# Moringa leaves in soap?



## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

Look what came free from mom's backyard!





That's not even all of it lol.. Her helper "harvested" them coz they were blocking the sun on her laundry line lol

Was thinking of doing something like this with it (other than drinking moringa tea this afternoon): https://akan.co.za/portfolio/moringa-soap/#.W8gB_8kRU0M

I wonder if it'll work if I stick it in a blender instead of hand pounding...
Maybe I'll also save some and dry them to make a powder for next time...
And maybe I'll infuse some in olive oil after I dry them...

Any thoughts?
Has anyone tried this before?
How do I go about inputting this in a soap calc? As an additive only?
Will the liquid from the puree count in total liquids?
Do I need to discount water in my lye solution? No?
If I "embed" leaves after the HP cook will it spoil/DOS because of the water content? Or just look ugly (I assume they'll turn brown)? Should I just stick to fresh leaves on the tops?

I have the fruits too.. Once dried I plan to collect the seeds and see what I can do with them.

**goes off to do more research on moringa leaves in soap, while wondering how many kgs of seeds I'll need to make oil lol**


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

I would puree the leaves as fine as you can, add water if needed. Strain off any excess water if possible, you can use this in the soap too. 

Botanicals are additives, no need to put them on a soap calc, just figure out how much you want to add to you recipe and blend it into the oils really well.

I wouldn't add whole leaves, not only might they spoil, they could be messy, ugly and scratchy. If you put any on top, dry them first.


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## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> I would puree the leaves as fine as you can, add water if needed. Strain off any excess water if possible, you can use this in the soap too.
> 
> Botanicals are additives, no need to put them on a soap calc, just figure out how much you want to add to you recipe and blend it into the oils really well.
> 
> I wouldn't add whole leaves, not only might they spoil, they could be messy, ugly and scratchy. If you put any on top, dry them first.



OK, so strain. 
The puree is an additive only. 
Strained liquid counts; so let's say I'll still pour it all in after the cook, I'll have to measure [only] the water leftover as part of the liquid called for in the calc.

Did I get that right?


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

Yep, got it right. Any reason you want to add it after the cook? I'd just toss it all in the pot at the start.


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## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

I'm still experimenting, so what I've done with previous batches is add things at different times to see what my batter, and then final soap looks like.

I have a lot of neem powder for example. One batch I added it to the oils before the lye. One batch I added it at trace and the last one after cooking.

All three batches resulted in a different textured and colored soap. You think the puree will be the same?

I asked so I kinda know what to expect hehe. With the amount of leaves I have I'll probably do the same with the moringa puree and powder.

Thank you for responding @Obsidian


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

Moody likely the puree will be the same. I'd expect adding it after the cook would result in a brighter green.
I've never used moringa though so I can't say how it behaves in soap. I need to get my hands on some powder.


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## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> Moody likely the puree will be the same. I'd expect adding it after the cook would result in a brighter green.
> I've never used moringa though so I can't say how it behaves in soap. I need to get my hands on some powder.



Yes, with the neem I got a much greener green when I added after the cook, but the downside was it seemed more exfoliating (aka scratchy).

I'm hoping to try the puree tonight now that the lil one's asleep hehe


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

The moringa soap I've seen in videos is always a nice green so maybe it retains its color.
Let us know how it goes.


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

Ok, I couldn't wait so I ordered a lb of powder. I have a question, what do the leaves taste like? 
The powder is full of vitamins and minerals, I would like to eat it if its not awful.


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## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> Ok, I couldn't wait so I ordered a lb of powder. I have a question, what do the leaves taste like?
> The powder is full of vitamins and minerals, I would like to eat it if its not awful.



If you like eating your leafy veggies then you won't mind this lol

We use the leaves straight from the tree in a lot of our cooking. Imagine rice with a soupy dish that has meat and little leaves floating around hehe..

Others boil the leaves and drink the tea. It's slightly bitter and herb-y but not so bad. Most people mix the powder in smoothies but I know some people who dump it in just about anything from their oats to their curries.

An uncle of mine munches on the leaves while his wife is de-stalking them for cooking lol and he gets a sweet tinge he always says to encourage us to eat with him.

I hope you like it.. It's veeeeery good for you, in any form.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 18, 2018)

You are so lucky! I have Moringa powder in my save for later box on Amazon. It dropped from $20 a pound to $17 yesterday but It's still to pricey for me to experiment with at the moment. Please let us know what you do with it!


