Hey guys! Today’s post was inspired by one of the most inspiring things you can do- walk through Menards with your husband. Haha
But really, we were doing our monthly stroll through Menards for the usual; lightbulbs, batteries, and random tools when I saw a huge bag of Pink Salt on sale. The first thing that came to mind was “I should make salt bars!” Because, why not?
Had I ever made a salt bar? No. Had I ever used a salt bar? Also no. But I know it’s something people make! That’s good enough for me. There’s something so contradictory about using salt in a product that’s supposed to moisturize…. so I needed to read up a bit before attempting.
My decision to make a salt bar was based on Himalayan Pink Salt being on sale, but it is a popular choice on its own merit! The salt creates a creamy lather, like lotion. It is a gentle exfoliant and people often use a salt bar before and after shaving. Pink salt in itself is nourishing to the skin and moisturizing. Not to mention it’s just so pretty in a cold process bar!
The salt does make the bar very hard and have a creamy lather as opposed to a bubbly one. Coconut oil is the oil of choice for most people. I love using coconut oil in my cold process soaps, but it is very cleansing. It can be a little harsh on skin at 100%. I decided to try castor oil (the coneflower infused oil I made in this post ) as a percent of the oil content. The ratio I used was 85% coconut oil and 14.6% castor oil. I wanted a 10% super fat (lye discount) so the bar wouldn’t be as harsh. I plug all my recipes into soap calc before making. This is so important to make sure to get the amounts correct. http://www.soapcalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp
Now, because I’m frugal ( Cheap? Hippie-ish? Super weird?) I like to reuse containers I already have to make my soap. I do have one silicone mold, but other than that I use household items to make my bars. Typically I use cream containers because they make nice square bars. For these I thought it would be fun to make mini soaps. I don’t own a mini mold so I had to get creative. If you’re interested in how my soaps look when using cream containers check them out here: https://www.chaosandconeflowers.com/goats-milk-shampoo-bars/
A few weeks ago my husband came home with a surprise box of chocolates. He says for me, but honestly he ate most of them. 😉 I really try and limit the single use plastic we bring into our home, but sometimes life (and a husband) makes that hard to do. When we had finished our chocolate I debated on what to do with the plastic that held the candies. It wasn’t listed as recyclable. Then the idea hit! How are these little plastic trays different from a little cavity mold? I’m so happy I decided to give it a try!
My soap bars usually use goats milk instead of water. Unfortunately while I didn’t have any to use right now, I did have coconut milk in the fridge. It’s not something I’ve used in soap making before, but hey! Why not? So for this recipe I used coconut milk, coconut oil, castor oil, lavender essential oil, the pink salt and of course lye. The lavender oil is such a calming scent to me. It’s the perfect addition to these spa- like bars.
For the amount of salt to use I’ve read various amounts. Typically people use 50%-100% of the weight of oils. So for example, the bars I made had an oil weight of 16.4oz. I decided to try the 100% of the weight. 16.4oz of salt is a LOT of salt to measure out. But the results were beautiful!
I’d love to hear your results from trying this recipe out!
Lavender and Himalayan Pink Salt Bars
Here’s what you’ll need:
Coconut oil 14oz
Castor Oil 2.4 oz
Coconut milk 6.23oz
Lye 2.59 oz
Lavender essential oil 0.5 oz
Himalayan Pink Salt (fine) 16.4 oz
Make sure to follow safe soaping protocol.
Using a digital scale, measure out 6.23oz of coconut milk. In a separate container measure out 2.59oz of lye. Slowly and carefully add the lye to the milk and stir to combine.
Melt and measure 14oz of coconut oil. Add to that 2.4oz of castor oil and stir to combine.
Make sure the lye mixture and the oils are close to the same temp, I usually soap at just above room temp. Carefully pour the lye mix into the oils and incorporate with a rubber spatula. Use a stick blender to bring to trace. When you’ve reached a medium trace add the salt and lavender oil. The salt really speeds things up so you want to get it into the molds right away.
The salt bars will need to be cut in just a few hours if you use a loaf mold. If you wait too long they’ll crumble when you go to cut. If you’ve used a cavity mold you don’t need to worry about that!
After you take the bars out of the mold, put them on a drying rack in a cool place to cure. They’ll be ready to use in 3-4 weeks.
Heidi Sharp
Hello!
Did you have to freeze the coconut milk beforehand?
These look lovely
Zoe
Yes, it helps to freeze any milks before! I premeasure the amount I’ll need and freeze in ice cube trays.