dried herbs and spices

[campbellsoap]

I got some soap making stuff off of freecycle. There were several bags of pepperiment, eclypse, speriment, whole cloves, all spice, lemon grass and etc. I tried to infuse with oil but that didn't work. So I've been steeping them with hot water and get very aromantic liquid.

My questions is can I use some of the liquid in my soap not necessary with lye but add after mixing the oils and lye solution as part of my liquid? Will the scent stay?

Thanks in advance in any help.

jackie

 

[dagmar88]

hi jackie
you can use your liquid in your soap; but do make sure your sented liquid and your water together are the amount of liquid you need following your recipe.
but, i'm not sure wether the scent will stick... here is a good description how to infuse herbs and flowers in oil: http://allnaturalbeauty.us/ani16.htm
good luck!
dagmar

 

[mandolyn]

I got some soap making stuff off of freecycle. There were several bags of pepperiment, eclypse, speriment, whole cloves, all spice, lemon grass and etc. I tried to infuse with oil but that didn't work. So I've been steeping them with hot water and get very aromantic liquid.

My questions is can I use some of the liquid in my soap not necessary with lye but add after mixing the oils and lye solution as part of my liquid? Will the scent stay?

Thanks in advance in any help.

jackie

Yes, you would use that water in place of the water in your recipe, but the scent probably won't come through. Be aware that some of the spices like cinnamon can be irritants.

How did you try to infuse in oil & why do you think it didn't work? Infusing in oil is just letting the herbs sit in the oil in the sun, or I let mine sit on a candle warmer over night, then shake & let cool, then apply the heat again for a few hours. I do that 2-3 times, then strain out the plant material.

 

[Lindy]

I use herbs in my soaps all the time in mhy soaps and for me the trick is to grind in into a fine powder. I find that my soaps carry a light fragrance from the spices so if you're looking for a strong scent you'll need to add FO or EO. You'll also find that the spices will colour your soaps, which again since I work with herbs, spices and botanicals I quite enjoy.

Cheers
Liny

 

[auntie_social]

while the scent that you get from adding the "tea" you have made from your herbs and spices will be mild at best, it does definitely add to the scent of the soap. i always use "tea" for my water and then mix it with the lye. then i grind up some of the same herb or spice (or a different and complimentary one) and add it at trace which adds additional scent and exfoliation to my bar (be careful not to add too much you don't want an overly scratchy bar!) then i also add EO at trace. this creates a wonderfully scented bar. i love using chamomile in this way because the EO is so incredibly expensive. i like using cloves with orange EO it makes a wonderful fall and holiday bar.

just be aware that the lye will turn things colors. sometimes this works out great because if you use the tea you get slight variations in color depending on what you used in the tea. which if you are going the natural route is a bonus because then you don't have to use any colorants. if you are using, say dried lavender and want to add the buds in at trace, they will turn dark and not very esthetically pleasing. i get around this by grinding them into a fine powder. if you want to add things like dried lavender into your soap whole you would probably have to hand mill the soap. i have never done this myself but i am sure there are plenty of people on here who can explain the process to you.

 

[campbellsoap]

I got some soap making stuff off of freecycle. There were several bags of pepperiment, eclypse, speriment, whole cloves, all spice, lemon grass and etc. I tried to infuse with oil but that didn't work. So I've been steeping them with hot water and get very aromantic liquid.

My questions is can I use some of the liquid in my soap not necessary with lye but add after mixing the oils and lye solution as part of my liquid? Will the scent stay?

Thanks in advance in any help.

jackie

Yes, you would use that water in place of the water in your recipe, but the scent probably won't come through. Be aware that some of the spices like cinnamon can be irritants.

How did you try to infuse in oil & why do you think it didn't work? Infusing in oil is just letting the herbs sit in the oil in the sun, or I let mine sit on a candle warmer over night, then shake & let cool, then apply the heat again for a few hours. I do that 2-3 times, then strain out the plant material.

I put it in a pan and I guess I let the oil get too hot, it smelled like I fried something. I will try putting them out in the sun.

jackie

 

[Lindy]

Auntie-Social - What a great idea with the oil - I'm going to try that.

Cheers
Lindy