Botanicals

[Traumabrew]

I was wondering if anyone adds botanicals/herbs to their soap batter and if so, how does it affect the soap and what botanicals work well?

I was thinking of adding lavendar buds or calendula into the batter

 

[Kittish]

Calendula will probably work out ok for you. I've seen that cornflower also stays looking pretty. Lavender buds, rose buds, almost any other kind of flower will turn into mouse turds inside of soap.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Botanicals are widely used in soap for color or beneficial qualities. Some powdered herbs/flowers like lavender can be added directly to soap if fine enough so they aren't scratchy. Others, like Calendula are best infused in oil first. Monterey Bay Spice CO (herbco.com) has an extensive inventory of herbs and spices in 4 oz. sizes -- very economical and plenty for several batches of soap. Check out these sites for more info:

COLORING SOAP NATURALLY
http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/join-jo-coloring-soap-naturally/

HERBAL MEDICINE BOX
http://www.herbalmedicinebox.com/2011/09/how-to-make-herbal-infused-oils.html

ANNIE'S REMEDY
https://www.anniesremedy.com/chart_remedy_herbaloil.php

CHAGRIN VALLEY BOTANICALS
https://www.chagrinvalleysoapandsalve.com/ingredients/botanicals/

 

[Dahila]

I do not believe any benefits of that will survive lye monster

 

[lsg]

I like calendula petals in soap.

 

[Obsidian]

I also use calendula petals. I tried cornflower petals once but despite what the internet said, they also turned brown.

 

[IrishLass]

Another thing to keep in mind when considering whether to add petals, buds or crushed leaves to the soap batter (besides discoloration) is the messy factor when bathing/showering with the finished bars.

I once made a soap with calendula petals in it, and while visually appealing at first (they did turn tan on me over time in spite of what I had heard), I really didn't appreciate the petals mucking up my shower and flowing down my drain. My hubby didn't either, and I decided then and there to never add physical/tangible botanicals to any of my soaps.........

Buuuuut wouldn't you know it that I'm currently using a handmade soap scented with mint E.O. & sprinkled with mint leaves that I bought when on vacation over the summer (I know, shame on me )....... I bought it in spite of the crushed mint leaves on it & in it because I love mint scented soap and because I like buying others handmade soap while on vacation if I can find any, but now that I'm actually using it, I'm clearly reminded of why I had decided earlier to never use physical/tangible botanicals in soap.

The mint leaves (which have turned brown since I bought it in June) are sooooo messy. They get on everything and are difficult to rinse off. If it wasn't for the fact that the actual soap itself lathers nice, feels great on my skin and smells delightful, I'd throw the bar away because of how annoying the leaves are.

Just something to consider.


IrishLass

 

[annalee2003]

Another thing to keep in mind when considering whether to add petals, buds or crushed leaves to the soap batter (besides discoloration) is the messy factor when bathing/showering with the finished bars.

I once made a soap with calendula petals in it, and while visually appealing at first (they did turn tan on me over time in spite of what I had heard), I really didn't appreciate the petals mucking up my shower and flowing down my drain. My hubby didn't either, and I decided then and there to never add physical/tangible botanicals to any of my soaps.........

Buuuuut wouldn't you know it that I'm currently using a handmade soap scented with mint E.O. & sprinkled with mint leaves that I bought when on vacation over the summer (I know, shame on me )....... I bought it in spite of the crushed mint leaves on it & in it because I love mint scented soap and because I like buying others handmade soap while on vacation if I can find any, but now that I'm actually using it, I'm clearly reminded of why I had decided earlier to never use physical/tangible botanicals in soap.

The mint leaves (which have turned brown since I bought it in June) are sooooo messy. They get on everything and are difficult to rinse off. If it wasn't for the fact that the actual soap itself lathers nice, feels great on my skin and smells delightful, I'd throw the bar away because of how annoying the leaves are.

Just something to consider.


IrishLass

Great explanation IrishLass!

I felt the same way (as far as the messy factor goes) when I added whole oats for the first time to the top of one of my very first soaps. The design element was wonderful and they came out looking amazing. But then I used them in the shower and we'll ... oatmeal gets soggy and mushy gross when it gets wet. I didn't like it at all.

Even though I didn't like the feel of it, and it's been two years since then. I found myself just yesterday adding some whole pats to the top of a batch of soap because I still think it looks really pretty! Hah.

 

[penelopejane]

Another thing to keep in mind when considering whether to add petals, buds or crushed leaves to the soap batter (besides discoloration) is the messy factor when bathing/showering with the finished bars. IrishLass

I agree IrishLass. Such a pity I don't have a cleaner. :cry:

You wouldn't think extra super fine cinnamon (used as a mica line) would be a problem in soap but my delicate son says he doesn't want any more soap with "stuff" in it because it is scratchy. :mrgreen:
Can't imagine his response to tea leaves or petals in his soap.

