# The results of my oil infusions :)



## gigisiguenza (Oct 16, 2015)

I decided to check on my infused oils, to see what kind of depth the oils have picked up after heat infusion last night, cooling overnight, and sitting today. I'm quite happy with how saturated some of the oils have become. 

Some aren't as deep as I had hoped (chamomile) and some look a little muddy still, but I think it's the nature of the botanicals causing it and I may need to heat them for longer. Some are so saturated that when I shake the bottle and let the oil settle, the sides are coated with a stunning slick of colored oil that looks like stained glass to me. 

I wish I had a light table or better camera, because these photos don't do these oils justice, unfortunately. I'm excited and now have to see what other botanicals I can find to infuse. I'm very open to suggestions on what to try and info on where to get them  

Spirulina - I'm so stoked about how rich the color in this oil is. The oil coating the glass is beautiful green blue 



Alkanet - This one has me super excited because that oil coating the glass is such a rich purple that it looks like grape juice LOL 


Madder - The depth of color on this one is nuts too, it looks like a cabernet or merlot! 

Paprika - What an insanely deep red orange this turned out to be! I'm super stoked  

Turmeric - That is gonna make some seriously pretty lemon and butter yellows 

Cinnamon - It's actually a lovely amber color, but I couldn't get a clear enough picture grrr 

Safflower - a more yellow orange than the paprika and very saturated but was hard to get a good pic sigh


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## sudsy_kiwi (Oct 16, 2015)

Well done, they look great.  What oil did you infuse them in?  I've used OO & RBO before, and just yesterday used Sunflower for an infusion of ginger, cayenne, chilli & cinnamon.  It is sooooo dark now, and smells amazing.


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 16, 2015)

sudsy_kiwi said:


> Well done, they look great.  What oil did you infuse them in?  I've used OO & RBO before, and just yesterday used Sunflower for an infusion of ginger, cayenne, chilli & cinnamon.  It is sooooo dark now, and smells amazing.



TY  I used safflower for all of them. I wanted a very pale, almost colorless oil that was as thin as possible. And I wanted them all done in the same oil so I don't have to do the adjustments and math for more than one oil LOL


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## mymy (Oct 16, 2015)

Looking good! U used slow cooker to heat them?


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## TheDragonGirl (Oct 16, 2015)

Looking good! That madder will turn much redder when it hits the batter as a warning, it just sort of blossoms with colour


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## penelopejane (Oct 16, 2015)

Beautiful!  Stunning colours. Can't wait to see the soaps.

I was thinking of trying Cranberry and cherry. Does anyone know if they morph to brown in soap?


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## shunt2011 (Oct 16, 2015)

Those turned out terrific.  You'll have to show us how they turn out in your soap.   I bet they will be lovely!


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## Dharlee (Oct 16, 2015)

Those are gorgeous. Wow that first one is so pretty! I am surprised that you can use cinnamon in soap. I thought that was irritating.


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## penelopejane (Oct 16, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> TY  I used safflower for all of them. I wanted a very pale, almost colorless oil that was as thin as possible. And I wanted them all done in the same oil so I don't have to do the adjustments and math for more than one oil LOL




Gigi 
Did you use safflower petals?
Alkanet leaves?


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 16, 2015)

TY everyone 


mymy said:


> Looking good! U used slow cooker to heat them?


Nope, a makeshift double boiler. I put my oil and botanical in a small metal bowl and sit it on top of a small pot of boiling water, then let it simmer for 30-60 minutes.


penelopejane said:


> Gigi
> Did you use safflower petals?
> Alkanet leaves?


Safflower petals and alkanet powder


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## annalee2003 (Oct 16, 2015)

Nicely done! Gorgeous colors. Can't wait to see them in some soaps!
 I have a few infused oils going as well. Cinnamon and coffee are turning out wonderfully, but my hibiscus flowers haven't really done much.


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 16, 2015)

annalee2003 said:


> Nicely done! Gorgeous colors. Can't wait to see them in some soaps!
> I have a few infused oils going as well. Cinnamon and coffee are turning out wonderfully, but my hibiscus flowers haven't really done much.



Me too and I've got some soaps planned


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

I am in the process of dehydrating watermelon.  The house smells lovely : )

Apparently it can take 24 hours.  I will update when I have finished.


