peppermint tea turning lye water dark orange

[spiritpots]

I am new to soap making and my first three batches have turned out great. I couple of weeks ago I made a Lavender Rosemary soap and used sage infused distilled water instead of plain distilled water. The lye water turned dark green from using the sage infused water and the color of the soap is an earthy dark green. Yesterday I made a Lavender Peppermint soap so decided to use peppermint infused distilled water instead of plain distilled water to add a little color to the soap. I was completely surprise, though, to see the peppermint infused water turn a deep orange-red when I added the lye. My recipe called for 16 oz. of water so I made a tea using two tea bags of peppermint tea and steeped the tea for 10-15 minutes. I then let it cool to close to room temperature (but did not put it in the refrigerator) before I added the lye. The soap was a burnt umber (brownish red) when I put it in the mold and is still wrapped up for a couple more days. I am curious what I will find when I unmold the soap. If any one has any experience about using herb infused water and if this is a normal reaction with some herbs and lye I would be very grateful to hear you. Thank you!

 

[Obsidian]

yes, its a fairly normal reaction. Most botanicals will turn brownish in soap. I'm actually surprised the sage stayed green.

 

[GemstonePony]

Lye burns almost everything and makes it brown, so I'm always very intrigued when I find out about an item it doesn't burn. If you don't mind, was the sage dried or fresh? Was it boiled in water, refrigerated in water, or both? Or was a different infusion method used? How long ago was the soap made?

 

[spiritpots]

Lye burns almost everything and makes it brown, so I'm always very intrigued when I find out about an item it doesn't burn. If you don't mind, was the sage dried or fresh? Was it boiled in water, refrigerated in water, or both? Or was a different infusion method used? How long ago was the soap made?

I made the soap nine days ago and it's been curing for six days. I used fresh sage (.75 oz.) and put it in a pot with 16 oz. of distilled water and brought it to a boil. Once it was boiling I removed the pot from the heat and it steeped for about 45 minutes then I strained the sage out through a strainer. I let it cool down to about room temperature before I added the lye. I made this soap as more of a gardener's soap so stirred in some coffee grounds for exfoliation before I poured it in the mold. It's a warm sage color now but maybe it will change as it cures. Here is a photo:

 

[atiz]

That's a really nice green! Hope it stays! It is difficult to achieve nice, stable green with natural colorants (spirulina is nice, but different hue), this would be a great addition to the list of viable options.

 

[spiritpots]

That's a really nice green! Hope it stays! It is difficult to achieve nice, stable green with natural colorants (spirulina is nice, but different hue), this would be a great addition to the list of viable options.

I hope so, too!

 

[Finnegan]

View attachment 48415

Your soap is a gorgeous colour!!

 

[spiritpots]

Your soap is a gorgeous colour!!

Fingers crossed it stays that way! I'll post pics if it changes drastically.

 

[Susan L]

Hi everyone, I have been soaping again after a 10 year break. I wanted to share what I use to tint my peppermint CP soap green, I use dried spinach that I grind fine in my coffee grinder. Has worked perfectly. And the soap has little specks of green also and does not turn brown.

 

[spiritpots]

This looks fantastic! Thank you for sharing this!