Botanicals in soap

[new2soapmaking]

Hi I'm new to soap making. I've made 2 small batches 1 lavender and the other citrus. I wanted to ask when is it best to add the lavender in the mixture my lavender in my cp soap looks brown, I also made a citrus soap with dried orange and lemon peel in them and one of them looks like it has black pieces in it .
Many thanks

 

[artemis]

Hi I'm new to soap making. I've made 2 small batches 1 lavender and the other citrus. I wanted to ask when is it best to add the lavender in the mixture my lavender in my cp soap looks brown, I also made a citrus soap with dried orange and lemon peel in them and one of them looks like it has black pieces in it .
Many thanks

Reasons to not add botanicals:
1. Many of them turn brown
2. Many of them will be scratchy against skin
3. They don't add any skin benefits
4. They don't add scent
5. They go down the drain, possibly causing plumbing issues.

I'm not sure about the black pieces, though. Many of us add fine grated citrus peel. Was the peel fresh, or dried?

 

[Vicki C]

I’m not a fan of botanicals in soap either. Lavender buds look like mouse turds in soap, there really isn’t a good time to add them because the lye will make them turn dark brown, and they really don’t add anything to design or fragrance. Some people add lavender buds to the tops of their soaps, where they won’t interact as much with the lye, and they look ok. It’s just not my preference.

 

[new2soapmaking]

Reasons to not add botanicals:
1. Many of them turn brown
2. Many of them will be scratchy against skin
3. They don't add any skin benefits
4. They don't add scent
5. They go down the drain, possibly causing plumbing issues.

I'm not sure about the black pieces, though. Many of us add fine grated citrus peel. Was the peel fresh, or dried?

Thank you for the replies , the peel was dried. I will just put on top next time

 

[AliOop]

Thank you for the replies , the peel was dried. I will just put on top next time

Dried orange peel inside the soap helps to make a good scrubby bar of soap, usually for mechanics and gardeners who need that scrubbiness. Other exfoliants that work well for this include fine pumice, poppy seeds, and other gritty-but-not-scratchy substances. The soap won't necessarily be pretty, but it will work well - which is all that most mechanics, gardeners, and blacksmiths care about.

 

[new2soapmaking]

Dried orange peel inside the soap helps to make a good scrubby bar of soap, usually for mechanics and gardeners who need that scrubbiness. Other exfoliants that work well for this include fine pumice, poppy seeds, and other gritty-but-not-scratchy substances. The soap won't necessarily be pretty, but it will work well - which is all that most mechanics, gardeners, and blacksmiths care about.

Thank you for this information, im still new to this so any helpful information is greatly appreciated