Plants infused in alcohol, added after HP cook
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Louise Taylor
Well-Known Member
Love the spirulina. I must try this alcohol extraction. I have only tried with oil and it went brown after a few months.n
@Louise Taylor I hope it works for you! Just be careful that the method described in the first post is for HP soap. If you want to use alcohol extractions for CP you should look up @Mobjack Bay's method. She makes a tincture with half alcohol and half water and then evaporates off the alcohol.
Louise Taylor
Well-Known Member
Thank you! I will do that. There is a spirulina farm just down the road from me and I would love to be able to use this local product.
Wow that's so cool! I'm jealous..
What I know about spirulina is that it's really sensitive to light, so keeping it dark is key to prevent browning/fading. It doesn't like to be gelled and sugar/salt seem to have a small effect on the color outcome and stability.
I once made an oil infusion that I used at +-20% of my soap (without any of the spirulina powder added). The oil was clear, but the soap still turned a very pale green that I rather liked (gelling seemed to work better with the infusion than not-gelling)
Here's a thread of mine on natural green colorants. Part of it is spirulina:
https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/natural-green-colorants-experiment.75277/
Louise Taylor
Well-Known Member
atiz
Well-Known Member
This is fascinating.
It's also really interesting how different the two annatto soaps ended up. Never would have thought that. Were you storing them in the same place?
It's also really interesting how different the two annatto soaps ended up. Never would have thought that. Were you storing them in the same place?
Yes, exactly the same place next to each other..
Dawni
Well-Known Member
I realized I've not commented on here but I have been following, I promise! Haha
Thank you for the updates @szaza... You've given me some things to think about. It'll add a layer to the prep work but I think some of those colors are worth it, especially since it looks like some of em lasted better than oil infusions would after a year. I'm definitely stocking up on spirulina now.. But whoa that annatto!
I'm sitting down now with a pen n notebook n sorting out this information (and your other experiments) so I could use it in the near future.
Thank you for the updates @szaza... You've given me some things to think about. It'll add a layer to the prep work but I think some of those colors are worth it, especially since it looks like some of em lasted better than oil infusions would after a year. I'm definitely stocking up on spirulina now.. But whoa that annatto!
I'm sitting down now with a pen n notebook n sorting out this information (and your other experiments) so I could use it in the near future.
Dawni
Well-Known Member
Not szaza, and I haven't tried all the greens....
Turmeric after a year is a very light peach in several batches of soap
Paprika starts off an intense dark yellow then fades to a super light yellow after a year, and in some almost like a yellowish tan
Annatto sticks for me - after a year my soaps are more yellow than the ones posted here
Moringa fades to tan/brown after a few months for me
I haven't used oil infusions or plant powders in HP since this experiment. Before that I used to split my batter and add colors before cook and then cook the different colors separately in my oven, so I don't know if this is a good comparison.
I once used annatto and alkanet in a low-temp HP goat milk soap. Unfortunately, alkanet turned grey (ETA: because of the goat milk), but annatto faired really well and stuck around for more than a year, maybe even 2 (I'll check if I still have a bar around somewhere)
I also used cucumber puree and spirulina in HP (twice). The spirulina fades very similarly to the way it fades in CP soap. In this soap cucumber was the water replacement and spirulina was added at trace (cooked separately)
Orange juice (water replacement) and orange peel (at trace) also work fairly well in HP soap and stuck around.
I've used cinnamon at trace and cocoa powder after cook and both seem to stick around.
I'll check if I still have bars or end pieces laying around so I can take pictures.
I once used annatto and alkanet in a low-temp HP goat milk soap. Unfortunately, alkanet turned grey (ETA: because of the goat milk), but annatto faired really well and stuck around for more than a year, maybe even 2 (I'll check if I still have a bar around somewhere)
I also used cucumber puree and spirulina in HP (twice). The spirulina fades very similarly to the way it fades in CP soap. In this soap cucumber was the water replacement and spirulina was added at trace (cooked separately)
Orange juice (water replacement) and orange peel (at trace) also work fairly well in HP soap and stuck around.
I've used cinnamon at trace and cocoa powder after cook and both seem to stick around.
I'll check if I still have bars or end pieces laying around so I can take pictures.
@Kcryss it's been a while, but I found some leftover bars from HP soaps made with infusions or plant powder added at trace and different colors cooked separately.
Annatto and alkanet infusions in goat milk soap:
August 2018
September 2020
Cucumber (juice 100% water replacement) and spirulina (added at trace, cooked separately) August 2018
Second try with some charcoal added as well, May 2019
Both of them today (September 2020)
Annatto and alkanet infusions in goat milk soap:
August 2018
September 2020
Cucumber (juice 100% water replacement) and spirulina (added at trace, cooked separately) August 2018
Second try with some charcoal added as well, May 2019
Both of them today (September 2020)
Orange juice as 100% water replacement and orange peel added at trace, cooked separately
February 2019
September 2020
Cocoa powder (light brown) and cocoa powder+melted chocolate (dark brown) added after cook
October 2019
September 2020
Lastly, this is a picture of a soap I colored with cinnamon, orange peel and wheatgrass. I think I made it in the autumn of 2017. I didn't take a picture when I made it and only have half a bar left.. Cinnamon sticks quite well
February 2019
September 2020
Cocoa powder (light brown) and cocoa powder+melted chocolate (dark brown) added after cook
October 2019
September 2020
Lastly, this is a picture of a soap I colored with cinnamon, orange peel and wheatgrass. I think I made it in the autumn of 2017. I didn't take a picture when I made it and only have half a bar left.. Cinnamon sticks quite well
