Pink Salt and Sal Butter Soap Recipe

This homemade pink salt and sal butter soap recipe contains a high percentage of skin conditioning sal butter and mineral rich pink Himalayan salt that promotes healing and aids in detoxing and nourishing skin.

As people with latex allergies and sensitivities are often also allergic to shea butter, I wanted to create an alternative to a homemade shea butter soap. Sal butter, like shea butter, is a superb moisturizer and is believed to help with various skin disorders such as acne, eczema and psoriasis. It can also help to reduce skin inflammation.

Sal butter makes up 11.11% of this sal butter soap recipe. Coconut oil was used at 30.56%. I used a higher percentage of sal butter and a 10% superfat in my homemade pink salt and sal butter soap recipe to counteract both the higher percentage of coconut oil used (for lather) as well as to add moisturizing properties to the soap. The pink Himalayan salt, used at 22.22% of this soap recipe, aids skin in eliminating toxins, balancing the body’s pH, and increasing circulation.

In addition, my pink salt and sal butter soap recipe is palm free. (Learn more about the use of palm oil in soapmaking and discover more of my palm free homemade soap recipes here.)

Pink Salt and Sal Butter Soap Recipe

© Rebecca D. Dillon

Ingredients:

2 oz. sal butter
4.5 oz. safflower oil
5.5 oz. 76° melt point coconut oil
1 oz. castor oil
5 oz. olive oil

5.9 oz. distilled water
2.4 oz. lye (sodium hydroxide)

1 oz. fragrance oil, of choice
4 oz. pink Himalayan salt

How to Make Cold Process Sal Butter Soap with Pink Salt

My pink salt and sal butter soap recipe is half the size of my usual homemade soap recipes. I used this 6-cavity silicone soap mold for this recipe. This soap recipe will require two of these silicone molds and will yield approximately seven bars of soap. If you prefer to use the DIY wooden loaf soap mold I typically use for my recipes, simply double the recipe ingredients and run it back through a lye calculator. (Amounts and percentages are pictured above in my screenshot from SoapCalc so you can resize this soap recipe as needed.) Should you choose not to include salt when you make this soap, then you will likely want to either reduce the % of water used in the recipe to about 30% and/or add .25 oz. of sodium lactate to the recipe for a harder bar.

You will need to follow my basic cold process soapmaking method instructions when making this homemade soap. This soapmaking tutorial also contains information on how to resize a soap recipe as well as how to determine the amount of soap needed for your mold. (If you’ve never made cold process soap before here’s a good, inexpensive beginner’s cold process soap recipe to get you started.) Be sure to take all proper safety precautions when working with lye including goggles and gloves.

Here is how to make this cold process soap recipe with salt butter and pink Himalayan salt:

1. Begin by measuring out the distilled water in fluid ounces. Pour into a heat safe pitcher. Next, use a digital scale to weigh out the lye. Slowly pour the lye into the water in a well ventilated area and stir until all the lye has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
2. Now weigh out the soapmaking oils and sal butter using your digital scale and combine in a stainless steel pot. Heat until all the oils have melted, then remove from heat and set aside to cool.
3. When the lye-water and soapmaking oils have cooled to 90°F to 100°F you’re ready to make soap. (If you’re using a fragrance oil known to accelerate trace, then you will want to soap at a cooler temperature.)
4. Slowly pour the lye-water into the soapmaking oils. Mix with a stick blender until you reach a light trace, then weigh out and add the pink Himalayan salt and fragrance oil. (I used a lemon verbena fragrance oil for my pink salt and sal butter soap recipe since it’s so spring-y!) Use the stick blender to thoroughly combine the new additions with your soap batter and continue mixing until the soap reaches a medium to full trace. Now pour your soap into your mold(s) or mold cavities.
5. If you want your soap to gel, cover and insulate your soap. (I mixed my soap at cooler temps and lightly covered my soap mold with plastic wrap. My soap did not gel.)
6. Wait 24 hours, then unmold your soap. If your soap did not gel or is still soft, you may need to wait 2-3 days to cleanly unmold your soap from the silicone mold(s). Or, you can freeze your soap to remove it from the mold early if needed. Your soap should harden up in a few days.
7. If you used a loaf mold, you can now cut your soap into bars. If you used the 6-cavity silicone soap molds, your soap bars only need to cure as no cutting is needed unless you want to make smaller guest sized soaps.
8. Allow your soaps to cure 4-6 weeks before use. Then package and label as desired. If you are planning to sell your pink salt and sal butter soaps, be sure to include the weight of your soaps on each bar and avoid making any medical claims about your soaps to meet FDA guidelines.

If you like my pink salt and sal butter soap recipe, then you may also like my luxury double butter soap recipe. My luxury double butter soap recipe contains high percentages of both cocoa and shea butters making it perfect for anyone who suffers from dry skin. The recipe comes in both palm and palm free versions. You can find both of my luxury double butter soap recipes here.

Want to learn how to create your own custom cold process soap recipes using a lye calculator? See my tutorial on creating cold process soap recipes using a lye calculator here.

For more of my homemade soap recipes, be sure to follow my Simply Soapmaking and DIY Bath and Body boards on Pinterest. Or keep up with all of my new homemade soap, bath and beauty recipes by following me on Blog Lovin’, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.