Miadrianel Candles Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Grettings everyone,I heard about a soap made with sea water. Obviously the lye is dissolved on the sea water then added to the oils. The person that told me states that the soaps have great qualities. But....Here I am asking questions....This completly goes against everything I know about using distilled water or rain water...But we do use milk, rose water and other types of mixtures or blends to dissolve lye for soap making...Any opinions?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LovelyLathers Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I would never recommend using use sea water in soapmaking unless you had it tested to make sure it is not polluted or has any contaminateds in it. I would never use rain water either because of the acid rain and other contaminates that would get into it, bugs larvae. But that is my opinion. Someone else may come along and feel differently. IMO this is something that will give the Cosmetic Act even more fuel! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara AL Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 What about just putting a tablespoon of Sea Salt bought from the store into your distilled water you would get the same effect. Ditto what Lovelylathers said.Barbara AL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miadrianel Candles Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Well by no means think I would do this! I always use destilled. But I know someone who came up with this. I personaly think there to many variables to use such thing. Lets see where this ends.up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wessex Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I have two saltwater reef tanks, so I am constantly making "sea water" for water changes (specially made salt that is not cheap, lol). There are MANY metals in sea water (including heavy metals), even if at trace amounts, so I would be a bit leery of making soap with it. But then again, I am not a soapmaker. OK, I just looked at the ingrediant list on my salt mix (made in Germany to exactly aproximate the "ideal" seawater mix) and it contains 69 different elements (including Silver!). But thinking about it, all these elements are around us everyday and don't seem to hurt us. Besides, who doesn't like swimming in the ocean. So I guess the soap wouldn't be bad unless the water came from a contaminated area. Of course, it would probably never pass FDA muster. But what does nowadays...Cheer,Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara AL Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I made saltbars from Sea Salt but not Dead Sea Salt I love the way the Sea Salt with the combination of High Coconut makes my skin feel so smooth.Barbara AL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 I made seawater soap for a swap. Not sure I'd say the jersey coastline has the cleanest water but it was fun.I didn't keep the soap that long so don't know if it was more DOS prone than other soaps, but it was 100% coconut oil so probably not.Would I sell it? Yea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 The person that told me states that the soaps have great qualities.Such as? I think this is a novelty and that some soap makers may be trying to capitalize on certain beneficial properties of natural salt water hoping that their customers don't think the logic or chemistry all the way through... Dead Sea salts are one thing. Dead salt water is quite another!! It's important to understand that many folks in the "natural" products business are just as cagey and disingenuous about their marketing claims as any other variety of greedhead. Descriptions, processes, ingredients and additives which apply to FOOD products (which are ingested) are not necessarily applicable to external applications, but people who can fool their customers (ie. baffle 'em with 100% organic BS) can charge a premium price for the *idea* that their products are somehow more "natural" and "pure" by using these ingredients. The same pitches that snake oil salesmen used a couple of centuries ago are alive and well today. Salt water, drawn fresh from the ocean, has lots of extra ingredients in it, such as extra organic material (algae, plankton, protozoa, larvae, urine, feces, etc.) and bacteria (vibrio, mycobacterium, pseudomonas, enterococci, rickettsia, strep, staph, e. coli, proteus, etc.) which could possibly contaminate the soap if the bacteria are not destroyed by the lye reaction and/or heat of gelling. Personally, I'd at least bring the raw sea water to a rolling boil (or heat to 160°F for 30 minutes) to sterilize it, then pour it through a coffee filter to remove any particulate matter. Better yet - run it through a UV sterilizer then an activated carbon filter to kill and remove bacteria, other impurities and odors. I SURE as heck wouldn't want my soap to smell like any of the water I used to change from my salt water aquaria or bait buckets!!If I wanted to make "sea water" soap, I would dissolve Dead Sea (or other) salts in fresh water and use that, not some funky water I packed home from the beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miadrianel Candles Posted July 9, 2011 Author Share Posted July 9, 2011 Aha! Someone has biology/chemist experience! : ) I do agree with all the responses really belive me I have seen my share of misinformation on many aspects of candle and soapmaking. But sometimes i throw it out there to really know why something shouldnt be Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tlc26 Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Stella!!! ditto!!! I wish we had a like button! I could not have said it better!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminousBoutique Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 <--- made seawater soap with maui sea water. Nothing is going to survive the lye, if anything was in the water to begin with. My mom asked me to make the batch for her the last time I was in Maui, she gave it to friends. They all loved it.. to me, it was the same idea as adding some salt for a harder bar. Just asked my mom how it looks, she still has 6 bars from the batch, she says it looks great... no DOS or anything weird. I dont really see how it would do anything for the soap aside from make the bars harder. I didnt notice a difference at trace or otherwise. If someone wanted to make sea water soap I too would suggest using sea salt... