Natural antioxidants in oils?

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Birdie Wife

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I've been considering using locally sourced rapeseed (=canola) oil or rice bran oil, both of which claim on the packaging to be high in natural antioxidants like vit E. Would this help fix colour in soaps that would otherwise tend to fade through the curing process? If so, how much should I use?
 
Antioxidants don't help prevent color fading. They can help prevent early rancidity in oils.

You can fix color fading by choosing colorants that don't morph in high ph environments.
 
Oh, okay. back to the drawing board!

Should have explained in my first post - I'm making herbal soaps, and I don't want to use any artificial colours/preservatives etc.

Cheers!
 
If you're doing herbs for colorant, I've had less fading with some when I infuse them in the oils. But unfortunately it doesn't work for all herbs :(

Amanda from Lovin Soap has a blog post on testing an herbs ph stability
http://www.lovinsoap.com/2011/07/color- ... stability/

Also, not gelling your soaps can help the colors from fading and of course curing them in an area that doesn't have a lot of sunlight.
 
Excellent, thank you for the link, it's exactly what I need :thumbup: it explains why I got a mad orange colour from my meadowsweet infusion!

Could you explain to me a bit/point me at an explanation about gelling?
 
Gelling happens after the soap is in the mold. The soap will heat up and turn to a more gel or liquid-type form. The mixture goes through a chemical reaction, once the chemical reaction is done, the mixture turns back into a solid. Putting your mold into the refrigerator can often prevent gelling, but I sometimes still get a parital gel with milk soaps, even when refrigerated.

http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/soapg ... lstage.htm
 
Exactly what lsg said. That increase in heat can affect colorants and sometimes with herbal colorants and such it can change the color completely.
If you do decide to try to stop gelling of your soap, keep in mind that the soap will be soft for a couple days so you may need to keep it in the mold that long.
 

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