Soap Toppings and Garnish

[smeetree]

Can you guys give me the rules for adding a garnish to the top of soap. For example, eucalyptus leaves. I have done it in the past, and they start to look "cooked" or just kind of ugly when I apply them right away. So are they to be added later?

Also, what is the general rule for adding something like ground rose hips or camomile into a bar for exfoliation? Do you mix at lower temps to not destroy/soften them too much? What do you use to grind them to the right size, etc?

Thank you

 

[Obsidian]

If you wait too long to put on your toppings, they won't stick but you don't want to drop them on really thin soap either. You need to find a nice medium, still soft enough for them to stick but not so soft, they start to sink. Keep in mind that many herbs/botanical turn a really nasty black in CP. Mint and ground rose petals look terrible mixed into the batter and mint doesn't do well as a topping either.

You can use a coffee grinder or spice grinder, I also like to put them ground herbs through a fine mesh sieve so no scratchy bits get in the soap. I really prefer to buy my herbs already groung though, they are always much finer that what I can manage at home. I don't know how exfoliating it is but ground ginseng makes nice yellowy/golden specks. I add at trace and blend in well.

 

[smeetree]

Thanks yeah I put eucalyptus on top of a few bars and it looked nice for a while until it went through gel phase and cooked them. They got gnarly and black and looked bad. So I was thinking I had to add them later. Does this mean like once the gel phase is ending I unwrap the soap (i wrap in towels), and then add it then?

Is there a list of which botanical or herbs work well as exfoliates?

I really love this bar: http://www.soaprecipes101.com/homemade-soap-recipes/chamomile-soap-recipe/

And I am wondering how she maintained the integrity? It looks like mixing oil and lye at a lower temperature of 90-100 maybe.

Any further tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't think they would stick well after gel and the heat from gel is liable to keep cooking them. You might have to try the freezer method to keep the herbs fresh as possible. Have you ever tried to just let your soap sit at room temp and see how it does?

That soap is really pretty, looks like they used the yellow center bits more then the petals. I don't like the whole flower chunks though, they are kinda icky and I bet they are super scratchy. The recipe looks super drying though, I wouldn't use it.

I don't know of any site that have a list of herbs that discolor but I'm sure they are out there.

 

[smeetree]

I like the look of that soap, though I agree functionally it might not be great with the chunks in there. They look awesome, though. It has "eye appeal"...I'd make it without the chunks if I attempt it.

Do you mean let it sit at room temperature without towels over it? I did that with some leftover (wouldn't fit in my mold) from my last batch that I made last night. This morning it is looks okay. It is slightly softer than the soap that was in the mold and covered, though it doesn't look like it has issues such as partial gel. My big fear is partial gel. I can't stand how it looks, and to this point (14 batches) into my soap career I have avoided it. I feel this is due to covering with towels. I know some people dislike gel all together and freeze it. I should try that at some point, but I fear partial gel and that dreaded circle in the middle. The soap is still fine to use, I know that, but I just get pleasure looking at soap as much as using it, so that eyesore scares me from trying other methods. Maybe I need to branch out more. I want to try adding flowers and such and it seems cooler temp is required to pull it off.

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, I mean let it sit out without wrapping in towels. I very rarely intentionally gel my soap, I just let the uncovered mold sit on the table until its ready to unmold. I don't get much partial gel either, its usually when I try to gel that I have issues.
FYI, I've gotten the partial gel ring in soaps that fully gelled, the center just got that much hotter that it made the circle. I agree, you need to branch out a bit more. Someday you might want to make a soap that shouldn't be gelled and you'll need to know how to prevent gel.

 

[smeetree]

Someday you might want to make a soap that shouldn't be gelled and you'll need to know how to prevent gel.

Exactly. I wanted to master cold process/gel before moving on to something else. I feel I finally did that with the batch last night. Seems to have come out perfect from what I can tell. It's a peppermint-rosemary for Christmas season.

But now I am ready to try new things. I read up on them...scared to try. Maybe I'll use something really cheap like Crisco to experiment with...most of my fear is due to the cost of the oils I use.

 

[snappyllama]

If you're looking for herbs that stay true in CP, check out calendula. You can leave the dried petals whole within the soap for scrubby-action or make a tea with it or infuse your oils it or top your loaf with it. Basically, just go wild with the stuff...

 

[xraygrl]

If you're looking for herbs that stay true in CP, check out calendula. You can leave the dried petals whole within the soap for scrubby-action or make a tea with it or infuse your oils it or top your loaf with it. Basically, just go wild with the stuff...

I second this. Most all herbs will turn brown/black when added to soap. Calendula is one that will keep it's color in soap.

Fair warning about lavender buds. Please resist all attempts to add whole lavender buds to your soap. You should always grind/crush them before adding to soap because otherwise they end up looking like mouse poo. YUCK!