# Oil Infusion Experiment



## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

I decided to document my attempt/experiment in infusing color into oil from goldenseal and wheatgrass. Hope you find it helpful.  I tried using empty tea bags, about a tbsp of herb powder and 1oz of peanut I to each of 2 glass jars and placed them in a warm, not simmering, water bath. Photos to follow


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## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

Water bath


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## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

1 hour in.


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## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

I'm SO sorry these photos are not oriented correctly. I'll take future of ones in landscape.


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## toyah999 (Oct 31, 2014)

Thanks, very useful. Was that peanut oil you used? The wheatgrass worked nice, I like the colour. I have super greens in my cupboard and have wondered if that would still turn a pretty green. If you were making a 2 pound recipe would you use all that oil to colour, does it still colour well in a larger amount of oil. I haven't infused oil yet but I have the tea bags to give it a go. Thanks.


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## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

It was peanut oil because I had a little left over and it's almost completely clear. I don't know how it will work yet. That's tomorrow, but I plan to let it continue infusing all night. Don't know how dark it will get. I guess "GOLDENseal" should have been a dead give-away, but the powder was a beautiful chartreuse. It's infused much more yellow.


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## toyah999 (Oct 31, 2014)

Yeah the goldenseal looks brownish in the pic and not too pleasant but pics can be deceiving and it will probably get nicer as it sits. It sounds like a nice colour I've never heard of it. You'll have to up more pics when you're finished, it'd be nice to see the end result.


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## DWinMadison (Oct 31, 2014)

2.5 hours in. Goldenseal leaves no color on white paper. Wheatgrass is really a beautiful green.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

Not much change overnight. I'm thinking goldenseal migh be ok infused directly, but I'm a bit disappointed. It basically made my peanut oil look like OO. Of course, that might change in soap...for good or bad. The wheat grass is a different story. It's a very rich green sort of like sage. Again, only time will tell about how it survive the lye. Hope you found this useful.


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## Dahila (Nov 1, 2014)

I do it with stinging nettle, dandelion, and other herbs.  Some are in powdered form and it is the only way to infuse them.  I cold infuse them)


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

Dahila said:


> I do it with stinging nettle, dandelion, and other herbs.  Some are in powdered form and it is the only way to infuse them.  I cold infuse them)



What exactly is "cold infusion?"  I'm thinking incorporating the powder, now it tea bags directly into the soap and hoping it won't make the soap grainy.


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## soapfanbaby (Nov 1, 2014)

DWinMadison,

                     I like the idea. Does your soap retain those colors? Could you please post picture of your soap, if possible?


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

soapfanbaby said:


> DWinMadison,
> 
> I like the idea. Does your soap retain those colors? Could you please post picture of your soap, if possible?



I honestly have no idea, but we'll know about this timid tomorrow. I'm about to teach some friends how to soap, and this is the batch we are making. Coconut milk w/ lard, co, palm, oo, sunflower and castor. Subbing lard doe GV shortening too. Fragrance will be basil, sage and mint from WSP...and I may add some lime or orange EO if I'm likening the way it looks. Will post pics.


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## goji_fries (Nov 1, 2014)

Dahila said:


> I do it with stinging nettle, dandelion, and other herbs.  Some are in powdered form and it is the only way to infuse them.  I cold infuse them)



I do both cold and crockpot. Right now I have a lavender, calendula, chamomile cold infusion that has been sitting for 7 months. Smells great. 

Also, I make my own powdered and fresh plants as well. Depending on the properties and amount of light oils in some plant material, some methods are better than others. For resins, the hotbath is good but it can also be done cold style... if you have six months to a year to wait. 

That is how they make castoreum nuggets into an oil....over a  long time.:wave:


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

So here's the freshly molded soap.  I colored it with the wheatgrass...really a pretty green.   Also added some of the goldenseal since I had gone to the trouble to infuse it, but it was basically the color of olive oil...couldn't possibly impart much color.  It's a coconut milk soap, so I'm freezing it to prevent gelling. Probably won't cut it until Monday evening due to the freezing process. Note fancy swirls thanks to advice from the other thread on "Peak Envy."