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 17, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> I am in the process of dehydrating watermelon.  The house smells lovely : )
> 
> Apparently it can take 24 hours.  I will update when I have finished.



What will you do with it once it's dehydrated?


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> What will you do with it once it's dehydrated?



I will grind it into a powder and then make an oil infusion. 

Some people use watermelon as a puree and use it instead of water.  But then you can't store it as easily as a powder or oil. Although you can freeze it.  And you have to add it to your entire batch, I think. 

I haven't found a comparison between the two methods.  Have you?
Theoretically the powder infused in oil can be more accurately measured and adjusted for colour intensity, I think.


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## mymy (Oct 17, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> Some people use watermelon as a puree and use it instead of water.



May I know how to measure the amount of puree needed? We just assume the puree as 100% water?


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

mymy said:


> May I know how to measure the amount of puree needed? We just assume the puree as 100% water?



Yes that's right.


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## mymy (Oct 17, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> Yes that's right.



Thanks!


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

It's worth dehydrating watermelon just for the scent! Lovely. I took off the rind and cut a 1/4 of a watermelon into 3mm thick slices (very thin and very even). One piece was a broken chunk that was 6mm thick and isn't drying so well.


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Oct 17, 2015)

Thanks for sharing your oil infusions, I have had great success with Paprika infused oil (2 tablespoons in 150ml ) Here is a picture. The pink one: I added oil plus paprika to my oils and did not strain it first. I also used Rooibos Tea as the water, I think this helped with the color. The second soap is a more orange color, this time I strained the infusion through cheesecloth before adding to my oils and I used rose geranium hydrosol for my water. As the infusion was strained it is a much smoother color. I have not tried to recreate these colors yet but will try soon, especially to see if the pink was due to the combination with Rooibos tea. They both had different essential oils, so maybe these also affected the colour? I will definitely strain through cheesecloth next time although I did lose some oil in this process.


Has anyone else had different colour variations with Paprika oil infusion soap? 

GraceDarlingSoaps


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## mymy (Oct 17, 2015)

GraceDarlingSoaps said:


> Thanks for sharing your oil infusions, I have had great success with Paprika infused oil (2 tablespoons in 150ml ) Here is a picture. The pink one: I added oil plus paprika to my oils and did not strain it first. I also used Rooibos Tea as the water, I think this helped with the color. The second soap is a more orange color, this time I strained the infusion through cheesecloth before adding to my oils and I used rose geranium hydrosol for my water. As the infusion was strained it is a much smoother color. I have not tried to recreate these colors yet but will try soon, especially to see if the pink was due to the combination with Rooibos tea. They both had different essential oils, so maybe these also affected the colour? I will definitely strain through cheesecloth next time although I did lose some oil in this process.View attachment 17251
> 
> 
> Has anyone else had different colour variations with Paprika oil infusion soap?
> ...



How's the soap doing on skin? Any tingling effects because paprika is hot right?


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Oct 17, 2015)

The pink soap has cured and is beautiful soap, the yellow still curing but no zap


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

GraceDarlingSoaps said:


> Thanks for sharing your oil infusions, I have had great success with Paprika infused oil (2 tablespoons in 150ml )
> 
> Has anyone else had different colour variations with Paprika oil infusion soap?
> 
> GraceDarlingSoaps




Grace, I've seen infusions of 2 tbls in 150 ml and 250 ml. So they will be different starting strengths. Then you can add the infused oil at 5%, 10% and 15%. Also the colour of the oils in your soap will effect the colour a little. 

It seems you have to choose a measurement that results in the colour you like for your particular soap recipe.

Does straining the infused oil remove the tiny little specs of colour in the oil? Is that what you mean by a smoother colour?


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 17, 2015)

GraceDarlingSoaps said:


> Thanks for sharing your oil infusions, I have had great success with Paprika infused oil (2 tablespoons in 150ml ) Here is a picture. The pink one: I added oil plus paprika to my oils and did not strain it first. I also used Rooibos Tea as the water, I think this helped with the color. The second soap is a more orange color, this time I strained the infusion through cheesecloth before adding to my oils and I used rose geranium hydrosol for my water. As the infusion was strained it is a much smoother color. I have not tried to recreate these colors yet but will try soon, especially to see if the pink was due to the combination with Rooibos tea. They both had different essential oils, so maybe these also affected the colour? I will definitely strain through cheesecloth next time although I did lose some oil in this process.View attachment 17251
> 
> 
> Has anyone else had different colour variations with Paprika oil infusion soap?
> ...



