# Using spices in soap?



## Intothewoods (Sep 29, 2011)

I have read somewhere that you can use spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. for scenting and coloring your soaps. I thought this would be a great idea for Christmas soaps, but I have no idea how much to use or what spices are best. I was wondering if anyone else has done this? Could you give me some tips? I am making goat's milk soap, BTW. Thanks!


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## soap25 (Sep 29, 2011)

*Recipe*

http://millersoap.com/soapanimal.html#MissNonya

There is a recipe using spices. I have used this spice mix and it was really nice and had a warm smell, without using any other scents. 

Be careful some spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, they may cause allergy.


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## JackiK (Sep 29, 2011)

The only ones I've used are clove, cinnamon, all spice, and paprika.

For the clove and cinnamon, I infused olive oil in it instead of using it straight in the soap.  The all spice and paprika, I used the ground and put it directly in.

Wish I'd put more clove in the oil and left it longer.


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## Soapy Gurl (Sep 29, 2011)

I love using cinnamon, it is one of my favorite additives!  It adds color and texture to the soap and a little bit of scent.  I honestly measure things by how they look in the pot.  I would start with a tablespoon (for 3lb batch) and look at the soap and see if you have what you want.  I noticed in my last batch that it gave a tiny bit of texture/scrub to the soap.  I loved it, I am going to do that again.


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## Lynnz (Sep 29, 2011)

Wow some great ideas going here..............Hope the other Aussie girls in the swap haven't spotted this thread hehehehehehehe might have to try some of these ideas in the Chrissie swap we have going  :wink:  :wink:


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## Mouse (Sep 30, 2011)

One of my very first soaps was made with cocoa powder and cinamon, no additional fragrance. I really liked it, so one of my next experiments was a "Chai" typle spice blend: cinamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, allspice, cloves....when i poured into the mold, it really quickly got a strong cat pee-type ammonia smell, and it freaked me out so much that I threw the whole thing out. It probably would have cured fine, but I was afraid I had inadvertently hit on some crazy toxic combination!

The only thing I can really tell you is to be careful; some of them are skin irritants. A cinamon-clove soap may feel wonderful to your skin, but may give someone else a horrible rash....


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## Fragola (Sep 30, 2011)

Infusing spices with oils is another idea which I just read about on this forum. Coming with a warning that certain spices, like cloves can make your paste to seize. 

I like my soaps smooth and have some fear that ground spices could be scratchy.


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## Intothewoods (Sep 30, 2011)

How would I infuse the spices in my olive oil? Does that just mean mixing the spices with my olive oil before adding it to the rest of the mixture? I always use some olive oil in my soap anyway, so that wouldn't change my recipe all that much.


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## Fragola (Sep 30, 2011)

As I said, I didn't try this yet, but this is my plan for a test batch:

- grind them fresh to a fine powder
- mix with oil, using a volume ratio of 1:2
- let them sit for a couple of weeks
- pour out the oil and leave the spices behind

At that point, I'll follow my nose to decide how much I will dilute the infused oil with other oils. 

I'll try to soap cool, and mix the lye with part of the oils to trace and then add the infused oils, hoping that will alleviate the seizure risk/consequences.


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## carebear (Sep 30, 2011)

deep sigh.

if you grind them to a fine powder, it's difficult to filter them out.  sure you can use a coffee filter but that will cost you time and oil.  and you'll probably have to put it through cheesecloth first.

don't grind fine.

you can let sit or you can warm your oil gently to speed things along.


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## Guywithsoap? (Oct 1, 2011)

Why remove it at all?

Let's say you use powdered spice instead of fresh. Cinnamon powder instead of cinnamon stick? Less potent I assume, but can't i just dump the powder into the oil?

Also when you say 1:2 ratio that sounds very high. 16 oz Olive oil and 8 ounces of spice ? Is this correct?


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## Pretty n Plain (Oct 1, 2011)

I'm thinking, if one didn't want to keep the spice in the oil, rather than trying to seperate the spice from the oil then maybe you could place the required amount of spice into a piece of cheesecloth, tie it off into a little boquet (sorry, I can't remember what it's actually called) and sit it in the oil for however long, then you could just pull it out of the oil withought trying to seperate.

I was thinking of heat infusing my herbs/oil mix on a low heat for 3 hours instead of doing it over a period of a few weeks, will be interesting to see if there's any difference.


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## Fragola (Oct 1, 2011)

Some time ago, I have done a cinnamon infusion test with  (store bought powder), and I am happy with the results. 

My reasoning for grinding finely was to increase the contact surface between oils and spice. I don't know if this actually helps strengthen the fragrance, just a theory. It is also possible that the grinding/sieving process could disperse the volatile oils into the air before adding them to the oils. I really don't which is the best solution.

There is no need to strain, filter, or use a cheesecloth, just pour off the crystal clear oil. And the thick paste that's on the bottom, I'll probably use it when baking bread or other stuff (it's probably less flavored than the original stuff).

Of course, it's possible that other herbs/spices or ground more coarsely may behave differently. 







No need to remove *all* the powder, but I am aiming here for a very smooth soap. Just a personal choice.


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