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuminousBoutique Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 FYI we also made sea salts for personal use.. got a kiddie pool, bleached it, then filled it with buckets of sea water. Set on a roof in the yard. Week later, full of lovely natural sea salt. I bagged it and used it to make my mom a sea salt scrub, and we used it for soaking our feet and such... not a flicker of worry... but I wouldnt sell it without getting it tested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMori Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Steve brought up a great point about all the dissolved metals. Other than causing DOS, it may make your soap more scummy, if that's a word.Biological contaminants may or may not survive the lye, but do you really want to use soap that potentially has those contaminants. What about pesticides, motor oils, fertilizers, etc., etc. that end up in the water due to run off? Do you want those in your soap? To each his own... but if you are going to use sea water, I can send you some at not to great of a markup. Oh, there is a huge sewage treatment plant about a mile south of the beach I go to, but if you don't mind biological contamination, that shouldn't be a problem. /sarc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Any bacteria in the sea water would be killed because high concentrations of salt is a natural sanitizer. Just google it. Back in the day they used salt to preserve meat (hams etc.) when they didn't have freezers....and as far as distilled being "better" , all that is is the steam from boiled water. That removes not only impurities, but valuable minerals that would be good for the body. So I would say, wha the heck. Try a batch. You don't have to sell it. Even if you did, I am SURE there are more dangerous things people are bathing with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miadrianel Candles Posted July 16, 2011 Author Share Posted July 16, 2011 Ok... let me clear this up again I AM NOT USING SEA WATER ON MY SOAP!!!! I WILL NOT NOR I DO NOT INTEND TO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Any bacteria in the sea water would be killed because high concentrations of salt is a natural sanitizerJust a FYI... if that were true, sea water would have no bacteria in it and it certainly does. Not only does it contain bacteria (which may or may not survive the lye), it contains viruses which are very heat resistant, tough organisms. There is a particular species of pseudomonas bacteria that lives on soap, so some bacteria DO survive the lye. All bacteria is not created equal, which is why humans invented better methods of preserving foods than salt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camay Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 Yup, lots of bacteria in seawater. Bacteria get a bad wrap because of a few pathogenic species, but most bacteria is good, and necessary for life. Technically, viruses are not organisms. They are intracellular parasites. But I am splitting hairs. Off topic. My apologies to the OP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 16, 2011 Share Posted July 16, 2011 ...most bacteria is good...Technically, viruses are not organismsYeah you right. Thanks for the clarification.:smiley2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noodle Posted July 18, 2011 Share Posted July 18, 2011 Bacteria get a bad wrap because of a few pathogenic species, but most bacteria is good, and necessary for life. I could not agree more with this statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella1952 Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 Bacteria get a bad wrap because of a few pathogenic species, but most bacteria is good, and necessary for life.Sure, but those aren't the ones that cause me any concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMori Posted July 21, 2011 Share Posted July 21, 2011 Soap made with salt water will get harder faster, just as it does when adding salt to your lye water. Old time soap makers used to use this trick to make their soap harder faster. Especially good thing to do if you are using individual intricate "fancy" molds. The soap sets up harder within 24 hours or so, and you can unmold sooner.As far as skin care benefits, I haven't found any real difference between soap made with salt and soap made without salt. ***I'm not talking about salt bars, made with 50% or more salt to oil ratio. I'm talking about a teaspoon to tablespoon of salt added to the lye water.*** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CareBear Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) Any bacteria in the sea water would be killed because high concentrations of salt is a natural sanitizer. Just google it. Back in the day they used salt to preserve meat (hams etc.) when they didn't have freezers....and as far as distilled being "better" , all that is is the steam from boiled water. That removes not only impurities, but valuable minerals that would be good for the body. So I would say, wha the heck. Try a batch. You don't have to sell it. Even if you did, I am SURE there are more dangerous things people are bathing with!The concentration of salt in sea water is far from high. Bacteria are delighted to live in it. Lye will kill the bacteria - that's true - but there are toxins that can certainly survive it, plus salts & metal ions that can promote DOS.The minerals in water, clean potable water, ARE important to being healthy. Distilled water is not considered drinking water by the National Institute of Health. Edited July 25, 2011 by CareBear re-ordered paragraphs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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