How pretty!


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

http://blog.thesage.com/2013/05/16/paprika-powder-in-cold-process-soap/

Here is an intense Orange which resulted from adding 1 teaspoon of paprika powder to a soap batter directly.

Unfortunately the person who runs this blog doesn't update with results to see if the colour has stuck or faded.


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 17, 2015)

I love the color that paprika gives and want to try using more of it to see how it changes


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## penelopejane (Oct 17, 2015)

gigi, 

I have great admiration for all the oil infusions you have done.  I have made my first one - spirulina - at last! 

My entire family think I am loopy because I have been shaking the bottle and running around the house trying to take a good photo of it.

I used 2 tablespoons of spirulina powder in 250 ml (8 oz) of OO and I heated it in a double boiler for 2 hrs on simmer which got the oil to about 80 degrees C (175 degrees F).  

It is dark!  It separates really quickly to a sludge in the bottom of the jar.  Does yours do that?


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## penelopejane (Oct 18, 2015)

I have been doing some more reading and as far as I can see the only natural colours that don't fade are: indigo, alkanet and annatto. And annatto colour will fade instantly in sunlight.

Apparently orange and tomato juices fades to a pale orange colour that sticks. 

Paprika and Pumpkin fade to cream.
Madder root fades. 
Chlorella fades to brown
Cochineal fades to white before it saponifies. 

French Clay is the only natural green that sticks. 

Very disappointing.


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 18, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> gigi,
> 
> I have great admiration for all the oil infusions you have done.  I have made my first one - spirulina - at last!
> 
> ...



Penelope yes mine does that same thing... the sludge goes to the bottom. I should have simmered mine longer, and I'm debating putting it back on the heat to simmer again for a longer time. And don't let the funny looks from the family discourage you, they don't understand LOL


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 18, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> I have been doing some more reading and as far as I can see the only natural colours that don't fade are: indigo, alkanet and annatto. And annatto colour will fade instantly in sunlight.
> 
> Apparently orange and tomato juices fades to a pale orange colour that sticks.
> 
> ...



Really? My research told me different. I think it may have something to do with how dense the concentration was and if you supplement the oil with a pinch of the powdered botanical. Now I'm going to be on the hunt for info. I can only speak to what my results have been, and so far my Annatto and parsley have held up, as have my spinach and other colors.


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Oct 18, 2015)

My paprika soap ( the pink one in the photo ) was made in April and has not faded. By straining the infusion through cheesecloth in the next one ( orange one ) there are less flecks or spots of darker colour, what I meant by a smoother more even colour .


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## hmlove1218 (Oct 18, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> Really? My research told me different. I think it may have something to do with how dense the concentration was and if you supplement the oil with a pinch of the powdered botanical. Now I'm going to be on the hunt for info. I can only speak to what my results have been, and so far my Annatto and parsley have held up, as have my spinach and other colors.



In my experience, natural colors hold up so long as they are not exposed to sunlight. The moment they are, they start fading, usually to brown. Some are more sensitive and fade quickly, like spinach, and some take much longer like alkanet, but they all eventually fade.

I have some pumpkin puree bars that are over a year old that have finally started fading from a deep orange to a golden yellow from sun exposure.

Some alkanet bars I made about 9 months ago have faded from a lovely light blue-purple to a much uglier  brown-purple.

Carrot juice soaps have held up surprisingly well, though they have faded slightly as well.

Orange juice also held up surprisingly well as a golden orangy-yellow.


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## penelopejane (Oct 18, 2015)

hmlove1218 said:


> In my experience, natural colors hold up so long as they are not exposed to sunlight. The moment they are, they start fading, usually to brown. Some are more sensitive and fade quickly, like spinach, and some take much longer like alkanet, but they all eventually fade.
> 
> I have some pumpkin puree bars that are over a year old that have finally started fading from a deep orange to a golden yellow from sun exposure.
> 
> ...




Thank you for the feedback. 

Do you do oil infusions or purée?


