Pumpkin puree

[ackosel]

What are some good ways to add pumpkin puree to soap? I want to make a pumpkin pie soap with a whipped cream topping for my dad for his birthday in October. I saw a comment here where someone used frozen pumpkin puree for 100% water replacement. Would lye be added to frozen pumpkin cubes like I add it to frozen goat milk cubes?

I read that pumpkin is 90% water, so do I need to take that into account when using it as a replacement for water?

Is there a way to use both pumpkin and goat milk? Maybe dissolving the lye in frozen goat milk cubes and adding the pumpkin puree to the oils as the remainder of the water replacement?

Lastly, does anyone have a recommendation for an essential oil combo for pumpkin pie spice scent? I found a blend online that sounded good. This is for a 16 oz batch.

1/4 tsp cinnamon bark
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp folded orange.

I do not have cinnamon bark, so I substituted cinnamon leaf in my sample recipe. I ran those oils through EOcalc and couldn't get it within safe ranges at anywhere near those amounts (by weight and % of course). The orange and ginger were fine, but cinnamon bark and nutmeg were such miniscule amounts I'm not sure I'd be able to weigh them out properly without a jewelry scale. Any ideas or recommendations for EO pumpkin pie scent and/or how and how much pumpkin to add to soap are much appreciated!

 

[artemis]

I just add about 3 TBS to my 1lb batch, directly into my oils. I removed about the same amount from my liquid before adding the NaOH.

 

[KiwiMoose]

@ackosel - you are better to find a pumpkin spice FO that trying to use EOs. As you've discovered the safe usage rates are too low. Cinnamon leaf has a slightly higher usage rate than bark from memory.

 

[ackosel]

Thank you both for your recommendations. I think I'll try dissolving my lye in frozen goat milk cubes and add the remainder of the liquid to the oils in the form of pumpkin puree.

For this batch, I'll have to stick with EOs since I don't have any fragrance oils. My mother is very sensitive to FOs, so none of those in their house. I guess it just won't be as pumpkin pie ish as I was hoping. But I bet I can still make it LOOK like pumpkin pie! Maybe I should make it smell like something completely different so Dad isn't tempted to bite it! Pumpkin Peppermint Soap!

 

[A-Polly]

@ackosel, I think the nutmeg is the one you'll have the most trouble with, so why not try running a blend of orange, cinnamon, and ginger through EoCalc to see what comes up? And if that doesn't work, how about this blend of orange and cinnamon called Gusto? Cinnamon is a very, very strong EO and even a little bit will be noticeable in soap.

One thing to note about EoCalc is that the usage rate chart doesn't go below 1%, so searching for a single oil with a very low usage rate will show solid red all the way across. However, if you search for a blend such as the Gusto one linked above, you will see that small amounts of cinnamon can be used safely. Here is a pumpkin CP recipe by Amanda Aaron where pumpkin puree is used to replace all the water, and the scent is only cinnamon leaf (a little less than 0.5%, which is within the safe zone): Pumpkin-Cinnamon CP Soap

However, if your mother is really sensitive she might do better with an unscented bar.

I like your milk and pumpkin combo idea. But good luck with whatever you make!

 

[ackosel]

@ackosel, I think the nutmeg is the one you'll have the most trouble with, so why not try running a blend of orange, cinnamon, and ginger through EoCalc to see what comes up? And if that doesn't work, how about this blend of orange and cinnamon called Gusto? Cinnamon is a very, very strong EO and even a little bit will be noticeable in soap.

One thing to note about EoCalc is that the usage rate chart doesn't go below 1%, so searching for a single oil with a very low usage rate will show solid red all the way across. However, if you search for a blend such as the Gusto one linked above, you will see that small amounts of cinnamon can be used safely. Here is a pumpkin CP recipe by Amanda Aaron where pumpkin puree is used to replace all the water, and the scent is only cinnamon leaf (a little less than 0.5%, which is within the safe zone): Pumpkin-Cinnamon CP Soap

However, if your mother is really sensitive she might do better with an unscented bar.

I like your milk and pumpkin combo idea. But good luck with whatever you make!

Thank you so much! I actually took a screenshot of GUSTO as a possible replacement for pumpkin pie! I also found this one that looked neat, but I don't have cardamom. I like your idea of orange, cinnamon & ginger, too. I haven't had any luck getting orange (I have 5X) to stick in CP soap. Maybe I'll try mixing the EOs with a little white kaolin clay before adding them to the batter and see if that helps. I'll bet the orange will also help keep the soap a nice pumpkin color.

