Infusions with alcohol

[Basil]

Hey all, I've been out of the loop due to alot going on here. Besides the car accident I was in, there's some other stuff that's not good I can't talk about. But I'm working on a soap project to help an organization and the theme is partly Hawaii. This will be a cold process soap, but I'm trying incorporate Hibiscus or Plumeria. I saw a thread about infusing Hibiscus in alcohol...what does that do? I almost ordered a sunflower oil infused with hibiscis, and then thought gee, I could do my own! Then saw @szaza does that? I'm not looking for color as much as maybe scent or just what it could add to the soap. Thank you SOOOOO much!!!! I'll be able to explain later at some point as I would love to share with you.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

Oh, so sorry to hear that you were in a car accident and about other stuff happening. I hope you are okay.

Alcohol will pull out color that survives lye, as I described in this thread and the one I linked there that has more details about making the tincture and evaporating the alcohol. You can probably get scent into the alcohol, but I expect those molecules will be more flighty and might not even make it through the alcohol evaporation step. I used a Monoi de Tahiti infused cocount oil that held the scent through saponification and lasted about 8 months in a soap, as described here.

 

[Cat&Oak]

Sorry you are going through alot right now Basil ❤

 

[szaza]

I'm so sorry to hear about your car accident ! I hope you're doing ok... Hang in there!

@Mobjack Bay actually started the idea of using alcohol infusions in soap for color. (Do you want color or scent?) She makes a half water half alcohol infusion and then evaporates off the alcohol, so it doesn't interfere with the CP process (alcohol can speed things up). I use a full alcohol infusion in HP, but I've also experimented with white clay colored with alcohol infusions (alcohol evaporated off) in CP soap. So there are a lot of possibilities! (albeit work intensive ones).

I have tried hibiscus tea added after HP cook and it turned beige, so I'm not sure if hibiscus is lye stable. I think somebody tried hibiscus alcohol infusions, but I don't remember who.

ETA: here's the link to the member who used hibiscus colored clay. The color isn't lye stable unfortunately...

 

[Basil]

I'm so sorry to hear about your car accident ! I hope you're doing ok... Hang in there!

@Mobjack Bay actually started the idea of using alcohol infusions in soap for color. (Do you want color or scent?) She makes a half water half alcohol infusion and then evaporates off the alcohol, so it doesn't interfere with the CP process (alcohol can speed things up). I use a full alcohol infusion in HP, but I've also experimented with white clay colored with alcohol infusions (alcohol evaporated off) in CP soap. So there are a lot of possibilities! (albeit work intensive ones).

I have tried hibiscus tea added after HP cook and it turned beige, so I'm not sure if hibiscus is lye stable. I think somebody tried hibiscus alcohol infusions, but I don't remember who.

ETA: here's the link to the member who used hibiscus colored clay. The color isn't lye stable unfortunately...

Thank you @szaza and @Mobjack Bay ! I will check the threads out. There are two reason I’d like to try it. Color and scent for ‘natural’ soap and then just as an eye catcher selling point for soap I’m working on for an organization with a Hawaiian type theme and global peace. I’m actually using micas for that for color - totally different than I’ve done. I’ll share on the general thread later.

 

[AliOop]

I didn't think that scent carried through on any of them. Did I miss something?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I didn't think that scent carried through on any of them. Did I miss something?

I mentioned above that I don’t think the scent will come through from an alcohol infusion. I think the chances are a little better with an oil infusion.

 

[AliOop]

I mentioned above that I don’t think the scent will come through from an alcohol infusion. I think the chances are a little better with an oil infusion.

Sorry, I should have been clearer that I was replying to @Basil, who saying that she wanted to do this for color and scent. Although you mentioned the possibility with an oil infusion, I've never heard of anyone saying that it actually worked. Would be happy to hear otherwise if someone can do it!

 

[Basil]

Sorry, I should have been clearer that I was replying to @Basil, who saying that she wanted to do this for color and scent. Although you mentioned the possibility with an oil infusion, I've never heard of anyone saying that it actually worked. Would be happy to hear otherwise if someone can do it!

I should have said color/ or scent. I’d like to try it and see what happens and how I can use it.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Hey lady! Good to "see" you! My very best wishes for a speedy recovery!