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## Dawni (Oct 18, 2018)

Lye-h20-oil said:


> You are so lucky! I have Moringa powder in my save for later box on Amazon. It dropped from $20 a pound to $17 yesterday but It's still to pricey for me to experiment with at the moment. Please let us know what you do with it!



Whoa.. That's close to a thousand in our money 0_0

Our local health food store sells their powder for about 350 a kilo if you can't make your own. Nice right? Haha

Here I've seen people make soap, shampoo, conditioner, balms, smoothies, ice cream, tea, cookies  bread.. You name it and we probably have it (or will try it lol)

It's still very underrated. I blame it on lack of funding for research. It wasn't until it was called a superfood internationally that people tried things other than basic cooking **rolls eyes**


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 18, 2018)

Dawni said:


> Whoa.. That's close to a thousand in our money 0_0
> 
> Our local health food store sells their powder for about 350 a kilo if you can't make your own. Nice right? Haha
> 
> ...


That sounds like what big companies  do with corn syrup here.... 
One day I will have Moringa


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## Obsidian (Oct 18, 2018)

Lye-h20-oil said:


> You are so lucky! I have Moringa powder in my save for later box on Amazon. It dropped from $20 a pound to $17 yesterday but It's still to pricey for me to experiment with at the moment. Please let us know what you do with it!



I found it for $10 a pound, you want the link?


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 18, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> I found it for $10 a pound, you want the link?


Yes please! Thank you


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## Obsidian (Oct 19, 2018)

Lye-h20-oil said:


> Yes please! Thank you



https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072MNZ6DC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## Dawni (Oct 19, 2018)

I checked out the link just coz.. Those recipes down below all look so yummy haha


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 19, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072MNZ6DC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


Thank you Osidian. I remember seeing that one when I looked for moringa on Amazon. I was not sure of that because a couple of the reviews said it had sand in it. But now that I searched other reviews from a different brand of moringa someone said sand is in it. I'm not sure if this is normal? I'll send Dawni a reply and ask her. It would be terrible to get an accidental sand blast to the face!! Not sure if sand would make it through a sifter or strainer. The price is right though.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 19, 2018)

Dawni said:


> I checked out the link just coz.. Those recipes down below all look so yummy haha


Dawni, is it normal for sand to be in moring powder?


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## Dawni (Oct 19, 2018)

Lye-h20-oil said:


> Dawni, is it normal for sand to be in moring powder?



I  couldn't say.. We usually don't pay attention lol so there could or could not be. The ones we've bought so far are from small businesses and they claim to wash the leaves before they dry and powder them so we assume there isn't anything other than dried moringa in there. But then again, there's a question of storage so there still could be other stuff in there lol

I wonder how they knew it was sand? Sometimes in my tea I see things at the bottom that could be mistaken for sand but as with most things, we really don't pay attention lol

I'll see what happens when I powder mine... Although I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to tell which is sand and which isn't. 

I'm really sorry I can't be of more help.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 19, 2018)

Dawni said:


> I  couldn't say.. We usually don't pay attention lol so there could or could not be. The ones we've bought so far are from small businesses and they claim to wash the leaves before they dry and powder them so we assume there isn't anything other than dried moringa in there. But then again, there's a question of storage so there still could be other stuff in there lol
> 
> I wonder how they knew it was sand? Sometimes in my tea I see things at the bottom that could be mistaken for sand but as with most things, we really don't pay attention lol
> 
> ...


 I decided to buy the dried leaves and grind them myself. It's still on the back burner for now. 
I hear ya on not paying attention to everyday things. Most of the time I have tunnel syndrome....right now I have soap for brains lol!!! Seriously if my brain had a voice of it's own it would say " soap- soap- soap- lol soap"


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## Obsidian (Oct 19, 2018)

I'll let you know if its sandy. If it is, it will be returned.
Makes me wonder how they grind it. If its with a stone wheel, I could see it getting sand in it.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 19, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> I'll let you know if its sandy. If it is, it will be returned.
> Makes me wonder how they grind it. If its with a stone wheel, I could see it getting sand in it.


Awesome. Good point about the stone wheel.


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## Obsidian (Oct 20, 2018)

Lye-h20-oil said:


> Awesome. Good point about the stone wheel.