My mother has been my main soap tester thus far, and she's handled all the EOs she has come across. FOs, on the other hand, give her headaches and make her sneeze.

I am so excited to get this batch made! I'm just going to have to MAKE the time! Thank you for your help!

 

[ackosel]

I ended up using 15% each of cinnamon, clove bud & ginger essential oils and 55% sweet orange 5x. I added 1 tsp of kaolin clay to help hold the orange scent, but I can only smell the spices. It doesn't smell like pumpkin pie, but it is a nice spicy autumn scent. Next time, I'll only use 5% cinnamon because it pretty much overpowers all the other scents. Thank you all for your help and recommendations!

Edited to add that pumpkin puree stains silicone loaf molds!

 

[AliOop]

I ended up using 15% each of cinnamon, clove bud & ginger essential oils and 55% sweet orange 5x. I added 1 tsp of kaolin clay to help hold the orange scent, but I can only smell the spices. It doesn't smell like pumpkin pie, but it is a nice spicy autumn scent. Next time, I'll only use 5% cinnamon because it pretty much overpowers all the other scents. Thank you all for your help and recommendations!

Edited to add that pumpkin puree stains silicone loaf molds!

It sounds like it would smell amazing!

What percentage of this EO blend did you use for your batch? When I checked EOCalc, it showed that 15% cinnamon in that blend would not be skin-safe used above 4%. I personally can't use that EO at all on my skin, as it very irritating.

 

[ackosel]

It sounds like it would smell amazing!

What percentage of this EO blend did you use for your batch? When I checked EOCalc, it showed that 15% cinnamon in that blend would not be skin-safe used above 4%. I personally can't use that EO at all on my skin, as it very irritating.

I used it at 3%. Thank you for double checking. I forgot to specify I used cinnamon leaf which has a higher percent safe usage than cinnamon bark, which is not skin safe at over 4%. I personally don't like the scent of cinnamon leaf that much, and it is very strong at 15%. Next time, I'll knock the cinnamon leaf down to 5% and try that. Also, in spite of letting my EO blend soak in kaolin clay for a couple hours before using it, the 5x sweet orange completely disappeared as soon as I poured it into the batter. I think I'll never get past the experimenting stage and know what I'm doing. But trial and error is fun, too!

 

[AliOop]

Well, the good thing about using that much orange EO is that it probably counteracted the fast acceleration that you would otherwise have experienced from cinnamon and clove EOs. Like all of the spicy or "hot" oils, they contain high amounts of eugenol, which is famous for accelerating trace. In fact, if you ever need to speed up trace on your liquid soap, put in a couple drops of a high-eugenol EO.

I learned from our very own @KiwiMoose that because citrus EOs tend to slow trace AND fade off so quickly, you can mix a citrus EO with almost any naughty EO or FO to slow it down - without affecting the final scent by the time the soap has cured. Isn't she brilliant?

 

[ackosel]

Well, the good thing about using that much orange EO is that it probably counteracted the fast acceleration that you would otherwise have experienced from cinnamon, clove, and ginger EOs. Like all of the spicy or "hot" oils, they all contain eugenol, which is famous for accelerating trace. In fact, if you ever need to speed up trace on your liquid soap, put in a couple drops of a high-eugenol EO.

I learned from our very own @KiwiMoose that because citrus EOs tend to slow trace AND fade off so quickly, you can mix a citrus EO with almost any naughty EO or FO to slow it down - without affecting the final scent by the time the soap has cured. Isn't she brilliant?

I learned that from reading @KiwiMoose, too! Didn't remember that particular tidbit until I realized that the fast trace I was expecting from my spicy oils didn't happen, and immediately attributed it to the high percentage of orange. I guess my brain is absorbing more than I realize.

 

[ClaudiaO]

I learned that from reading @KiwiMoose, too! Didn't remember that particular tidbit until I realized that the fast trace I was expecting from my spicy oils didn't happen, and immediately attributed it to the high percentage of orange. I guess my brain is absorbing more than I realize.

George from Dawn Organics (Youtube) uses 10% Cedarwood Atlas to help anchor his 10 fold Orange EO. Found out about it from another maker who says it works.
No personal experience yet but next time I use Orange EO in soap I will give it a try.