The results of my oil infusions :)

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

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.

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.

Click to expand...

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

Looking good! U used slow cooker to heat them?

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

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?

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

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.

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

Click to expand...

Gigi
Did you use safflower petals?
Alkanet leaves?

TY everyone

mymy said:

Looking good! U used slow cooker to heat them?

Click to expand...

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?

Click to expand...

Safflower petals and alkanet powder

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.

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.

Click to expand...

Me too and I've got some soaps planned

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.

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.

Click to expand...

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

gigisiguenza said:

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

Click to expand...

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.

penelopejane said:

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

Click to expand...

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

mymy said:

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

Click to expand...

Yes that's right.

penelopejane said:

Yes that's right.

Click to expand...

Thanks!

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.

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