as I find that the soap unmolds much easier.

 

 

 

 

Prepare your lye solution

I am using aloe vera juice as my liquid but you may use your own choice of liquid or distilled water in place of it. Add the lye crystals to the bowl with the aloe vera in it. Stir gently until all the crystals have dissolved. Set it aside to cool while you prepare your oils.

 

 

 

 

At this point I preheat my oven at the lowest setting on "warm."

 

 

 

Preparing your soap oils

Gently warm your hard oils and add them to the bowl with your other oils. I use a large rubbermaid spatula to stir the oils together to blend them.

 

 

 

Add the coconut milk and Dead Sea mud to the oils and blend with a hand whisk or stick blender until your soap batter is emulsified.

 

 

 

 

 

 

When my lye is cooled (about 100-110 degrees F) carefully add to the oils stirring as you add using the spatula. Once all the lye solution is in the oils I use the stick blender to blend the batter until it is emulsified.

 

Next I add in the sea salt stirring as I add until it is blended with the batter. For this recipe I am using Pacific Sea Salts I get locally from a health food shop that sells it in bulk.

 

 

As you add the salt the batter will bubble a bit. This is normal as any oxygen in the salt floats up to the top and creates bubbles. First I stir the salt in until I can feel it starting to dissolve and become easier to stir. Then I finish blending with the stick blender to fully incorporate the salt into the batter.

 

 

 

Coloring your soap batter

Divide your batter into 3 equal parts.  Use the 2 extra bowls to pour off about 34 oz each to color. Color one black with the activated charcoal, and the other one copper.

 

 

Use your stick blender or hand whisk to blend each bowl until the color is thoroughly mixed and you don't see any color specks. You should have one bowl each of beige, black, and copper colored batter.

 

 

 

 

Adding in your fragrance

For this soap I am using Peaks Black Canyon. I think it compliments the Dead Sea mud and color scheme.

 

Note: Peaks Black Canyon discolors to a medium dark brown but does not accelerate trace.

 

Divide the fragrance into 3 equal parts and add each to a colored bowl. Then blend each scented, colored bowl with a hand whisk. I use a hand whisk at this point so I don't speed up trace. I want a workable flowing liquid batter to do my column swirl.

 

 

 

Column Swirl Instructions:

Starting with one bowl at a time, carefully pour each color over the centered wood column in your mold. I count off 4 slow seconds in my head per each color. Repeat each color round alternating pouring colors until you have finished pouring all the colored batter into the mold. Your soap batter should look like rings of color extending further and further out around the column.

 

 

When you have finished pouring all of your colored batter take your column out of the mold. Use the last of the soap scrapings to make color dollops on the top after you pull out your column.

 

 

 

Next use your bamboo skewer or chop stick to make swirls over the top.

 

 

At this point I like to add a little bit of gold sprinkle to the top.

 

 

Now its time to place the middle dividers into the mold. Push them down carefully all the way to the bottom of the mold.

 

 

 

Cover your mold with the wood top and place it in the center of the warm oven. Make sure your wood mold has been designed to withstand temperatures of 170 degrees+ for oven use. I leave mine in the oven for 1 hr on warm.

 

After the cook, take out your soap to cool before unmolding. I let mine finish saponifying overnight before unmolding.

 

I like to cure my salt bars for about 6-8 weeks before using. If you cure longer they will continue to be more mild.

 

Photo of finished soap cleaned up and beveled. I use the soap beveler and planer from Soapmakingresource.com. Now they just need to cure!

 

 

Edited May 31, 2016 by Candybee

[Vicky_CO]

Those look yummy great job thank you.

[Fine]

Beautiful - thanks

[debratant]

Awesome soap of the month Candy!  They look GREAT! 

[Gsmakinsoap]

Lovely looking soap there! I didn't realize you could do salt at 100% (of the oils). Thanks for sharing your recipe/process.

[Chefmom]

Is your aloe vera juice at room temperature when you add the lye?  I just bought some recently to try.

 

Thank you! Great job!!

[Candybee]

14 minutes ago, Chefmom said:

Is your aloe vera juice at room temperature when you add the lye?  I just bought some recently to try.

 

Thank you! Great job!!

 

No. I chill my aloe vera juice. Basically I just keep it in the fridge 24/7 so when I need to soap with it it's already chilled. You can use all aloe vera juice for your liquid if you prefer. I just like a good coconut milk soap so I split my liquids.

[Candybee]

Word of caution. I seriously tried for a solid year trying to use Dead Sea Salt in this recipe. Every which way I tried to use it the Dead Sea Salt ruined the bars and made them latherless-- even added at a mere 5% of my total salt. So now I just use the Dead Sea mud with another sea salt.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Candybee

[Gsmakinsoap]

Good to know. I would add that I've also heard caution against Himalayan Salt, that it is too scratchy. I made salt bars using just 25% of it, and would have to agree.

[Candybee]

I use Pink Himalayan salt all the time and don't have any scratchiness problems. Its a great salt to use in salt bars and what I use for my pink grapefruit salt bars.

 

You just have to make sure you always use fine grain salts. If you use the large or medium grains that will make a scratchy soap. So whoever gave you that info on the scratchy soap didn't use the right grain.

 

If in doubt, look for the one that is fine ground like regular table salt. That is the best size to use or finer if you can find it.

 

Here's a pic of my pink himalayan salt bars. I sell a ton of these:

 

Edited June 2, 2016 by Candybee

[puma52]

Gorgeous and beautiful soaps Candybee!! You are a fantastic designer! Those Pink Himalayan salt bars scream WOW!! Thanks for showing us your soap making pics and sharing the recipe and great tips!  

[kandlekrazy]

Both are really pretty soaps!

[sherry]

Candybee, your soap is aawesome I Show the pictures on face book cause  I cant see any pictures on Craftserver  ever since i got windows 10 so Vicky post em on face book on Craftserver, you do spend a lot of time to make, keep up the good work  ,

[Vicky_CO]

The pictures do not do these soap justice at all they are beautiful. They also smell great now I have to wait for them to finish curing be for using. That wait is going to be hard LOL

[Candybee]

Glad you got your soapies. I'm like you and its hard to wait. I already took a bar and have been washing with it but it really isn't ready. With Dead Sea Mud in the bars you really have to wait for them to fully cure before you get the sudsy lather. I'm am just too impatient! LOL

[Midas251]

Wow looks great! Great recipe and picture tutorial!

[Moonstar]

Wow ! I just love the bright colors ! You are 1 talented lady - candles - soap, you do it all ! Thank you for sharing this !

[Vicky_CO]

I waited and it was worth the wait I love it in the shower lather nicely not hard on my skin and clean and rises off well. I told my kid I thought the bars were ready and that I was going to try it out that night I was missing a bar rotten kids. He loves salt bars I guess I should feel lucky he left me a bar. LOL