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## SplendorSoaps (Nov 1, 2014)

Thanks for sharing the experiment!  I love the color that the wheatgrass turned out.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

SplendorSoaps said:


> Thanks for sharing the experiment!  I love the color that the wheatgrass turned out.



You are welcome. Thanks for following my post. I am VERY interested to see how well the color survives the next couple of days. I didn't try swirling colors as I intend to stamp these bars.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 1, 2014)

That turned out really pretty.  Like your swirly top too.  Looking forward to pictures of it cut.  Nice job!


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

Oh, btw, infusing the wheatgrass powder into the oil via the teabag worked pretty well, but ultimately I went ahead and added the powder as well.  Once it had sat in the oil it seemed fine enough that I don't believe it will add discernible grit to the soap. Again, time will tell.


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## goji_fries (Nov 1, 2014)

DWinMadison said:


> What exactly is "cold infusion?"  I'm thinking incorporating the powder, now it tea bags directly into the soap and hoping it won't make the soap grainy.



Cold infusions can be done a few ways. Two of them are to get your oil (or alchol) place plant material in and wait a few months. Another is to fill your jar about halfway with material and then oil on top to the max. Let it sit in the sun for a few weeks to a few months.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

shunt2011 said:


> That turned out really pretty.  Like your swirly top too.  Looking forward to pictures of it cut.  Nice job!



Oh girl, I made tha swiftly top my b#*]%.....I'm kidding!!!


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## DWinMadison (Nov 1, 2014)

What is the advantage of cold I fusion other than producing an abundance dance of patience?


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## toyah999 (Nov 2, 2014)

Your soap turned out beautiful, love the wheatgrass. Thanks for sharing


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## CaraBou (Nov 2, 2014)

I love natural colorants so look forward to your cut.  One benefit of cold infusion would be no chance of overheating the oil or botanicals.  I don't know if that's what Dahlia meant.  

I've been experimenting with cold-infused parsley, without much luck.  So far I prefer adding the dried herb directly to the soap batter as this has produced a much stronger color.  Someone here said an infusion would be better so I gave it a try.  Maybe they meant a warm infusion instead!  :idea:


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## DWinMadison (Nov 2, 2014)

CaraBou said:


> I love natural colorants so look forward to your cut.  One benefit of cold infusion would be no chance of overheating the oil or botanicals.  I don't know if that's what Dahlia meant.
> 
> I've been experimenting with cold-infused parsley, without much luck.  So far I prefer adding the dried herb directly to the soap batter as this has produced a much stronger color.  Someone here said an infusion would be better so I gave it a try.  Maybe they meant a warm infusion instead!  :idea:



A "both/and" instead of "either/or" approach is what I ended up with. The oil fusion in water bath and overnight steep brought a ton of color out.  I used about a Tbsp of powder for this 3 lb batch. At the last minute, I said "what the heck" and threw in the "pulp" from the soaked powder.  I didn't see any green specs when I poured it, but wouldn't be surprised If I find some in the final product. 

Dang!  Now I'm going to sit in church thinking about that stupid soap instead of focusing on worship.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 2, 2014)

CaraBou said:


> I love natural colorants so look forward to your cut.  One benefit of cold infusion would be no chance of overheating the oil or botanicals.  I don't know if that's what Dahlia meant.
> 
> I've been experimenting with cold-infused parsley, without much luck.  So far I prefer adding the dried herb directly to the soap batter as this has produced a much stronger color.  Someone here said an infusion would be better so I gave it a try.  Maybe they meant a warm infusion instead!  :idea:



Just for my edification, oxides are considered "natural colorants," right?  They are simply minerals vs. herbals.  Is that correct?


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## KatieShephard (Nov 2, 2014)

Church is over.  Time to cut Daryl!


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## DWinMadison (Nov 2, 2014)

Quick update. Out of the freezer and into the fridge. Still looking good on top. Color has shifted evenly from a light pea green yesterday at pouring to something between mint and chartreuse today. A few specks of wheatgrass visible but no discoloration around them...probable due to pullong color out of them in the water bath the previous night. Mild ammonia smell...to be expected with a coconut milk soap. Top swirl help up nicely.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 2, 2014)

KatieShephard said:


> Church is over.  Time to cut Daryl!



