Adding tea to cold process soap

[idreamaboutsoap]

Has anyone used brewed green tea in their soap? I want to add this to one of my recipes but unsure of what it may do. Should I count it as part of my water in my lye solution or add as additional water? Will it go crazy and seize up my batter?? I love the idea bc of all of the wonderful properties of tea but unsure and don't have the resources to lose a batch...TIA

 

[Dennis]

I've used coffee but not tea - yet. The room temp coffee was used as lye water with no problems. I weighed the coffee and lye and mixed as usual with no problems at all. Tea may be different but I'm sure we will know shortly.

 

[seven]

i've used herbal tea. i did a full liquid swap. brew the tea extra strength, chill it, add lye. don't add lye to the tea when it's still hot. as far as the wonderful properties, i'm not sure how much (if any) will survive saponification. it's more of label appeal to me.

as far as green tea. i've used powdered one to color my batch once. it turned nasty brown. the nice muted green is gone. just a heads up.

 

[Belinda02]

I used black tea concentrate as my water in my last batch with no problems. More for color than anything. Soap started off brown but now a light cream.

 

[osso]

i've used herbal tea. i did a full liquid swap. brew the tea extra strength, chill it, add lye. don't add lye to the tea when it's still hot. as far as the wonderful properties, i'm not sure how much (if any) will survive saponification. it's more of label appeal to me.

^This. You can use any tea as a full liquid swap. Beneficial properties and lovely colors may not survive saponification.

 

[idreamaboutsoap]

Thanks so much for the input everyone!

 

[DeannaM]

I've done a full liquid swap as well with no problems! I couldn't tell any difference either but it's got good label appeal. I plan on making "sweet tea soap" and "Unsweet tea soap" by adding sugar and a little lemon fo to the first and just lemon fo to the later and using tea for a full liquid swap in both.

 

[Ellacho]

Of course, you can use herbal tea and it does not cause any problems in soap. But you will have nice colored tan/grayish soap.

 

[ourwolfden]

I've done a full liquid swap as well with no problems! I couldn't tell any difference either but it's got good label appeal. I plan on making "sweet tea soap" and "Unsweet tea soap" by adding sugar and a little lemon fo to the first and just lemon fo to the later and using tea for a full liquid swap in both.

I saw a sweet tea FO somewhere but I don't remember where...

 

[LunaSkye]

I used tea in my soaps as a base & additive (2 bags total were used). I want to stretch the usage of the tea bags so my next tea soap will just be brewed in a portion of the liquid needed while the lye solution is made in the remaining liquid. I'm thinking that I could add the tea in at trace and keep more of the benefits if I CP at a lower temp.

 

[eucalypta]

You can use any tea as a full liquid swap. Beneficial properties and lovely colors may not survive saponification.

They surely don't!
Besides that: soap is there to clean.
You rinse it off.
Even if there would be some goodies left after the lye attack, they are there for a very short time and in minimal amounts.

I used tea in my soaps as a base & additive (2 bags total were used). I want to stretch the usage of the tea bags so my next tea soap will just be brewed in a portion of the liquid needed while the lye solution is made in the remaining liquid. I'm thinking that I could add the tea in at trace and keep more of the benefits if I CP at a lower temp.

Makes no sense as saponification takes quite a while to complete.
I know you don't like to hear this, but why not make a hand/body lotion and add green tea extract (bought at one of the suppliers, because tea in a lotion is a nono). That way you really benefit from the tea.

 

[navigator9]

I love to drink pomegranate green tea. It's a beautiful pink color. Early in my soaping days, I used it, expecting my soap to be that lovely color. Yes, it's another story of lye not being kind to things we'd like to add, for color, decoration, etc. You can use it, but as stated above, I think the label appeal is really the only benefit.

 

[jesfayven]

New to forum.
I just started (newbie). I've made 4 batches so far and they have gone well I think.
The last batch I made was a complete swap with brewed tea for the water. It came out well. The color is turning to a caramel color? maybe. i like the scent it is giving off.

 

[Dorymae]

Even if you could keep the temperature under 95 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the point at which herbals begin to lose their benefits, the reaction with lye would probably destroy the herbals anyway.

(95 degrees is the highest temperature you should ever dry herbs at after that they are said to degrade very quickly when using them for homeopathic reasons)

 

[LunaSkye]

Makes no sense as saponification takes quite a while to complete.
I know you don't like to hear this, but why not make a hand/body lotion and add green tea extract (bought at one of the suppliers, because tea in a lotion is a nono). That way you really benefit from the tea.

I actually forgot about the time it takes soap to saponify. Your idea is a good one & I have thought about making a cream at some point. I just need to do some research & find a good preservative (I'd like to make a liquid soap in the future).

 

[eucalypta]

I love to drink pomegranate green tea. It's a beautiful pink color. Early in my soaping days, I used it, expecting my soap to be that lovely color. Yes, it's another story of lye not being kind to things we'd like to add, for color, decoration, etc. You can use it, but as stated above, I think the label appeal is really the only benefit.

Been there, done that.

I think almost every starting soaper does things like that. You envision the most wonderful soaps and ... with benefits.

There is quite a list of "don'ts" - mistakes that everyone is entitled to make and learn from.
Let's give them that opportunity. :twisted:

 

[Claudia]

I used Chamomile and Spearmint in my first soap, brewed strong and used in place of water. It gave a subtle colour and I added the leaves to half the batter at trace. It may not have added any herbal extras but it looks pretty..

 

[DeannaM]

I saw a sweet tea FO somewhere but I don't remember where...

If you find it again please let me know!!! I would love that! I've only checked WSP so far (I love free shipping). The lemon scent was the closest I could get to sweet tea because a lot of people put lemon in their tea.

 

[leeleetrue]

I just need to do some research & find a good preservative (I'd like to make a liquid soap in the future).

I went looking into natural preservatives (if there is such a thing) and found a really good article on the subject here - http://www.soap-blog.com/2012/05/great-debate-is-there-natural.html

i followed the link to Texas Natural Supply for the Silverion 2400, and it sounds pretty freaking amazing.

 

[clhigh29]

I swapped out brewed green tea for water. I refrigerated it first before adding lye. I saved the leaves to use as an additive for the green side, and used yellow oxide for the right side. One of the easiest and most satisfying soaps. I used lemongrass for scent. I've also used brewed hibiscus tea in a hot processed soap for a beautiful facial soap. Don't be afraid; just do it.