Curcuma (Tumeric) infusion at different percentages

[szaza]

I thought I'd share this in case it's useful for someone.
I had some tumeric infused oil that I wanted to color test. I made a recipe with 75% HO sunflower and 25% CO and made 2 batches, one plain and one with the infusion replacing all the sunflower oil. The batter was a beautiful deep orange, even though the infusion itself didn't have a lot of color to it

I poured off one third of the orange soap and mixed in enough white batter to get back to the original volume of orange batter and poured out another 1/3rd etc. In the end I had 6 layers with approximately 75%, 50%, 33%, 22%, 15%, 10% tumeric infusion.
This was the result:

It's a soft pale yellow in the upper percentages with very little difference in color intensity, I can just barely see the difference between my (uneven) layers while the 10-15% layers don't seem to have any color at all. I've noticed this kind of cut-off for color intensity more often in plant colorants and wonder what causes it.
My tumeric is quite old, so I'm curious if the colors would be more intense if the infusion was made with fresh(er) tumeric.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

That’s a pretty color! I had a turmeric infusion, but only used a tiny bit of it in blends for landscape colors last summer. When I want yellow, I pretty much stick to annatto, which has been very reliable for me.

On my screen it looks like the top layers are a pale peachy pink color. Is that not what you’re seeing?

 

[szaza]

Yeah.. I think I'll stick with annatto for yellow too.. the top (2) layer(s) seem pretty much white for me, maybe slightly cream colored. On the picture I also see the peachy pink you describe, so I think it must have been my camera/lighting

 

[Dawni]

Yeah.. Turmeric as a color doesn't stay yellow for me.

I use it for a "creamy color" for my rice soaps.. I add it (2 month old solar turmeric infused sweet almond oil) as superfat . It always starts off orange when it hits the soap batter then turns a custard yellow once it's mixed (pic is at the end of first post in the link). It fades a bit fresh in the mold, then when I unmold it's already a pale yellow, like this, though this is a few days old. In the below pic it has cured for a month now - no yellow at all.

Of course, this is much less than the amount you used but yeah.. Just saying turmeric isn't the best choice for yellow in soap.

 

[szaza]

Thanks for your input @Dawni ! I read comment on fading of tumeric in another post right before trying this, so I was prepared, but I had the infusion already so decided to go for it anyway
Let's see how it holds up(or not)

(Eta) Just wanted to add I really like the peachy orange colors you've gotten with tumeric.. too bad they fade so badly!

 

[szaza]

One month update:

Fading is already quite significant (the most I've seen any colorant fade in just one month). Still a nice color though..

 

[szaza]

Three month update.

I don't think this picture needs a lot of words

I did try curcuma infusion again because I wanted to get a sandy color, which I kind of got the first time. Except I used a different recipe (the soaps from the first post are high oleic, this soap had 30% shea and 20% cocoa butter)
This is what it looked like right after cutting:

Same strength infusion at 25% of oils. I already had a hunch that recipe could play a role in the shade of natural colorants, but it looks like the difference is extreme in curcuma! I'm curious how fast it'll fade

 

[GGMA0317]

I like the layered look. I use turmeric for yellow but it faded rather quickly. I use red palm oil to create shades of yellow. I've also infused evoo with nettles and peppermint and achieve a pretty lime green color that lasted for years.
Now I have to layer something
Thanks for Sharing!

 

[szaza]

I like the layered look. I use turmeric for yellow but it faded rather quickly. I use red palm oil to create shades of yellow. I've also infused evoo with nettles and peppermint and achieve a pretty lime green color that lasted for years.
Now I have to layer something
Thanks for Sharing!

Hmm... Nettle and mint infusions sound interesting!

 

[GGMA0317]

It felt nice when applied to skin. While the color held up against cp soap the cooling affect didn't. It was fine in other products. It wasn't too strong, just a mild and pleasant cooling. The nettles had a earthy fragrance and was supposed to be beneficial for hair. I had testers but you know how that goes lol

 

[soapmaker]

I would love to have a "goldfinch yellow" but unfortunately haven't found what to use to achieve it and everything fades. As for orange, nothing beats beta carotene to me. Brilliant orange and doesn't fade.

 

[Ladka]

Turmeric is a notorious fader when used to dye textile as well.

 

[penelopejane]

I would love to have a "goldfinch yellow" but unfortunately haven't found what to use to achieve it and everything fades. As for orange, nothing beats beta carotene to me. Brilliant orange and doesn't fade.

Try annatto.

 

[soapmaker]

Try annatto.

How? I used to have NDA's natural colourants, one was annatto and supposed to be yellow, the other turmeric, supposed to be orange. The annatto in soap was so similar to the turmeric. They were both orange and faded.

 

[penelopejane]

I would love to have a "goldfinch yellow" but unfortunately haven't found what to use to achieve it and everything fades. As for orange, nothing beats beta carotene to me. Brilliant orange and doesn't fade.

How? I used to have NDA's natural colourants, one was annatto and supposed to be yellow, the other turmeric, supposed to be orange. The annatto in soap was so similar to the turmeric. They were both orange and faded.

I used annatto seeds infused at 4tsp in 1 cup of oil. I put it in a double boiler over just simmering water for an hour but it keeps getting darker as it sits. I used the infused oil at a rate of 10% - 20% of the oil in the batter of the section I wanted coloured.
It’s a good dark yellow and it holds forever.

 

[cmzaha]

What does work nicely for color and does not fade is Tumeric EO. I should say it does not fade like using infused Tumeric powder

 

[Belindasuds]

Thanks for starting this thread @szaza and to everyone sharing their knowledge. Oil infusions can be tricky and hard to predict. They always seem to end up being too faint for my liking. Have you tried adding turmeric powder directly to your batter? It does add an exfoliating quality to the finished soap and the colour is more rustic/speckled, but I have found the colour to hold fairly well upon cure. It would also be interesting to try adding turmeric powder directly to your lye water. I have not done this myself yet with turmeric, but have tried it with indigo and heard that it works well with other natural colourants too. You can use a fine sieve or similar to filter the lye solution to remove any remaining speckles or potential exfoliation.

 

[soapmaker]

I used annatto seeds infused at 4tsp in 1 cup of oil. I put it in a double boiler over just simmering water for an hour but it keeps getting darker as it sits. I used the infused oil at a rate of 10% - 20% of the oil in the batter of the section I wanted coloured.
It’s a good dark yellow and it holds forever.

I will try it. Does it compare to yellow iron oxide? Yellow iron oxide in my recipe is a drab goldish colour. I'm looking for a bright cheery yellow.

 

[penelopejane]

I will try it. Does it compare to yellow iron oxide? Yellow iron oxide in my recipe is a drab goldish colour. I'm looking for a bright cheery yellow.

It’s a bright cheery yellow. I’m not sure I took a photo. After spending a lot of time experimenting I realised I didn’t like yellow in soap!

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I don’t have problems with annatto fading much and can get everything from pale yellow to orange. I typically add infused oil to my batter at emulsion. You can either calculate the recipe to account for the oil you will add, or drop the SF a little knowing you will be adding a bit more with the infused oils.