Anyone put chamomile tea in their soap?

[Carl]

I'm thinking the tea right from the tea bag? The only ingredient in the list of the tea bag box is chamomile. SO it's not like there is anything else present. It may act somewhat as an exfoliate?

I have another recipe that does something similar but with coffee grounds and I was very happy with the results.

 

[BrewedSoap]

Greetings, I’ve made soap with green tea and chamomile tea in the past with nice results. I’ve used concentrated tea in my lye solution, and I’ve sprinkled tea bag contents in for esthetics. I’ve had the lye react to green tea leaves, but I don’t recall anything happening with the chamomile.

 

[Carl]

Awesome thanks. Noticed you're new. Welcome and I've picked up a lot of great tips from this site so far!

 

[shunt2011]

As long as you're okay with tan or brownish soap you most certainly can. I don't add herbs etc to my soap as they can be scratchy but some do. Most herbs/botanicals will turn brown.

As for coffee grounds make sure they are spent and not dry. They can be really scratchy. Don't add a lot.

 

[BrewedSoap]

Awesome thanks. Noticed you're new. Welcome and I've picked up a lot of great tips from this site so far!

Thank you!!!I’m excited to learn new things and share what I’ve learned through trial and error

 

[soapmaker]

Another tea idea: I brew a strong batch of red rooibos tea, cool it of course, and use that for my lye water. I scent that soap with vanilla and cinnamon. It's one of my best sellers. You can definitely smell the rooibos in the finished bar. Just keep from eating it!

 

[earlene]

Yes, I have used chamomile tea. I used to grow chamomile and collected the flowers for tea. So anyway, this is my experience with using tea from a tea bag and using the flowers I dried myself:

As the soap cures and loses water, the tea also becomes drier and more scratchy. The longer the soap cures, the more pronounced the scratchiness becomes. I can only use this soap on my feet because it is extremely exfoliating. I had not expected chamomile tea soap to be so scratchy, but it certainly is on my skin. I have read that some others don't find it so; perhaps their soap is younger, or their skin is not as fragile as mine; I am not sure. Or maybe I used more of the actual bits of tea in my soap and they used less.

 

[penelopejane]

I take the tea out of three tea bags and use a mortar and pestle to grind it small so it isn’t scratchy and doesn’t leave leaves in the shower. I make a 1800g batch but generally divide it and have about 1/3 plain and 2/3 with tea as the water and tea leaves added to this part. Then you get a swirl because the tea will make the batter go brown.

 

[BrewedSoap]

I should’ve also added that I blend the loose tea with my stick blender after I’ve achieved trace. The tea is then so fine that I personally have never had an issue with scratching. With that being said, I also don’t put in too much, it’s for esthetics just to add flecks of herbally goodness. I wouldn’t recommend whole dried flowers or a large amount. I also make coffee soap, and I have had the issue of too much exfoliation. Even though I use the finer grind.

 

[soaplady30]

I use peppermint tea often for visual effects. The amount that is in one Celstial Seasons bag in 5 lbs of soap. I dump it in at med Trace and it suspends just fine.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Chamomile tea sounds lovely. I might try that too. I think I would use an EO or FO with it, for nice smellies - any ideas what would smell good with the chamomile? I initially thought lemon, but I already have a Rosemary and Lemon soap on my agenda, so maybe something else? Apple?

 

[Fargood]

I can't use chamomile in any of my soaps because my kids and husband are ridiculously allergic, but I use coffee grounds in a re-batch whipped soap. The oilfield guys and farmers love it because the coffee is an order neutralizer and the grounds make a nice abrasive for dirt and oil. I try to use a scent that "goes" with coffee like the cocoa spice FO from Brambleberry or another warm scent.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I make a baby bar using olive oil infused with chamomile tea and calendula petals. I strain the oil so no bits get into the soap. Makes a lovely soap.

