While sitting on a Long Island beach, I saw some beautiful green seaweed. I thought it might be fun to try to make soap with it, and while I was at it, use seawater to do it. Brian had a bag to collect the seaweed, and I used empty water bottles for the seawater. Soon I had everything I need for my seaweed seawater soap.
Making Seaweed Seawater soap
The seawater was boiled and filtered twice. I wanted to keep the salt content of the water, so as soon as it boiled, I turned the burner off and capped the pot. The seawater was filtered through coffee filters. The seaweed was washed and dried slowly on a low temperature in the oven. I wanted to keep that beautiful green color in the soap if possible. So far, so good.
Crushing the seaweed into powder was therapeutic. I pretended I was an old medicine woman, crushing herbs to make into tea for my patients. The seaweed still had that ocean scent, so it would to be a pretty awful tasting tea.
Mixing the lye with the seawater, I was a little nervous. But I had no problems at all.
Now I ready to finally make soap! Pouring the lye-seawater into the melted oils, things are looking good.
Time for my trusty stick blender. The solution mixed like another other soap I’ve made. A few minuted to trace.
Finally it’s time to add the seaweed. If someone walked in and saw me now, they might think I was making cream of spinach soap.
My seaweed seawater soap is in the mold.
The finished product, cut and on the curing racks.
This soap isn’t for sale, I made it just for fun and my personal use. What have you done recently for fun?
Yours in Gratitude,
Angela
Angela
This soap really sounds interesting and I want to try making it. As I live near the sea, there is no problem getting sea water and sea weed. Any chance you could send your recipe?
Thanks
Are you a soap maker Steve? You can use any soap recipe, just replace the distilled water you use to reconstitute the lye with the purified sea water.
When I initially started making cold process soaps about a year ago, I decided that I was going to make soleseife. I live in Rhode Island “The Ocean State” so I wanted to keep with that theme. People love them. Have wanted to incorporate seaweed and/or sea mud. Haven’t gotten around to it yet, but definitely will.
I never realized seawater soaps had a name! Soleseife. Let me know if you incorporate the seaweed, I’m interested in how your soap turns out. Same goes with the sea mud.