I got my moringa powder today. Only did a quick feel and taste, didn't find any sand in mine.
Its a nice bright green, very finely ground with a taste between spinach and alfalfa.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 20, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> I got my moringa powder today. Only did a quick feel and taste, didn't find any sand in mine.
> Its a nice bright green, very finely ground with a taste between spinach and alfalfa.


Awesome. Was it the same moringa as the link you posted? I was wondering if it would be bright green. I like that.


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## Obsidian (Oct 20, 2018)

Yes its the same as the link posted. 

I did a better check, took a long spoon and scooped up some powder from the bottom of the bag and mixed it with water.

It's not great tasting so I mixed in some coconut water and drank it. I did find a little bit of grit had settled on the botton but not really enough to be a issue.

For soap, I would just mix the powder with water, let it settle and pour into a different glass leaving the grit behind.

I will be writing to the company I bought from, letting them know of the issue and ask how the leaves are ground. Its not bad enough that it needs to be returned though and for the price, a little grit is ok.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 20, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> Yes its the same as the link posted.
> 
> I did a better check, took a long spoon and scooped up some powder from the bottom of the bag and mixed it with water.
> 
> ...


Seems like a good plan and $10 is an afordable price to play with. Still considering buying dried leaves but for now I will wait on both because I need oils too! Thank you for the details, looking forward to finding out how your soap turns out : )


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## Dawni (Oct 21, 2018)

Obsidian said:


> For soap, I would just mix the powder with water, let it settle and pour into a different glass leaving the grit behind.


I'll do that with mine as well. I think it's sufficiently dried enough to try powdering it today. I read somewhere not to leave it for too long and I think some pieces have already dried too much. I have to get as many stems as I can out first. I hope my spice blender will work lol


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## Dawni (Oct 22, 2018)

I think my leaves need to dry a bit more..
My spice grinder didn't make it into a powder but I got some nice flakes that I infused in grapeseed oil.
I have an acne soap recipe posted in the feedback section and I am planning to use this instead of plain grapeseed.
Is this correct to leave it outside or should I let it infuse indoors? I Googled and some say infuse in the sun some day don't.


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## Obsidian (Oct 22, 2018)

I infuse inside out of direct sunlight.


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 22, 2018)

Dawni said:


> I think my leaves need to dry a bit more..
> My spice grinder didn't make it into a powder but I got some nice flakes that I infused in grapeseed oil.
> I have an acne soap recipe posted in the feedback section and I am planning to use this instead of plain grapeseed.
> Is this correct to leave it outside or should I let it infuse indoors? I Googled and some say infuse in the sun some day don't.
> View attachment 32687


It is confusing isn't it? I read that it is the warmth of the sun you want not necessarily the light of the sun. You can put a brown bag over the bottle while it gets the warmth of the sun was a suggestion. I guess that would be a balance of yes it is in the sun but it's not in the sun


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## Dawni (Oct 24, 2018)

I took it indoors but near a window hehe..
I checked and the sunlight doesn't directly hit it but that's the room where it's nice and bright until sunset.
Is that ok?

I powdered my moringa today!




My grinder refuses to go further than this. Makes me wonder what they use to powder the ones we buy here coz they're much finer. I am assuming yours is also fine, @Obsidian?

All those leaves and this is about 60 grams give or take.

Anyways, I am so excited! My neem oil has also arrived.. I'm gonna be soaping tonight after the baby sleeps!


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## Lye-h20-oil (Oct 24, 2018)

Dawni said:


> I took it indoors but near a window hehe..
> I checked and the sunlight doesn't directly hit it but that's the room where it's nice and bright until sunset.
> Is that ok?
> 
> ...


That is a beutiful green! Can't wait to see the soap! Be careful whith the neem that stuff is strong!


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## Dawni (Oct 24, 2018)

I didn't get green at all! Haha must be the neem.... Colored it brown, and the activated charcoal made it darker... And the smell is something else lols

I'm really hoping it fades......

I'll post once it's cut tomorrow hehehe


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## Obsidian (Oct 24, 2018)

Yes, my powder is very fine and made my soap very green. Neem will make brown soap and don't worry, the scent will mellow quite a lot.


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## Dawni (Oct 24, 2018)

I just saw it! Great work 

I kinda forgot there was a pictures thread lol


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