Can't cut until tomorrow. Used the freezer. Sorry.


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## seven (Nov 2, 2014)

amazing! i'm always amazed with those who are willing to do oil infusion. not a patient person here  this thread has inspired me to start my own infusion.. i'm thinking parsley...


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## DWinMadison (Nov 2, 2014)

seven said:


> amazing! i'm always amazed with those who are willing to do oil infusion. not a patient person here  this thread has inspired me to start my own infusion.. i'm thinking parsley...



Definitely not the poster child for patience here. I did mine over night using a water bath method. Honestly, I don't think I could have gotten any more color out if I let it sit for a year. If I wanted more/deeper color I'd have needed more wheatgrass.  This was about 1 Tbsp of dry wheatgrass powder.  Tricky thng is that it would have taken more oil to accomplish darker color infusion, so you might want to think about formulating your recipe with a little less super fat than you normally do to account for the oil you are infusing.


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## Dahila (Nov 3, 2014)

CaraBou said:


> I love natural colorants so look forward to your cut.  One benefit of cold infusion would be no chance of overheating the oil or botanicals.  I don't know if that's what Dahlia meant.
> 
> I've been experimenting with cold-infused parsley, without much luck.  So far I prefer adding the dried herb directly to the soap batter as this has produced a much stronger color.  Someone here said an infusion would be better so I gave it a try.  Maybe they meant a warm infusion instead!  :idea:


Yes exactly, and you must shake it once in every day would be cool.  I probably do it every few days.  4 to 6 weeks and I do not put it in sunny place.  I have warm infusion plantain (weed) and cold infusion. there is a huge difference in effectiveness of healing and ant itch salve.  I finally got the big tea bags, to close the iron is needed and will make some cool oils.  My favorite is sunflower calendula, then sunflower lavender, for soaps I infuse pure oil.  I am not sure the herbal properties survive the lye.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 3, 2014)

CaraBou said:


> I love natural colorants so look forward to your cut.  One benefit of cold infusion would be no chance of overheating the oil or botanicals.  I don't know if that's what Dahlia meant.
> 
> I've been experimenting with cold-infused parsley, without much luck.  So far I prefer adding the dried herb directly to the soap batter as this has produced a much stronger color.  Someone here said an infusion would be better so I gave it a try.  Maybe they meant a warm infusion instead!  :idea:



Any chance you have pics of your parsley soaps ?  I'd love to see them.


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## CaraBou (Nov 3, 2014)

Here you go. The parsley (brighter) is on the bottom, darker nettle on top
. Both were added directly to the batter (not infused). I have a post with more info but I can't seem to copy the url with my phone.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 3, 2014)

I like it, but the green didn't come out very green, did it?  How do you get that cool dividing line between the colors?


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## DWinMadison (Nov 3, 2014)

Well, riddle me THIS Batman!  I cut the wheatgrass loaf. Somehow I got this perfect gel circle running throughout every bar. I'm not complaining, just surprised. I poured it then immediately put it in the freezer for 24 hours followed by the fridge for another 24 hours. How in the world did I get gelling???


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## CaraBou (Nov 4, 2014)

Wow, that's super cool!  I've never seen a gel circle with an outline like that one.  Now that's a partial gel worth trying to duplicate!  You asked what I used for the pencil line in my soap above: it was a fine dusting of cocoa powder.  But if I could get a gel outline like you got, without having to do anything for it, I'd be all over it!  Your green is nice, too.  Good job Daryl!


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## DWinMadison (Nov 4, 2014)

Thanks, Cara. Wish I could say I planned it. :/  I'm suspecting aliens and crop circles.  I'm also wondering if the organic matter in the wheatgrass in reaction to the coconut milk provided fuel for a "super-gel."  So, this is my first lard soap, and as previously noted, I'm going to name it "Praise the Lard."  Was going to stamp it with the church's logo, but now I'm thinking of putting two dimples in each circle to create "pig noses."  #lemons>lemonade


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## Susie (Nov 4, 2014)

Pig noses!  Do the pig noses!  That would be awesome!


