Calendula petals - use or not?

[cmzaha]

I am with IrishLass when it comes to botanicals in my soap. I do use oatmeal but that is about all. I will use infused calendula in a few soaps, label appeal, but most go into my carrot calendula solid lotion. I really do not feel much if anything will survive the lye monster. If a customer asks me what it will do for the soap, which they do at times, I am honest and tell them, "clean your body, anything else I do not guarantee." I find most like the honesty and will still buy the soap if they like the scent or if someone told them it is magic

 

[not_ally]

As to why it survives? ...nature has a way of defying the odds when it comes to natural medicines even though it doesn't make much sense.

I agree w/you on natural medicines making sense/doing good in a way that is not immediately explainable or well-tested, but rather by historical/anecdotal evidence collected over many years. But I still have doubts about how well the beneficial compounds can survive the lye.

I don't know much about Chinese medicine (although I thought it was helpful the one time I went to a good practitioner), but do a bit about ayurveda. There, we use very small amounts of things that have been seen to work well together, in specific ways/combinations over hundreds (thousands? not sure) of years.

But they are so small, and the interactions are so specific. I would expect that the caustic nature of lye would wreak havoc there and that creating a soap w/real ayurvedic properties would be very difficult.

This is not to say that *your* experiments w/botanicals will not work, I think most people do not even try b/c of the impediments, and many of ones that advertise them as working miracles are the wacko types that may not know that much about them, or how to observe the effects, in the first place. I hope you keep trying and report back if you find something good.

 

[gemsupthepoley]

I've got some growing in the garden and it seems the only thing for sure is the petals turn the oils yellow! So that's what I'll do and maybe add some on top for a bonnie pattern!

(Been off line with internet down since the beginning of August...Nice to be back)

 

[not_ally]

Aye, a bonnie pattern (yes, I am making fun of you and EG in an affectionate way, you can feel free to do the same w/my California/Valley Girl speech patterns Also, I love it when you crazy Scots/Scotch/Scottish folk (what the heck is right?) do that.

Glad that you are back!

 

[soapswirl]

Not_ally - you can call us Scots or Scottish, not Scotch - that's the whisky!

I like calendula petals in a soap for the scrubby texture, but I'm not convinced that they add any further benefit in a soap.

 

[Sauboon]

As far as I know you should only use the petals. You can buy a huge bag of petals only from www.brambleberry.com

 

[rparrny]

This is not to say that *your* experiments w/botanicals will not work, I think most people do not even try b/c of the impediments, and many of ones that advertise them as working miracles are the wacko types that may not know that much about them, or how to observe the effects, in the first place. I hope you keep trying and report back if you find something good.

I have used calendula and rosehip in combination to make some really powerful medicine, but it was in salves and compresses. If I had a bad burn, I wouldn't grab a bar of soap with those ingredients to fix the problem. That being said, with my recent experience with the rosehip, I would think that a bar with a careful combination of the right fats could be a product that would help to nourish the skin. Past that I wouldn't have any great hopes but I don't think that is anything to sneeze at either...

I am with IrishLass when it comes to botanicals in my soap. I do use oatmeal but that is about all. I will use infused calendula in a few soaps, label appeal, but most go into my carrot calendula solid lotion. I really do not feel much if anything will survive the lye monster. If a customer asks me what it will do for the soap, which they do at times, I am honest and tell them, "clean your body, anything else I do not guarantee." I find most like the honesty and will still buy the soap if they like the scent or if someone told them it is magic

Well I guess it all depends what you expect it to do...after all a bar of soap is meant to clean the body and that's about it. My question is; can the addition of botanicals create a bar that does a better job of it. We use certain fats and oils for conditioning the skin...why?...because it can counteract the caustic and drying action of the lye and other fats and oils. Why not look for a botanical to do the same thing? If rosehip can survive the lye...and mine did, albeit it was much weaker for the wear...why can't calendula help to nourish?
Just sayin...

 

[spenny92]

I've got some growing in the garden and it seems the only thing for sure is the petals turn the oils yellow! So that's what I'll do and maybe add some on top for a bonnie pattern!

(Been off line with internet down since the beginning of August...Nice to be back)

Ah, it's nice to hear some Scottish slang again. I'm Scottish but live with my English boyfriend in New Zealand, and I'm terrified that everyone is slowly correcting my little slang quirks out of me! They've even got me pronouncing my Ts in butter - crazy.

