replacing water with stuff

[krissy]

are there any things that the water should not be replaced with? like my dd wanted to know if we could use orange juice because we had used milk. we awanted to make orange scented soap but ran out of EO orange. so that made me think, is there anything that is a no no, or that you have experimented with and found disasterous to your soap?

 

[Lil Outlaws]

only a few things I've soaped that didn't work.

Apple Cider - fresh, unfiltered.. soft, squishy soap every time!
Canned fruit nectars (you know, like Kern's Mango Nectar, etc.).. I thought it was the sugar but then discovered that they all have HFCS and such, which is probably the culprit. Those are hideous and soft soaps every time.

Haven't tried orange juice. If I hadn't just used the last of my lye, I'd be in there trying it though!

 

[eucalypta]

I would defenitely not use Orange juice in stead of water. Acid neutralizes some of the lye and there will be no scent left once the soapis finished.

Alternative: put the orangepeel in the lye: you get a nice yellow soap and there is some orange scent too.
(filter the orange peel out of the lye before using; to make that easy I don't chop the peel).

HTH
edited for typo

 

[Dixie]

I used the dried orange peel in my soap. Great for exfoliation and I loved the scent!! I added some Orange FO too. One of my favorite bars!

 

[Guest]

People use avocado's ,banana's ,carrot's,cucumbers, carrot juice , aloe vera juice, tomato juice and more that I can't think of :wink:

Kitn

 

[xraygrl]

I have used bananas, cucumbers, avocado, carrots, pumpkin (all of those things pureed), aloe juice, strong tea, coffee, coconut milk, buttermilk, goat milk, soymilk, and I don't remember what else. No scent in the finished soap from any of those things, but they are nice in soap.

I tried soaping with some strawberry puree one time, and that went all grey and nasty looking as soon as it hit the raw soap. That was a BUTT UGLY SOAP! I even tried it with Hp adding after the cook, and the same thing GREY and nasty. So I wouldn't advise...... LOL!

 

[ChrissyB]

I wouldn't try orange juice, I agree that the acidic content would neutralise some of the lye, which would result in a soft soap because the total amount of lye wasn't available to saponify the oils.
I tried a "fruit powder" once, it was just made of different red berries, you are meant to mix it with water and drink it as an antioxidant...well that was the ugliest soap that I have ever made and the smell was terrible.

 

[honor435]

just wondering, why do people put food items in soap? doesnt it have the chance of rotting?

 

[Jeremy]

My question too, do you truly notice a difference between the soaps using fruit purees instead of water. I would think that the lye process is so harsh it would just destroy any, whatever they may be, qualities from the organic products. I've used milk, but haven't yet been brave enough to try anything else.

 

[LJA]

Pureed avocado makes a very noticable difference in soap. Cucumber too. It's a different, more silky, creamy feeling left on the skin. That's really, all I've tried. So far. I've had no issues with rot.

 

[reallyrita]

I have wondered about the lye action on the purees also. The only one I tried was carrot (baby carrot puree) and I used full fat buttermilk for some of my liquid. It was a lovely facial soap. Sadly, all used up now so I am inspired to make more. I want to try cucumber and aloe gel. I have a huge aloe plant growing in my yard. I have used aloe juice in my soaps but I don't think I notice any difference. I sub it out for the water sometimes. I'm too impatient to do controlled experiments...you know, one batch with and one batch without...no other variables. Although not a fruit/vegtable, I do know that full fat plain yogurt makes a wonderful addition to soap. You have to subtract a bit of your water though to compensate. Same with the fruit or veggie thing as these food items contain a lot of water on their own.

 

[xraygrl]

No the puree stuff doesn't rot in the soap.

yes I really notice a difference in the soaps with foodies in them...lather is creamier, avocado is especially nice.

I have some yogurt I'd like to soap this weekend.

 

[xyxoxy]

Do you peel the avocado or just drop it in a blender?

 

[LJA]

Do you peel the avocado or just drop it in a blender?

I find the peel left on it to be a little too scratchy for me. Cuke peel is fine. Nice even.