Infusion questions

[tamarajane]

When I infuse, I use just enough oil to cover the plant material plus about a quarter of an inch. I don't heat mine on the stove, I sit it in a warm, dark place for at least 2 weeks, checking and shaking it daily. This is the old traditional way. You can use whatever oil you want I think. I usually use almond oil or grapeseed oil. Be careful about the lid for awhile. It can blow right off with certain herbs (don't ask) I cover the top with cheesecloth for a few days at first, then lid it later. Some people heat theirs gently on the stove for a few hours, just watch carefully that it doesn't overheat. Infusing takes the properties of the herb and places it in the oil. You can then use it in lotions, creams, as a massage oil, or in soap, but I think it loses a lot of it's properties during the saponication. Calendula is one of my favorites to use.
Hope this helps!

 

[gekko62]

I do mine either in a jar or pan & heat it double boiler style.Never on direct heat.Once the water boils I turn it right down plus put a diffuser over the flame,so it's really just keeping the oil warm(well slightly hotter than 'warm' but not hot kwim?) To strain I use an upside down stool,a cardboard support and a funnel with a coffee filter in it.Crazy! But it works beautifully & I can walk away & come back when it's done.
I do chamomile & calendula & it smells divine.Doesn't come thru in cp but I'd swear the soap feels different.Would be lovely in lotion & I've done a baby bum balm with it.
Olive oil is used because of it's long shelf life,ditto sweet almond.But if yr planning on using the oil asap I really don't know why it'd make a difference.......anyone???

 

[Farm Soaps]

I tried a method I saw somewhere (?). Used olive oil, tried cedar greens, scented daffodils, lily of the valley and lilacs (separate batches). Scrunched up plant parts (leaves or flowers), covered with OO in quart or half gallon jar, lidded. Set in warm place (shelf above woodstove, then in spring in a brown paper bag in the sun). Use fresh plant material for seven straight days, draining oil from yesterday's plants and pouring it over today's fresh plants (the flowers are gorgeous in the oil the first day). I added a bit more oil to make up for the (minimal) oil loss in the drained flowers. I then used the oil for CP soap.
General results were interesting: the scents do survive, but sometimes take time to mature (?). The cedar soap was made with just the OO, the scent is identifiable, has stayed, even strengthened. The other soaps were made 2/3 infused oil, 1/3 solid oil (tallow or lard). Daffodil and LOTV have slight floral, but not really identifiable, scents. The lilac smelled a bit weird in the oil, and the soap had little scent to start with, but I'm really glad I hung in there: it's fantastic now, just in time for Christmas. It's very clearly lilac, and seems to continue to strengthen.
These are all goat milk soaps, milk being 100% of the liquid. I used MMS lye calculator to figure lye amounts since I was working with the exact weights of the drained oils, not predetermined weights.

 

[djk17]

Farm Soaps,
did you use addition eo or fo, or purely the olive oil/plant infusion as you described, by itself?

I'm seriously itching to try (oops, no garden, and no direct sun into flat for windowsill herbs/flowers) but I'm so interested in making one's own infusions.

and the longer I use very faintly scented soaps the less I like strong fo scented ones.

 

[Farm Soaps]

djk17, sorry for the slow response. I used just the infused oil, purist that I am... I've done some again this spring, but we had a "crop failure" in the lilacs (early spring weather, multiple frosts) that made me shorten my infusion time. I'll know in the fall if it was enough... I never would have dreamed of a lilac shortage!

 

[maya]

i use the traditional method too. its the one i was taught as a child and i am more comfortable with it then other methods. i use the same method with tinctures too.

 

[Best Natural Soap]

Cold Process Infusion Suggestion

All of my soap recipes have olive oil in them, so I stick to that oil for making my infusions. I find that when I make larger amounts infusions, less oil gets wasted because I only need to strain the "used" herbs from that one batch, rather than straining from several small infusions in different oils. My suggestion- figure out which oil you use most often, and use that to make all of your infusions. With a well stocked cabinet of olive oil infusions, I like to add combinations of infusions (chickweed plus lilac, for example) equal to the amount of plain olive oil in my recipe--I can create custom scents this way, or combos of therapeutic effects-- a definite thrill for us soap alchemists!!

 

[maya]

i am sure everyone knows this but i thought i would suggest it anyway. you can double up your benefits too. infuse your oils jsut like normal. then re-infuse them, take the calendula (example) infused oils and place fresh calendula petals in the oil.