Purees
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My suggestion- don't even think about making a soap with purees if you're still asking about the basics. You can and possibly will be disappointed, especially since you are considering using citrus, which will greatly affect how the soap is being made. It's not bad that you're asking questions but you may be speeding along to fast.
I personally don't like purees. The only benefit I've seen from them is a bit of color, but its unpredictable and fades. The added sugar from them can just be added as sugar much more simply.
That said, I used a carrot puree in my second batch of soap. I left out 2 oz of water when I mixed the lye solution. I divided the batch in 2 parts at light trace then added 1 oz of water to half and 1 oz of carrot puree to the other half. It was fun at the time and it made it easy to tell the batches apart. For the week or so til I made more anyway.
A month later the sunny yellow was very faint.
That said, I used a carrot puree in my second batch of soap. I left out 2 oz of water when I mixed the lye solution. I divided the batch in 2 parts at light trace then added 1 oz of water to half and 1 oz of carrot puree to the other half. It was fun at the time and it made it easy to tell the batches apart. For the week or so til I made more anyway.
A month later the sunny yellow was very faint.
Ultimately I think each soaper has to decide for themselves if using a food product in soap is beneficial and that really has to be done by trying them out. And by comparing them to soap without the additive.
I agree that becoming comfortable making plain soap without any additives is best done before beginning to experiment with additives. Once you are secure in your soap making skills, then try additives.
In terms of food additives to lighten skin, I cannot attest to such a result in soap made with lye, but I have made papaya soap for the fun of making it. The soap is fine as soap, but that's all I can say. The only reason I used it was because I had more ripe papaya than we could eat.
I have made soap with egg yolks and really really like this soap. So does my SIL.
I have made soap with tomato juice and with tomato paste and with tomato puree. I did it because I wanted to see what it was like for soaping and haven't done more than wash my hands with it so far. I like the soap, but I think it is not much different than soap without tomato. Maybe no difference, really.
I've made soap with avocado puree at least 3 times. I would expect the addition would give more of a luxurious soap, but I can't really say it was all that much better than just adding plain avocado oil. And the color that started out a really pretty green turned out a really awful looking brown. I ended up re-batching all of them because of the ugly discoloration.
I made soap with carrot puree and soap with carrot juice. I like it. But is it far better than soap without? Not really.
The added sugars from the different food additives help with bubbles. But then so does just plain sugar. Plain sugar is cheaper and easier to work with.
I agree that becoming comfortable making plain soap without any additives is best done before beginning to experiment with additives. Once you are secure in your soap making skills, then try additives.
In terms of food additives to lighten skin, I cannot attest to such a result in soap made with lye, but I have made papaya soap for the fun of making it. The soap is fine as soap, but that's all I can say. The only reason I used it was because I had more ripe papaya than we could eat.
I have made soap with egg yolks and really really like this soap. So does my SIL.
I have made soap with tomato juice and with tomato paste and with tomato puree. I did it because I wanted to see what it was like for soaping and haven't done more than wash my hands with it so far. I like the soap, but I think it is not much different than soap without tomato. Maybe no difference, really.
I've made soap with avocado puree at least 3 times. I would expect the addition would give more of a luxurious soap, but I can't really say it was all that much better than just adding plain avocado oil. And the color that started out a really pretty green turned out a really awful looking brown. I ended up re-batching all of them because of the ugly discoloration.
I made soap with carrot puree and soap with carrot juice. I like it. But is it far better than soap without? Not really.
The added sugars from the different food additives help with bubbles. But then so does just plain sugar. Plain sugar is cheaper and easier to work with.
The acids in these fruits are responsible for the whitening and exfoliating effect of their juices. Unfortunately these are completely neutralized by the lye, so no... those benefits would not be realized in cold process (or hot process) soap.
Ditto what Earlene said.
