Soap Makers Help!

[goatranch]

Awesome thread! I found it by accident, but I am going to read the whole thing this week. I have made about 4 batches with the neighbor lady, and we have a lot of fun. We came across a valuable tool for tracing. We have been using electric mixing wands that we find at garage sales. It keeps everything mixed really well. We don't have alot invested, so when they wear out we find another. Does anyone else use this method?

 

[RockyToggRanch]

I really want to try a rosemary mint bar. I just picked fresh rosemary and mint and packed in a mason jar with olive oil for a week or so. Any pointers on using fresh herbs in soap? Do they all need to be dried first?

 

[NanaKat]

Quote:
I think most of us now use the wand mixers now. Certainly beats the old wooden paddle over the iron kettle on the wood fire during butchering season.

 

[NanaKat]

Quote:
Others may offer more advice too.
I had better luck using dried herbs in my soaps. Grinding them in a coffee grinder or crushing in a mortar and pestle makes a more presentable blend.
Fresh herbs are useful in making infused oils. I have found that heating the oils slightly above room temperature before adding the herbs helps kick start the infusion without "cooking" the herbs.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
I have used a few fresh herbs in my soap. As Nanakat recommended, I also use the infusion method when using fresh herbs. Though most of them will not provide much in the way of scent to the final product, you may get some color out of the infusion (depending on the herb). Some dried herbs can be used for the same purpose. I have had some luck getting a slight scent out of infused rosemary and use it as a background scent to Lavender EO. The guys really like it that way as it's just a bit less girly than straight lavender.

I use only the leaves, not the stems, and use a good amount of them to the Olive Oil. I set them first outside on a sunny day and then bring them inside to continue infusing over the week.

 

[RockyToggRanch]

My first attempt at color swirling did not go well. I did a coconut lime and had a bottle of green dye I intended to use for swirling. It's not green....but just darker tan. Smells fabulous though!

 

[RockyToggRanch]

So what's the secret to the dye? It didn't come out green at all. It was a 1/4 bottle of liquid dye. Was it just not enough? I really want to get some colored soaps so I can do some confetti and stuff

 

[Backyard Buddies]

What kind of dye were you using, RockyToggRanch?

 

[RockyToggRanch]

It's sold in the soap making section at the craft store in a 3 pack. It's called "something fabulous soap creations" and there are no directions at all. The store sells mostly melt and pour stuff, so maybe I need to look for another colorant.

 

[Morgaine]

Most likely those are for MP soaps and can't stand the high Ph of CP soaps. You can use herbs to give your soaps a little color. parsley is good, so is yellow dock and alkanet root poweder. Annatto and calendula give pretty yellows. You should be able to find some of these things in a health food store. Tumeric is really nice.

Tea leaves and poppy seeds give a nice contrast in color too.

If you want brighter colors though, I would order from www.tkbtrading.com