RE: Calendula petals... I'm yet to try them, but I bought some soap with the petals on top and they looked super pretty and at least they actually stay the colour they're supposed to!

 

[sudsy_kiwi]

Ah, it's nice to hear some Scottish slang again. I'm Scottish but live with my English boyfriend in New Zealand, and I'm terrified that everyone is slowly correcting my little slang quirks out of me! They've even got me pronouncing my Ts in butter - crazy.

RE: Calendula petals... I'm yet to try them, but I bought some soap with the petals on top and they looked super pretty and at least they actually stay the colour they're supposed to!

If you feel the need for a wee bit of (kind-sorta) Scottish, you should pop on down to the Edinburgh of the South :smile: Not that we actually speak with Scottish accents in Dunedin, but we do have a statue of Robbie Burns and we drink a lot ;-)

 

[itchyandscratchy]

Healing properties and soap

Hi, I've been battling dermatitis on my hands since I was a teenager, I'm now in my 50's. I was nursing for many years, now I am a beauty therapist consequently I was always washing my hands followed by steroid creams and moisturizers. The dermatitis stopped for awhile when I did massage (all those lovely e.o and cold pressed oils), but then kicked in again with the constant hand washing. I started making soap several years ago and have never looked back. My hands get a bit dry sometimes when I wash the dishes with commercial washing liquid but I have been dermatitis free for years. I think that the goodness in cp soaps including the additives are not affected by the lye, bearing in mind soap is to clean not to moisturize.

 

[spenny92]

If you feel the need for a wee bit of (kind-sorta) Scottish, you should pop on down to the Edinburgh of the South :smile: Not that we actually speak with Scottish accents in Dunedin, but we do have a statue of Robbie Burns and we drink a lot ;-)

It's on my to-go list, don't worry! I feel like every second person I meet here is part-Scottish - it's quite nice, actually! Makes me feel like I'm not quite on the other side of the world to home. :mrgreen:

Hey, did you ever take a look at that Facebook group?

 

[rparrny]

This thread points to one of the reasons I still like to make mp. I started w/it, and did just MP for a couple of years b/c I was afraid of the lye. I'm glad that I switched, b/c I like CP soap better (much better for 52 yr old skin) but the fact that you are adding stuff post-saponification w/mp just makes certain things easier and better.

But I'm also glad I started w/MP, I don't think I would have tried it if I had started off w/CP, and it is really nice to know so much about it if I want that option for a given soap. Plus, clear MP can make such beautiful soap.

I sometimes wish more CP'ers did MP, there don't seem to be *that* many of us who really like both and like to gab about the differences at great length (although this is certainly the place to do it, since there are some cross-over folks.)

Sorry, OP, didn't mean to de-rail and I know this is of limited interest to most.

I also started with MP... back in those days before stick blenders, I refused to spend all that time stirring soap to achieve trace. I still think it has a place in my soap making, especially glycerin soaps. For adding botanicals you can't beat glycerin and the clarity of it makes such a beautiful bar.
MPs are a wonderful way to introduce children to the art of soapmaking. My grandson at 2 is way too young for even an MP...but I have some neighbors...a clan of 4 sisters, ages 6-14 who often come over for "projects", we have made bath salts, canned jams, made challah and pizza from scratch. They love my soaps and want to learn to make them but with the possible exception of the older teen twins, I'm not comfortable using lye around them. A MP is a great way to wet the soaping appetite. We have already made plans to do bath bombs for holiday gifts for teachers and family this fall...I think I will add some MP soaps to the project list now...
Here's a picture of Molly taken a few years ago after our challah project. She is my favorite...her sisters will pick brownies as a choice for a baking project...Molly picks ...an almond and pear tart...she definitely thinks outside the box...

 

[not_ally]

Another cutie! I bet she'll be joining us on the board in a year or two

 

[Dorymae]

It is not only the lye that destroys beneficial botanicals, it is the heat. When you dry herbs for therapeutic use you should not go over 95 degrees. Even when you are drying for nutritional value you should not exceed 115 degrees.

So honestly adding any herb or infusion to soap for therapeutic value I don't believe can work. I only believe it works for label appeal.