Has anyone soaped with propolis?

[Jezzy]

I found some propolis powder and was thinking about soaping with some.

A lot of my friends swear by its healing ability for almost anything.

Has anyone tried it?

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis

 

[Northland Naturals]

never tried it but i often wonder if you could really use it in enough quantity to make a difference. i doubt the benefits would survive the lye.

 

[Jezzy]

That is what I was wondering...

 

[mariflo]

It might work (retain some of its qualities) if you add it to cooked HP soap before you put it in the mold. I think that the quality of the propolis depends on its processing temperature though.
I thought about using propolis tincture (can't find powdered here ...)
Now the question is, what would you expect this soap to do? How do you test if it works? I have to figure that out first and then I'll make a test batch ...

 

[Jezzy]

I have friends that use it for exzema and acne. I would start there when my batch is done. I was thinking about using the tinktur too but the alcohol in it made me choose the powder.

 

[citymouse]

I know this is a little bit of an older thread but i was wondering if you tried making this soap and how it turned out? What % did you use the propolis at?

Thanks
Erin

 

[Jezzy]

Hi Erin, no It is still on my to do list lol... Have you been thinking about this too?

 

[citymouse]

I have a friend with blistering eczema who is looking for alternatives to prescription medicines and am looking into options. I was thinking of doing a cream or something with it. It looks really interesting.

 

[Jezzy]

What about putting it into a whipped shea? Sorry about your friend

 

[citymouse]

That's exactly what i am thinking, i am trying to find out what percentage i should be using it at. I will keep looking, but am not finding much......

 

[Jezzy]

I wouldn't put to much in it. I would leave out any co because that might agrivate it. I have made some good shea for cancer patients with a little rose hip oil. That is suppose to be good for the skin.

 

[delicious]

sorry to barge in, I was reading you and when you suggested shea for eczema I thought "youch!"
Shea can be an allergen, so I would be careful using it for people who are already sensitive. I myself cannot stand shea, it makes my skin awful (I'm in permanent recovery of eczema, always on the good side, but if I use shea butter, it makes my skin crack up again).
I know this is not the mainstream idea. Just be careful that your friend (or whoever else) doesn't have an allergic reaction to the carrier of propolis.

 

[Guest]

Since we are talking, people with allergies should see if they are not allergic to propolis.

There are non alcoholic propolis extracts, but there is no reason to fear alcohol, since it evaporates quickly from the soap bar. Adding propolis powder to your soap won't help much, because it is not soluble.

The tincture (which you can prepare yourself) has a high amout of propolis, being an extract based on a 1:5 ratio.

So here is my suggestion:

1. Find a good recipe for honey and beeswax soap and replace the wax with the same amount of propolis powder (maybe a percentage of 1.5-2.5%). If possible, try to add less water to the recipe to make it harder.

2. When the soap is done, reprocess it adding propolis tincture, as much as you dare (probably 30-40%).

3. Pour it into molds and wait for it to harden again (in few days or so it should be ready).

 

[Jezzy]

Thanks for the info delicious... What oils do you recommend?

 

[soapbuddy]

I prefer to use it in a cream to get the best benefits from it.

 

[Jezzy]

Thanks soapbuddy! That is what I was thinking. Do you know if it is water or oil Soluble? I was going to use powdered propolis

 

[soapbuddy]

Thanks soapbuddy! That is what I was thinking. Do you know if it is water or oil Soluble? I was going to use powdered propolis

I infused it into my oils, then strained it.

 

[Jezzy]

Thanks!

 

[soapbuddy]

Thanks!

You're welcome.

 

[Guest]

Do you know if it is water or oil Soluble? I was going to use powdered propolis

It isn't soluble, I have tried it. Mixing propolis with oil/water won't happen and obviously, you won't be getting much therapeutic results.

However, propolis does melt in hot oil. And with the force of the stick blender, you may be able to incorporate it, but I am not sure that you can emulsify it well enough to obtain any relevant therapeutic effects. Besides, during heating, you lose a large part of the essential oils.

On the other side, I was able to make a HP propolis bar, following loosely my previous suggestions (I have used honey, propolis 5%, beeswax 5%, propolis tincture 30%).

Next time, I plan to try more honey (maybe over 10%) and less wax (1-1.5%). I also plan to heat and separate the pure propolis from wax, since mine contains wax (yes, I have been robbed .

It has that deep dark chocolate colour, and is a little shiny, like polished.
The smell is characteristic of propolis. As you hold it in your hand, it has a slight waxy feeling, but not really during use.