 

[karon L adams]

Chamomile and Calendula was one of my favorites. I made that one as a standard in my business.

Mix the dry tea will a little bit of liquid oil, whatever kind you would want, and make certain to stir it up very well so that you don't get clumps. once you are certain that all the of the tea/dried material of any kindis mixed well with theoil, it will blend beautifully into your soap mixture. Chamomile is beautiful in soap. the texture is just gorgeous.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Chamomile and Calendula was one of my favorites. I made that one as a standard in my business.

Mix the dry tea will a little bit of liquid oil, whatever kind you would want, and make certain to stir it up very well so that you don't get clumps. once you are certain that all the of the tea/dried material of any kindis mixed well with theoil, it will blend beautifully into your soap mixture. Chamomile is beautiful in soap. the texture is just gorgeous.

Do you strain yours? I was thinking I could grind the tea down, infuse it, and then leave the bits in?

 

[penelopejane]

I’ve left the tea in but it was finely ground. It should go down the drain ok.

I didn’t use infused tea in my soap. I just mixed the ground tea into the soap. Just experiment and see if you like it and which you like best.

 

[karon L adams]

Do you strain yours? I was thinking I could grind the tea down, infuse it, and then leave the bits in?

entirely up to you. I left it in because it was pretty. I didn't use pigments if I had texture. it made the soap more natural _looking_ as well as feeling. I loved using the vegetal material where ever possible. I LOVED Ginger soap, too. I would juice a hand of ginger and then mix the ginger fiber back into the juice and put it all into the soap. YUM!

I can't use chamomile in any of my soaps because my kids and husband are ridiculously allergic, but I use coffee grounds in a re-batch whipped soap. The oilfield guys and farmers love it because the coffee is an order neutralizer and the grounds make a nice abrasive for dirt and oil. I try to use a scent that "goes" with coffee like the cocoa spice FO from Brambleberry or another warm scent.

Pumice powder is also good for oilers' hands. Charcoal powder would be as well. and Charcoal powder will also help with scent neutralizing.

 

[penelopejane]

Pumice powder is also good for oilers' hands. Charcoal powder would be as well. and Charcoal powder will also help with scent neutralizing.

Coffee grounds are good too for colour, texture and scent neutralising when you wash your hands with it.

 

[Pansy]

Chamomile and Calendula was one of my favorites. I made that one as a standard in my business.

Mix the dry tea will a little bit of liquid oil, whatever kind you would want, and make certain to stir it up very well so that you don't get clumps. once you are certain that all the of the tea/dried material of any kindis mixed well with theoil, it will blend beautifully into your soap mixture. Chamomile is beautiful in soap. the texture is just gorgeous.

It's confusing to me for the plant matter to be referred to as tea. It's only "tea" if it's brewed with hot water. Otherwise, it's the herb itself.

 

[MelissaG]

I wouldn't put particulates inside soap. Meaning the chamomile flower. When they dry, they can be very tough on the skin and even scratchy. If you use chamomile tea, make sure you drain it of particulates before using it. If you want to use some kind of exfoliant in your soap, there are several ideas. Sand can be very rough since it's pieces of rock or shells that have been ground to micro size. Salt is an option depending on how rough you want the exfoliant to be. White sugar is used more often for body with brown sugar being used for the face. White sugar has a larger granule size and can be rough on the face. Brown sugar has a smaller size and is better for lips and face. From there, you go down to jojoba beads, and further on down until you can't feel the graininess at all. Mind you, most of these are much better used in things like sugar scrubs.

There's one I didn't mention that was very popular with us gen xr's while growing up. Apricot seeds. I think it's St Ives exfoliant that uses it, or used it. Not sure. I personally loved this stuff. The seeds are completely safe for the environment though I can't say the same about the rest of the chemical since I have no idea what the ingredients were.

Just be careful of the feel of things. If you want to use chamomile tea, then I suggest making a small bar of it first to test how it feels.