Scents And Colorants From The Grocery Store

[bobbi5884]

I am wondering if there are products in the grocery store that can be used to scent and color soap and if so, how would I ever know how much to use? I found a recipe that uses honey and oatmeal and the ones who have made it say it smells nice. So this got me thinking maybe there are things on the shelf I can find. In place of water can various teas be used for coloring or fragrance, or are they too weak to matter? I favor hot process, not sure if that changes what ingredients can be used and/or the amounts.
grr, lol....there is so much to learn. It is like once I got the basic beginner batches done, now I want to just dig in and learn it all.

 

[Soapy Gurl]

There are plenty of things you can add to your soap from the grocery store. Will you get a strong scented soap? Sadly no, but it is still fun. You can use a bunch of different spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, they add texture and color. I have even stuck whole clove in rows on my bars for looks. You can use teas and milks. Coconut milk is very popular and I want to try almond milk. If you do want to use honey, do a search on here, it can cause overheating.

 

[Seventeen Soaps]

I've used chamomile, rosehip and green tea as the water component. The roships leaves the soap with a redish tinge but the others don't change the soap. I have made a basil and lime soap, it doesn't smell strong but it looks great. If you like to do milk than there is a variety of milks. I also use coconut water a lot. These were all made CP or CPOP. Oh and of course coffee is another one you can use. Hope you have fun experimenting

 

[tfelog]

I've used buttermilk and carrot baby food as a coloring in my Castile baby soap recipe. It makes the soap have a nice orangy yellow color.

 

[Healinya]

I would start with no more than one teaspoon per pound, just to be sure the additive isn't scratchy in higher amount. Cocoa powder is another one I don't think was mentioned above... Tumeric powder makes a lively shade of dark Orange, I use it for guy smelling soaps alot, but have to get a pretty thick trace or it will settle some (but even that look is pretty)...

Liquids..... Canned pumpkin...cucumber puree.... You can even read the baby food ingedients and find the most natural items there to use (some labels just say, carrots, water, vitamin c..)

 

[fiddletree]

Infuse difference spices in olive oil and then you get colored oil without a scratchy soap! Paprika turns pink, turmeric yellow, for example.

They won't give a smell to the soap. I think oatmeal, milk, & honey soaps DO have a bit of a very light scent, I like it, but usually short of adding essential oil/fragrance oil it usually won't smell like anything but soap.

 

[Hazel]

Just be careful if you try parsley powder. The lye can make it turn brown. I've had good luck with using it in HP and adding it after the cook. It makes a very soft dull green. I liked it since I thought it made the soap look rustic.

Also, be careful with cloves and cinnamon. Too much can irritate sensitive skin. You can also add tomato paste. There was a discussion about using tomato in soap awhile back. You can search and find numerous discussions about using herbal powders, purees, teas, etc in batches.

green soap posted info on using natural colorants awhile back which is very informative. You could also find info on using herbal powders on Amanda's blog. http://www.lovinsoap.com/

 

[green soap]

Just wanted to warn folks again about chlorophyll. This would be found in the health and vitamin section of the grocery store, since it is a nutritional supplement. It will give your soap a beautiful shade of green but accelerated DOS (rancidity) like crazy. So just stay away from that one.

Not sure how to get green from the grocery store. I use indigo since a bit of anatto will make many shades of green, skip the anatto and get blue jean blue. It is from a plant, but not really found in grocery stores anymore. A long time ago it was used to make laundry blue, so it was in the laundry section. Many many grocery store colors, but not that many scents.

The grocery store scent that has worked really well for me is infused cinnamon. I use it all the time. It works for an autumn spice soap I make with a blend of EOs, in chocolate cinnamon and honey oatmeal scented with cinnamon infused oil. No scratchiness, and no trace acceleration like cinnamon leaf EO.

Many scents and colors from the garden. Infused rosemary oil will give a scent and some color. Recently I have been experimenting with citrus rind infusions. It is citrus season and we have an overabundance. Problem is, all our neighbors also have an overabundance! I digress. Another great one is calendula, which I always have drying in a basket. Strong color and very subtle scent. Getting these from the store would be costly this is why I put them in 'garden'. Which reminds me I got work to do!