Using herbal tinctures in soap making.

[Escopolamina]

Hello

So far i've always used essential oils to make soap, but lately i have been wondering if they can be made using herbal tinctures.

Has anyone tryed this?
Does anyone have any idea what is the % of herbal tincture that needs to be used?

In this case i have a 1:5 herbal tincture.

Thanks!

 

[maya]

What would be the purpose? A tincture is herbs macerated in alcohol for a medicinal purpose. Many are used on skin for specific conditions I.E. echinacea for snake bites), perhaps you mean an oil infusion?

 

[lsg]

As I understand it most tinctures are made using alcohol, so if your tincture is alcohol based, the answer is no. The alcohol in the tincture could cause cold process soap to seize.

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/FAQ/CP-Soap-Making.aspx

 

[kaliquen]

Tinctures are either alcohol or glycerin based. You could theoretically use a glycerin tincture, but I don't see why. Tinctures are internal medicine so it'd basically be the herbal version of aspirin soap. You'd be better off getting herbs and making infusions.

 

[Escopolamina]

Tinctures are plant extracts made by using alcohol and they can be used both internally and externally (its important to note that the tipe of alcohol used changes, acording to the use you want to give it). They can be used to make ointments, salves or balms, that's why i thought it could've also used it for making soap, instead of using essential oils, since they are much more expensive and tinctures can be easily made.


Thanks for the tip about the soap seizing when adding alcohol, i guess glycerin extracts would do the job.

 

[maya]

Well, please share with us how it goes! I would love to see your results.

 

[Obsidian]

What are you trying to achieve with the tincture? If its for scenting the soap, it wont work.

 

[shunt2011]

If you are using tincture to scent the soap it probably won't survive the process. I would stick to EO's or FO's made for soapmaking.

 

[Escopolamina]

Its not my intention to scent the soap using the tinctures, its about using them to transfer the healing properties of the plant to the soap, just like essential oils do, though from my point of view E.O have a much more important use than that of scenting the soap.
During my free time, besides soap i make ointments, which i mix with different tinctures, thus the ointments acquieres the healing property of the plant from which the tincture was made of.

Im relatively new in the world of soapmaking, so the more experimental sides of it are still unknown to me.

 

[user 62921]

Its not my intention to scent the soap using the tinctures, its about using them to transfer the healing properties of the plant to the soap, just like essential oils do, though from my point of view E.O have a much more important use than that of scenting the soap.
During my free time, besides soap i make ointments, which i mix with different tinctures, thus the ointments acquieres the healing property of the plant from which the tincture was made of.

Im relatively new in the world of soapmaking, so the more experimental sides of it are still unknown to me.

Did you ever give it a try? I'm wondering the same thing. I can tell the people who answered don't wuite understand exactly what a tincture is, so the answers aren't exactly what we'd be looking for. But if tinctures can be used. That would be exciting, especially since it is the best long term storage for herbs. One thought I've had is making a decoction with the herbs and then using the strained water as the water in the soap recipe. I wonder if that would work?

 

[Relle]

Did you ever give it a try? I'm wondering the same thing. I can tell the people who answered don't wuite understand exactly what a tincture is, so the answers aren't exactly what we'd be looking for. But if tinctures can be used. That would be exciting, especially since it is the best long term storage for herbs. One thought I've had is making a decoction with the herbs and then using the strained water as the water in the soap recipe. I wonder if that would work?

This person hasn't been here for 10 years. the thread is 10 yrs old.

 

[AliOop]

Did you ever give it a try? I'm wondering the same thing. I can tell the people who answered don't wuite understand exactly what a tincture is, so the answers aren't exactly what we'd be looking for. But if tinctures can be used. That would be exciting, especially since it is the best long term storage for herbs. One thought I've had is making a decoction with the herbs and then using the strained water as the water in the soap recipe. I wonder if that would work?

As stated in one of the earliest posts, if there is any significant amount of alcohol in your tincture, and a significant amount of the tincture in your batter, it will likely cause your soap to seize, i.e., become thick and hard almost immediately upon adding it to the batter.

 

[curlycoat2]

The issue with using tinctures for the healing properties is that in the alcohol they are not subject to the lye monster. Lye is a harsh environment. There is no research to prove that any healing properties are passed along into the soap from herbs (yes I know there has to be some as eo scent is there and color also). You also cant say that anything is healing as it instantly becomes a drug and you would have to have it tested and comply with different labelling etc and its expensive to get that testing.

So the upshot is alcohol from tinctures will seize your soap, glycerin can be used to transfer color but the herbal properties even though there must be some passed along cant be claimed in any way shape or form. At the end of the day soap cleans.

You can use your strained water, there is no problem using that, but you may have some color change (mostly beige/browns, and again no claims can be made. Scent will not transfer in a major way either from water to soap. If its a colored tincture you can get color but there are labelling issues there too and you will also need to be aware of those for your country.