The only puree that I've tried (to date) and actually felt any discernible difference in my soap was/is pureed avocado flesh (it gives a creamy depth to my lather). I use 1 tbsp. ppo, and puree the beejeebees out of it with my stick-blender until creamy and smooth before adding, because I don't want any incidental chunks left behind to cause my soap to mold.
To keep mine from going brown (which it will if I don't do the following), I add a little chromium hydroxide green colorant to it (1/8 tsp. ppo). So far, I've never had any browning of my avocado soap since giving it some help with the colorant. As a matter of fact, I still have 1 bar set aside for testing purposes from a batch I made 8 1/2 years ago, and it's still a lovely pastel shade of sage green.
IrishLass
The only puree that I've tried (to date) and actually felt any discernible difference in my soap was/is pureed avocado flesh (it gives a creamy depth to my lather). I use 1 tbsp. ppo, and puree the beejeebees out of it with my stick-blender until creamy and smooth before adding, because I don't want any incidental chunks left behind to cause my soap to mold.
earlene said:
To keep mine from going brown (which it will if I don't do the following), I add a little chromium hydroxide green colorant to it (1/8 tsp. ppo). So far, I've never had any browning of my avocado soap since giving it some help with the colorant. As a matter of fact, I still have 1 bar set aside for testing purposes from a batch I made 8 1/2 years ago, and it's still a lovely pastel shade of sage green.
IrishLass
I also use and love avocado puree in soap and add in green oxide to hold the color. I do make a papaya facial bar with full papaya puree that I purchase from Smart & Final, I also make a carrot soap with carrot infused sunflower oil and carrot puree, a pumpkin puree soap, and cucumber soap. Do any of them other than the avocado add anything, who knows but it is great label appeal. When like me you sell in markets with multiple soapmakers most of the time you need any edge you can get. But yes, for avocado it really changes the feel and lather in my opinion using both puree and avocado oil
Candybee
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I also do a puree with fresh avocado and cucumber for a facial bar I make. For a 10 lb recipe I use one full avocado and 2 large cucumbers. Once I have pureed them I run them through a sieve for any leftover bits of skin or clumps. I find it makes the soap extra rich and creamy feeling and I love it on my skin.
I don't have any problems with discoloration. The avocado/cucumber puree combo adds a nice natural green color to my soap that I also love. The color doesn't fade or morph either... it stays fixed.
I don't have any problems with discoloration. The avocado/cucumber puree combo adds a nice natural green color to my soap that I also love. The color doesn't fade or morph either... it stays fixed.
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This sounds promising. I should try it when I get a chance.
You guys convinced me. I'll let an avocado ripen and use some green mica. Hopefully sometime soon, as I have about 5 unripe avocados right now. (I prefer to eat them while they are still hard so I keep them refrigerated.)
cherrycoke216
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http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showpost.php?p=311854
I think they have a point. Anything will go rotten on your counter, will go bad in Melt and Pour soap. If you're seeing people selling melt and pour with purée in it, it might just for label appeal and could grow mold anytime. Soap is a wash off product, unless you add salicylic acid or AHA, BHA (and it will be very very tiny percentage like less than 1% to be safe ), it's all the marketing of advertising. We all been fooled by the commercials. It won't be whitening/brightening for your skin. It's leave-on product's works.
Can I be nosy and ask why you like a hard avocado to eat? You really miss the great flavor of a ripe avocado. At least for most avocados, if you get Florida Avocados I am no comment, they are awful in my opinion
I just prefer them that way. For the most part, I eat them cut up in salads. Sometimes sliced with added salt. When I say hard, I mean firm as opposed to soft. If they are soft in the store, I will not buy them because by the time I get them home they are already too close to mushy. I don't like mushy avocados, although I will eat it if it's ripe but not mushy.
It's a personal thing, I am sure, and I do have family who think it's weird and say I am eating un-ripe avocados. They taste better to me while they are still really firm, and yes, perhaps a bit on the not-quite-completely ripe side. But that's how I like them.
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