can I use this to scent my lotion bars?

[awi]

I have some vanilla powder and was wondering if I could use it in lotion bars to give them a fragrance. It smells wonderful! Just a thought and I was wondering if anyone had tried it. I have some vanilla beans and was thinking of also trying to infuse them into some of the lighter oils before making lotion bars to see if it would work...maybe sweet almond or jojoba oil???? :?

 

[artisan soaps]

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[awi]

Did you post this somewhere else? Just thought I'd answered it a couple of days ago, maybe my mind is playing tricks

Anyhoo, no idea about the powder, but I think the oil infusion is an excellent idea and I'm sure it would work .. Please let me know if you try it!

I don't think I posted the same question, but I did inquire about infusing the vanilla beans a couple weeks ago but haven't tried it yet. I know you can use vanilla powder for a lot of things, but wasn't sure if it would be something I could use in lotion bars.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[awi]

Don't worry...I question myself all the time. I usually have two kids running around while I am trying to type and sometimes I completely loose track of what I am doing

 

[krissy]

if you try this, i'd love to hear/see your results. the vanilla powder sounds cool. where'd ya get it?

 

[nup]

Infusion works. I did it some time ago and the lotion bars smelled wonderful. In fact I have some vanilla infusing as we speak in a jar with oil under the sun and as soon as I clean my kitchen I'm making another batch!

 

[awi]

if you try this, i'd love to hear/see your results. the vanilla powder sounds cool. where'd ya get it?

Krissy, I got the vanilla powder online at Organic Creations. It smells and tastes wonderful. I have been told by several people that they package it as is and sell it as edible body powder

 

[awi]

Infusion works. I did it some time ago and the lotion bars smelled wonderful. In fact I have some vanilla infusing as we speak in a jar with oil under the sun and as soon as I clean my kitchen I'm making another batch!

Nup- what oil do you infuse the vanilla bean in or does it really matter? Do you just drop the bean into the oil, or do you cut into the bean at all? Finally, how long do you infuse? Thanks for your help and I will be making some of this TODAY!

 

[nup]

Sorry it took me so long to reply, my internet connection was having a day off...
I use mainly sweet almond but I hear that grapeseed and/or sunflower are nice too. I chop the beans to smaller pieces and just let them steep in a jar for as long as I can because I don't think the vanilla smell is strong enough and I generally like my lotion bars to be strongly scented.
If you don't want to wait you can always try to warm it up a bit on low heat, apparently this speeds up the process but I've never done it so I can't vouch for that. What usually happens though is that I totally forget about the infusion until a post like yours pops up!
It's really easy to achieve an impressive product this way

 

[awi]

Nup- Thanks for the advise. I have some sweet almond oil on hand and I have already cut up some vanilla beans and put them in. I am just going to sit the container on my window ledge. I get lots of sunlight there and I think it will heat up the oil nicely....I can wait to make some lotion bars with it!!!

Thanks again for your advise!

 

[awi]

Just one more thing....I cut up my vanilla bean and it released a lot of very tiny seeds. Do you just leave these in your oil? Does it make little specks in your lotion bars? I guess that would give a real unique look to the bars and prove to customers there really is vanilla bean in there! Because of this, will it cause the bars to go bad or anything? Thanks again and I will try to end all the questions

 

[nup]

No problem, ask all you want :wink:
With vanilla I strain the oil using a paper filter because I find it annoying to rub myself with something that leaves tiny little thingies behind. First time I didn't strain and I just felt dirty afterward...
When I use other materials like spices: cardamom pods or cinnamon sticks or cloves I find I don't need to strain.

 

[awi]

Thanks again Nup! I will just leave my mixture alone until I am ready to use and will strain it like you suggested. I guess a coffee filter would work, right? :? I just can't wait to try this in my lotion bars. I smelled the oil this morning and it is awesome!