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## penelopejane (Oct 18, 2015)

gigisiguenza said:


> Penelope yes mine does that same thing... the sludge goes to the bottom. I should have simmered mine longer, and I'm debating putting it back on the heat to simmer again for a longer time. And don't let the funny looks from the family discourage you, they don't understand LOL




I still got the sludge after 2 hrs. I think it's there to stay! I filtered it through a stocking so it is a very fine sludge. Jus t shake really well before using.


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## penelopejane (Oct 18, 2015)

GraceDarlingSoaps said:


> My paprika soap ( the pink one in the photo ) was made in April and has not faded. By straining the infusion through cheesecloth in the next one ( orange one ) there are less flecks or spots of darker colour, what I meant by a smoother more even colour .




Thanks grace, 
I can't use paprika (allergic) but it looks beautiful. I am glad it sticks. 
Thank you for the info on straining. I like the smoother - speck free - look.


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## CTAnton (Oct 18, 2015)

"Orange juice also held up surprisingly well as a golden orangy-yellow."
HMLove....just curious as to how you introduced the OJ to the recipe...frozen with the lye or a 50/50 split of liquids...


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## hmlove1218 (Oct 18, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> Thank you for the feedback.
> 
> Do you do oil infusions or purée?




Hot infusions or juice. Most of my hot infusions were done directly into my batch oils, so they didn't infuse more than an hour or two. I didnt strain it either.

I have done a cucumber puree before. It turned almost instantly a tan - green and probably would have continued to fade over the cure, but I used a mica.






CTAnton said:


> "Orange juice also held up surprisingly well as a golden orangy-yellow."
> HMLove....just curious as to how you introduced the OJ to the recipe...frozen with the lye or a 50/50 split of liquids...



Hmm.. I'll have to check my notes, bit it was either half and half or all orange juice. Don't forget to adjust your lye for the additional acid you'll be adding in.


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## CTAnton (Oct 18, 2015)

I'm stumped on how one would go about that HMLove, barring raising the super fat several percentages....I'm all ears for how you did it...


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## hmlove1218 (Oct 19, 2015)

There was a calculation somewhere on the forim about how much citric acid is in an ounce of orange juice. I'll see if I can find it.. I remember o only had to drop my SF by 1% though, so instead of 5%, I calculated my recipe for 4% so it would have the regular 5% SF


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## penelopejane (Oct 26, 2015)

Here is a picture of my spirulina soap (the green one) with 2tbs of spirulina in 250 mls of water heated over double boiler for 2 hrs at 150 degree F in olive oil then I used it at 10% of my oil percentage in the recipe which I added to the oil before the lye. I am sorry about the quality of the photo I just can't do better no matter how hard I try but this is the exact colour of them (at least!).  

It is beautiful and clear but I over traced the mix and added ROE at the last minute and it set and I just got it into the mold in time so there are black spots of ROE through it. I learnt from this and am now stick blending differently. 

On the same day I tried the same recipe with 1 teaspoon of Australian Pink Clay (the red one).  I mixed the clay with 1 tsp of water and added it just before trace and only took it to light trace. I used a tall silicone mold for the red one and it bulged.  Have to make a timber box for it. The craggy bottoms are because I demoulded them too early. I just couldn't wait to see what they were like : )

I preheated the oven to 100 degrees C, wrapped them in a blanket, put them in the oven and turned it off.  While boasting to my DH about my soap making my brain kicked in and I realised it should have been 100 degrees F so I rushed over, took my babies out, cooled the oven down a bit and put the soap back in and left it overnight.  The temperature mistake might explain the tiny bubbles in them both. 

I will let you know how the colours go in a few weeks.


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## annalee2003 (Oct 26, 2015)

Those came out absolutely gorgeous! I love how vibrant the colors are. I will definitely be taking notes. Thank you for sharing!


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## mymy (Oct 26, 2015)

Beautiful colors!


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## gigisiguenza (Oct 27, 2015)

Gorgeous


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## penelopejane (Nov 9, 2015)

Here is my spirulina soap today it is 2 weeks old.  Made on 25/10/2015.
I used 2 tablespoons of 100% spirulina powder in 250 ml (8 oz) of OO and I heated it in a double boiler for 2 hrs on simmer which got the oil to about 80 degrees C (175 degrees F). 
I used the infused oil at 5% concentration in my soap mix substituting the Infused oil for OO. 