 

[Kristianna]

I just bought some organic orange peel powder which I intend to add directly to my soap batter.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

I have used a few botanicals in soap but mostly to act as natural colourants. Calendula petals are the only flower petal to survive lye and stay yellow, and I have never found them to turn brown, but perhaps I've never left the soap for long enough! Infused in lye they give a pretty good yellow colour. I put cornflower petals on top of a soap once but they turned brown as soon as I started using it. I use orange peel in my orange and patchouli soap to boost the orange colour from the essential oils and put a quarter slice of orange on top. Very pretty, keeps its colour, but does go soggy and eventually you want to pull it off. Paprika is also good for orange colour, infuse it in the lye and sieve out if I don't want speckles, you can add it to the final mix if you do. Madder root the same, though I found just making madder tea and sieving out before adding the sodium hydroxide was just as effective as adding to the lye and the pink colour seems truer to me, a bit brownish when I infused in the lye. Adding at trace will give a white soap with pink speckles on pouring that gets steadily pinker over time. Very pretty but might be too scratchy for some people. Greens I've tried nettle powder, spirulina etc, all good to start but fade quickly. The best I've found is green tea wax, very expensive but you use a tiny bit. Gives a good mid green shade that doesn't fade as fast. I also put peppermint leaves in my mint and tea tree soap but they go black or brown v quickly. Totally agree with lavender mouse poo, but one of my testers loved it bizarrely. Also use poppy seeds to add scrubbiness, coffee grounds (a really dark brown speckled soap which is quite attractive) cocoa powder - varying shades of brown according to quantity) and ground cinnamon, which gives brown speckles. Cautious about this though as it is cinnamon bark, and you are not supposed to use cinnamon bark oil in soap only cinnamon leaf (EU Rules). The main other thing I have tried is alkanet but only ever achieved varying shades of battleship grey. I find (apart from alkanet) I am perfectly happy with my botanical colours without gelling my soap, which I never do. A general rule for me is that when putting things in soap for purposes other than colour, less is more. In the early days I made soap with so much gunk in it was almost unuseable!

One for the experts - do botanicals survive better in melt and pour soap?

 

[Kittish]

I just bought some organic orange peel powder which I intend to add directly to my soap batter.

It's going to make your soap very scrubby. I tried that with my first batch of soap.

 

[Kristianna]

The orange peel powder I have is super fine but I kinda like soap that is a little scrubby.

 

[Kittish]

The orange peel powder I have is super fine but I kinda like soap that is a little scrubby.

So is mine, so I was surprised by how scrubby it was.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

I use orange peel powder in my soap and don't find it scrubby at all. I guess this is just where personal differences come in. In which case you can't really ask for advice on some things, you just have to try it for yourself.

Another "botanical" I just remembered I use is dessicated coconut. I use this in my 100% coconut oil (20% superfat) with coconut water as the liquid for the lye - a truly 100% coconut soap. I have found that it stays white both in the soap and when sprinkled on top, and is a bit scrubby but not too much - which probably translates as very scrubby for those who think orange peel powder is! But I like it - it is one of my all time fave soaps, but sadly doesn't last very long because of the super solubility of coconut oil. Worth it while it lasts though. And no it doesn't smell of coconut but does smell kind of sweet, which I quite like so I leave it unperfumed.

 

[Traumabrew]

As I have been growing as a soap maker, I have found myself changing my thoughts and desires in soap. I always thought the cool, vibrant colors and swirls were awesome and still do, but am drawn to going all natural in my soap. I find many buyers of handcrafted soap and looking for high quality soap that is as natural as possible. So, I have moved away from fragrance oil to EO and want to move away from synthetic colorants to natural colorants. That was where I was going with my train of thought.

Can truly naturally occurring minerals be used such as titanium dioxide, black or red dioxide, etc? Some micas are natural while others are synthetics. Any input?

 

[Kittish]

Can truly naturally occurring minerals be used such as titanium dioxide, black or red dioxide, etc? Some micas are natural while others are synthetics. Any input?

One reason we use synthetic minerals for pigments instead of mined is that minerals that are mined tend to be contaminated with various heavy metals. Such friendly folks as arsenic, lead, and mercury. The synthetics are identical in molecular structure to the naturally occurring pigments, but lack the extra flavor boost.

Other minerals are synthesized because of cost. Ultramarine blue used to be very, very costly. Worth more than it's weight in gold at one point. It was first synthesized around 1830.

I guess the takeaway there is that I don't recognize any real difference between 'naturally occurring' and 'synthetic' other than purity control and cost, and that's a big vote to go synthetic for me, at least for colorants. Fragrances are a whole other matter.

 

[SunRiseArts]

I put my calendula petals in the grinder, and pulverize them if I use them in the soap batter.

Everything from my experience turns brown.

I asked before about rose buds? Anyone knows?

 

[Kittish]

I asked before about rose buds? Anyone knows?

IN the soap? Pretty sure you'd wind up with big mouse turds. Next batch you make, pour off a little into a smallish mold, single bar if you've got one, and stick some rose buds into it. Watch it as it cures.

 

[Obsidian]

Yep, roses turn brown or black.