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## DWinMadison (Nov 4, 2014)

Back to the original topic of color, I gotta say, I'm pretty pleased with how the wheatgrass performed.  The infused oil left a nice lite green shade and the tiny specks of herb powder provide some visual interest but I don't think they will be felt residually in using the soap.  I will definitely use it again although maybe not in a milk-based soap.  Goldenseal....not so much. Disappointed.  I have several other herbs to play with, but I need to get back to the tried and true oxides to get my Christmas stuff finished up by this weekend.  As I count, we are down to about 10 days left to make December 25th Christmas gifts.


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## Obsidian (Nov 4, 2014)

This green is from spirulina powder directly in the soap batter. It fades to a shade much like your wheat grass but darker.






You need a alien head stamp for your crop circles


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## DWinMadison (Nov 4, 2014)

Obsidian said:


> This green is from spirulina powder directly in the soap batter. It fades to a shade much like your wheat grass but darker.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Nice. What's the red?


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## Obsidian (Nov 4, 2014)

Its a mix of mica and oxides.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 4, 2014)

I was hoping you would say "beet powder," but I figured that was too good to be true.


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## Obsidian (Nov 5, 2014)

Yeah, beet powder will turn brown in soap but it works great in lip balms or lotion. I don't know of any natural colorant that will give you a nice pink like that.


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## Dahila (Nov 10, 2014)

I took pics of my cold infusion , which I make all the time  I am happy with alkanet root powder but no so much with stinging nettle, I will probably use it for calming itch and eczema salve.  My cold infusion will go on for 4 weeks then I strain it and use for whatever i need


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## DWinMadison (Nov 10, 2014)

Thus far, I have found that the best color comes from a combination of infusing the oil and adding the powder.  In the soap below I used both goldenseal and alfalfa that way and was really amazed at how the colors came out.  Now, who well they last is anybody's guess.

http://cdn.soapmakingforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=10450&stc=1&d=1415566751


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## Dahila (Nov 11, 2014)

I love them) beautiful


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## sudsy_kiwi (Nov 11, 2014)

Is there any particular oil that is better for making infusions?  Or is it just a case of playing around and experimenting? :-D

Conversely, is there any particular oil that should be avoided for this purpose?

Cheers
SK


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## dynasthai (Nov 11, 2014)

I currently have a batch of rosemary cold infusing. Wasn't sure what I was doing but I had some trimmings from the garden so I stripped the fresh leaves from the stalk and put them in a mason jar with olive oil. A quick shake and it immediately picked up some of the color. Sitting on my shelf right now. I'm hoping that the scent will come through as well.


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## C_Rose (Nov 11, 2014)

Really interesting! Cool thanks for sharing  The soaps look great I'd love to see them with the pig snout or stamp when you're finished.


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## Dahila (Nov 17, 2014)

Every oil can be used in infusion.  I had not try FCO yet..  My favorite is sunflower high oleic and pure olive oil.


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## DWinMadison (Nov 17, 2014)

Since you are working for color, I recommend the lightest, clearest oil possible.  I like peanut, believe it or not.  I know the professionals talk a lot about sweet almond, presumably because it is so light, but I don't keep sweet almond oil around.  Light olive works well too.  If you are working on greens and browns then grape seed works well too.  Just my 2 cents.


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## houseofwool (Nov 18, 2014)

dynasthai said:


> I currently have a batch of rosemary cold infusing. Wasn't sure what I was doing but I had some trimmings from the garden so I stripped the fresh leaves from the stalk and put them in a mason jar with olive oil. A quick shake and it immediately picked up some of the color. Sitting on my shelf right now. I'm hoping that the scent will come through as well.




Be careful infusing fresh herbs. I had to toss a bunch of oil that I had infused with a fresh plant because to developed all kinds of gross things in it.


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## Dahila (Nov 24, 2014)

The herbs for infusion must be dried, there is not other option


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