It has faded to a murky pale olive brown and fades more each time I look at it but this could be paranoia.  It definitely fades each day even though it is hidden away in the dark. :cry:


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## annalee2003 (Nov 9, 2015)

Oh no! Well that's a bit dissapointing. Still a nice pale green at least. Hopefully the color will stay at where it is.
Now I'm wondering if the green would be less likely to fade if it were added directly at trace (in powder form).


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## TeresaT (Nov 9, 2015)

Do you use your infused oils to do swirls or just color the whole batch?


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## cmzaha (Nov 10, 2015)

My experience with Spirulina is that it is better to add it into your soap batter directly and add enough to get a strong green. It does not seem to matter how much is used because it does not stain, at least that is my experience. It can still fade over time, but if used strong enough it usually keep a green color unless it sits outdoors in the sun.


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## mymy (Nov 10, 2015)

Has anyone experienced with tumeric powder? Will it fade like spirulina too?


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## Wildcraft_Garden (Nov 10, 2015)

mymy said:


> Has anyone experienced with tumeric powder? Will it fade like spirulina too?


Turmeric has always coloured my soap beautifully.


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## mymy (Nov 10, 2015)

Wildcraft_garden : thank you! How much do you always use? In 500ml batter, I put around 1tbps and the batter is still pale.  :'(


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Nov 12, 2015)

Just to let you know that my one soap that I previously posted has faded very badly when I left the batch in a fairly light room on a table, here is the picture. Both of these were colored with paprika, the one that did not fade had rooibosch tea instead of water and also the powder was not strained out.


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## Rowan (Nov 12, 2015)

Gracedarlingsoaps, I love the colour of your roibos/paprika soap.  Did you gel them?  When I used paprika infused oil, it went much darker when it was gelled and the colour has hardly faded. I then made another soap with the same oil but it didn't gel, it's much paler and the colour faded more.


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Nov 15, 2015)

Hi Rowan
I did not force gel eg CPOP, but I tucked the soap up for the night in a modern day " hay box" . This is a bag containing small polystyrene balls that is used to insulate a pot of food for slow cooking. The soap gets gently warm but I don't look till the next morning when it is cold again, so I assume it has gelled during the night. I have got some paprika infusing in OO and want to try and get this colour again as it is a lovely pink and has not faded. 
GDS


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## Rowan (Nov 15, 2015)

Thanks for the info. Can't wait to add the roibos tea now. It really is a beautiful colour!


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## crispysoap (Nov 15, 2015)

First post and still new to soaping. You all inspired me to give oil infusing a go ☺ I made a stunning (I think) turmeric infused soap yesterday.


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## GraceDarlingSoaps (Nov 20, 2015)

Hi CrispySoap
Great to have you on the forum, your Tumeric soap is beautiful, I suggest you cure it in a darkish place to prevent any fade. My daughter uses Tumeric directly on her skin as a paste if she has a pimple, apparently it is good for skin problems. I have made Tumeric soap once and it was really nice on the skin but it did fade a bit after a number of months.


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## crispysoap (Nov 20, 2015)

Thanks GraceDarlingSoaps, all my soaps are stored in my dark hall way


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## penelopejane (May 7, 2016)

This is my spirulina soap just unmolded, at 2 weeks old and 6 months old. It was an early soap and the final photo is the best of all I have left. 

I used an oil infusion with 2tbs of spirulina in 250 mls of OO heated over double boiler for 2 hrs at 150 degree F.  I used it at 10% of my oil percentage in the recipe which I added to the oil before the lye. 

I think cmzaha says it is better to mix the spirulina directly to the batter. 

However, what I wanted to say that spirulina has not brought anything to the soaps.  In soaps made with spirulina there is a huge reduction of lather, it is not as creamy or conditioning and it doesn't compared to my other soaps about the same time and ones I make now. I have perfected things a bit but the soaps with spirulina are really terrible in my experience.

The  red soap still looks exactly the same:
I made them on the same day using the same recipe with 1 teaspoon of Australian Pink Clay mixed with 1 tsp of water and added it just before trace and only took it to light trace. 

The tsp of water was extra water and I was using 30% lye concentration. It is a bit mushy after a few uses and I have to dry them out for a few days to reuse. (I now think even 1 tsp of water extra makes a soft soap). I CPOP at 100*F and turned off the oven when it went in.

I don't mind the feel of the clay soap.  But it is not my favourite.


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