natural yellow color?

[punkflash54]

i have been on a natural dye kick lately. im planning a lemon poppy seed soap and i was wondering if there are any herbs or spices that would make my soap a yellow color?

 

[American Valkyrie]

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/nat ... rants.html

Annatto can go from a light yellow to a bright orange. Safflower does a pretty yellow. Tumeric does a dark yellow.

I haven't used any of them yet, though. I have some annatto in my cupboard that is calling me, though.

 

[PrairieCraft]

I'm using the natural yellow from TKB that is annatto with good results getting light to dark yellow depending on how much you use.

 

[SmellyKat]

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/natural-soap-colorants.html

Annatto can go from a light yellow to a bright orange. Safflower does a pretty yellow. Tumeric does a dark yellow.

I haven't used any of them yet, though. I have some annatto in my cupboard that is calling me, though.

Is annatto a spice? Can I get this at the supermarket?

 

[SmellyKat]

http://www.soap-making-resource.com/natural-soap-colorants.html

Annatto can go from a light yellow to a bright orange. Safflower does a pretty yellow. Tumeric does a dark yellow.

I haven't used any of them yet, though. I have some annatto in my cupboard that is calling me, though.

I was wondering if I could use Safflower oil in place of castor oil??

 

[scouter139]

If you use a small amount of tumeric, it will give you a light yellow. I've gotten everything from a beautiful golden yellowish orange to lemony yellow. Mix a small amount very well into warm oils first, if not you may end up with tiny orange specks. Depending on the color of your oils, you may get a nice yellow without coloring. A darker olive oil gives me a pretty natural yellow shade.
I just made a lemon poppyseed yesterday....have to say, it is one of my favorites.

 

[SmellyKat]

If you use a small amount of tumeric, it will give you a light yellow. I've gotten everything from a beautiful golden yellowish orange to lemony yellow. Mix a small amount very well into warm oils first, if not you may end up with tiny orange specks. Depending on the color of your oils, you may get a nice yellow without coloring. A darker olive oil gives me a pretty natural yellow shade.
I just made a lemon poppyseed yesterday....have to say, it is one of my favorites.

Funny you should mention the orange specks. I used tumeric and a dish of paprika and my soap was a very light orange with red specks. Kinda looked cool.
But I am looking for a more yellow color.

And I was wondering if I could replace the castor oil with safflower oil?

 

[scouter139]

If I add it to a bit of warmed oils first, I don't get the specks just a pretty yellow color. It's when I add the tumeric powder into the soap as I'm stick blending it that I get the specks. When it happened, I thought it was pretty cool. You probably could substitute as long as you run it through a soap calculator. I personally just use a darker olive oil and the little bit of tumeric.

 

[American Valkyrie]

Is annatto a spice? Can I get this at the supermarket?

Yes, I got mine at the Hispanic market. It was in those inexpensive baggie-type spices. Look for an orange powder.

 

[American Valkyrie]

And I was wondering if I could replace the castor oil with safflower oil?

It probably wouldn't work the same, since the yellow part of safflower is in the stamen, just like with saffron. You'll get the same results with saffron, but it'll cost more than your oils!!! I've found safflower in the cheap spices rack at international markets, where the spices are sold in plastic bags hanging on a rack. If you find very inexpensive saffron, it's probably safflower.

 

[Chris-2010]

Annatto seed steeped in hot oil will release a beautiful yellowish-orange tint into the oil.

Turmeric powder will give a lemon yellow, but the powder is still grainy. Smoother to take fresh turmeric root (from the market) chop it up with a knife or food processor (mind that your finger tips don't become temporarily yellow ) and steep the bits in warming oil. A beautiful bright canary yellow!

 

[PrairieCraft]

Annatto seed steeped in hot oil will release a beautiful yellowish-orange tint into the oil.

Turmeric powder will give a lemon yellow, but the powder is still grainy. Smoother to take fresh turmeric root (from the market) chop it up with a knife or food processor (mind that your finger tips don't become temporarily yellow ) and steep the bits in warming oil. A beautiful bright canary yellow!

Thanks for the tip, that sounds lovely.
Will just a little do it?
Should the turmeric root be put into a tea ball while steeping, to keep it out of the oil?

btw, Welcome to the forum.

 

[Chris-2010]

For a typical usage, I'd only have to use 3 pounds of fresh turmeric root from the market, steeped in a spaghetti-type pot on low heat, holding about 5 pounds of oil. I'm supposed to use one of various food processors, or just a knife. Chop it up into chunks, not pulp. Steep the chunks for an hour while you work on other tasks. You're going to get a lot of yellow out of this!

Just pour gently through a fine-mesh stainless steel sieve while the oil is still warm. So easy.

I'll divide the colored oil in two portions, for two block molds, and it goes in with the base oils at the start of each.

2 block molds = 330 bars plus 60 ends. Good bang for the buck.

Also, don't forget Orange Oil. A different shade of yellow/orange, and it's citrus-y, it's not expensive, and its a dependable mainstay. Biggest-sized essential oil container for me, by the35 pound can.

Scale down the amount of turmeric for less soap: say 1 lb for 100 bars, or 1 or 2 ouces for 10 bars.