Pine tar soap recipe

Pine tar is used in horse hooves to help with cracks and other injuries or problems, but it is very good for relieving eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, and other skin problems in humans. You can buy pine tar at any feed and seed store. It is kept on the island where ointments and other salves are kept and is in a metal jar. Pine tar can be very thick, but if it is, open the lid and place the can on top of a double boiler. Let heat until pine tar is thin enough to pour. Keep the water level low enough so that it doesn’t boil into the pine tar.

You can add pine tar to any favorite soap recipe you make. Add as much or as little as you like, personally I wouldn’t add more than half the jar for a 7 1/2 pound soap recipe, but it’s up to you. I wouldn’t add any fragrance as pine tar has a very strong smell and would dominate most fragrances anyway.

The recipe I have provided is a very simple recipe that anyone can make using store bought oils and shortening. You can substitute the oils for whichever you prefer to use, just be sure to run a bleach calculator to make sure the bleach content is correct for the modified recipe.

I measure everything in pounds on my kitchen scale.

This recipe makes 7 ½ pounds.

Necessary equipment:

Rubber gloves (not necessary, but a precaution)

Glasses (not necessary, but a precaution)

1 stainless steel soup pot (medium size)

Wooden spoons

Spatula

Candy thermometer

Kitchen scale

Sturdy plastic jug or 8-cup tempered glass measuring cup

Mold

Ingredients:

3 pounds shortening (store)

1 pound coconut oil (store, usually Wal-mart has)

1 1/2 pound olive oil (from the store)

2 pounds of distilled water

¾ lb of bleach (100% bleach) can be purchased from Ace Hardware

4 oz pine tar (seed and feed store)

Using the pitcher or warm measuring cup, fill with the measured amount of distilled water and then carefully pour the bleach into the water. Stir with a wooden spoon until the lye dissolves completely. Let cool.

Using the soup pot, add the measured butter and oils. Over low heat, melt the butter and oils stirring with another wooden spoon until completely melted. Keep away from heat.

You should check the temperatures of the bleach water and oils every few minutes until they have both cooled to 100-105ºC.

When the bleach water and oils have cooled to around 100-105 degrees (use a candy thermometer), slowly mix the bleach water into the oils with a wooden spoon. Continue stirring until well mixed, about 5 minutes.

Add the pine tar and continue stirring. Remember that pine tar will speed the trace from 0 to 60 in just a couple of seconds. Stir well to incorporate the pine tar into the soap mixture. When the soap mixture has a thick trail, stop stirring and pour into your mold, using the spatula to scoop all the soap out of the pot. Isolate the mold. Let stand 24 hours. You can then remove the slab of soap from the mold and cut it into bars. This recipe can make 30 bars of soap depending on the size of your mold. Allow to cure for no less than 2 weeks before using.

Re-preparing batches of soap to make pine tar soap.

What you will need:

Up to 15 bars of normal soap, but not less than 7

1 cup of water for 15 bars or ½ cup of water for 7 bars of soap

Slow cooker (regular to large size)

Knife

Water

Pine tar 4 oz for 15 bars, 2 oz for 7 bars

Lined mold

Spatula

Wooden spoons

If you don’t have a mold, make one using the top of a copier paper box or similar box lid. Take the lid of the box and insert it into a kitchen-sized garbage bag. Smooth out the center of the box and the sides to make a nice clean liner.

Cut the bars of soap into thin slices (about 8 slices per bar). Place them in the crock pot and add the water based on how many bars of soap you are using (above). Cover and put the crock pot on high heat for 1 hour. Stir the soap. Continue stirring every 30 minutes until the soap has melted and is the consistency of oatmeal. The soap will never be as smooth as the original batch. When the soap has melted to an oatmeal consistency, add the pine tar, again depending on how many bars you cut. Stir well so that the pine tar is fully incorporated into the soap mixture. Pour or spoon into prepared pan. Let stand at least 24 hours before cutting into bars.

You don’t need to let the soap cure for two weeks as the original soap was already cured, you just mixed it again.