First of all, if you want a botanical infusion, whether in oil or alcohol, that delivers color & scent, in my experience, the scent, if any, rarely survives saponication and natural colorants from infusions turn out tan or have issues like fading and weird morphing. Not all, of course, but some. There are a few threads on using botanicals to color soap that you can search for more info. My Raspberry Pink Soap might be worth a look.

For what it's worth, with all due respect to @Mobjack Bay, alcohol infusions are better suited to medicinal or cosmetic purposes rather than scenting soap. In either case, using plumeria or hyacinth for the infusion is not likely to give the result you want in terms of color/scent.

I used a Monoi de Tahiti infused cocount oil that held the scent through saponification and lasted about 8 months in a soap, as described here.

While Monoi de Tahiti would be the "perfect" oil for a Hawaian theme soap in terms of fragrance, it is expensive for soapmaking. Also, it does well in leave-on products but may be disappointing in soap as the enfleurage technique used to produce it creates a delicate fragrance, i.e., barely able to smell it in soap.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Questions:
Are you planning on making your GM soap for this project?
Have tried using clays for color?
Or micas for a bright rainbow soap?
Your options for scenting are few using EOs. I actually can't think of anything tropical.
Are you open to using FOs? With FOs, the options are many, including Plumeria FO which is the flower of choice in making leis.

When I think of a "Hawaian theme" I think of Coconut & Pineapple -- unfortunately, it is challenging to find a good one, but there are other tropical fragrances that might work. Interestingly, Monkey Farts comes to mind. LOL Kids get a kick out of it but adults like the scent as well. Many suppliers carry it. Other FOs that might work are the ever-popular Coconut Lime Verbena (Unisex scent) and Tahitian Vanilla. (MMS)

Many suppliers carry Mai Tai FO and Essentials by Catalina (CA) has a Blue Hawaiian FO that might be just the ticket.

Just something to think about. Hope this helps.

ETA: Found a coconut pineapple FO at WSP while searching for something else. Added the link above.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

At 5% of oils, this product has a lovely scent that holds up (softly) for more than 6 months in cp soap. I haven’t purchased it in over a year but, as I recall, the price point was similar to using EOs and high end FOs. None of the tiare FOs I’ve purchased smell anywhere near as nice.

For what it's worth, with all due respect to @Mobjack Bay, alcohol infusions are better suited to medicinal or cosmetic purposes rather than scenting soap.

I was not recommending alcohol infusions for scenting soap. As I suggested in post #2, it’s unlikely that a scent in alcohol would survive the alcohol evaporation step.

 

[Basil]

Questions:
Are you planning on making your GM soap for this project?
Have tried using clays for color?
Or micas for a bright rainbow soap?
Your options for scenting are few using EOs. I actually can't think of anything tropical.
Are you open to using FOs? With FOs, the options are many, including Plumeria FO which is the flower of choice in making leis.

When I think of a "Hawaian theme" I think of Coconut & Pineapple -- unfortunately, it is challenging to find a good one, but there are other tropical fragrances that might work. Interestingly, Monkey Farts comes to mind. LOL Kids get a kick out of it but adults like the scent as well. Many suppliers carry it. Other FOs that might work are the ever-popular Coconut Lime Verbena (Unisex scent) and Tahitian Vanilla. (MMS)

Many suppliers carry Mai Tai FO and Essentials by Catalina (CA) has a Blue Hawaiian FO that might be just the ticket.

Just something to think about. Hope this helps.

ETA: Found a coconut pineapple FO at WSP while searching for something else. Added the link above.

HI @Zany_in_CO ! You are thinking the same as I am! I did try infusions with some dried roses I just had to see what would happen. I'm thinking will be interesting for other projects, but not bright and certainly no scent for what I wanted. But, yes I am using my goat milk recipe with soy wax. And I finally decided to try FOs and Micas!! Do you believe it? So I'll attach what I'm playing around with. First of all, due to a horrific experience, I met some attorneys who led me to an organization called "Live and Let Live". Everyone can google it by looking for Attorneys For Freedom. They have an office in Arizona, and in Hawaii. Because I believe in what they're doing with Live and Let Live, I told them I would make them soap. I ordered a stamp and have made one small batch based on their logo. I'm still playing with it. Plumeria, Ocean and some other scents from some places having searched these threads...I've not tried the ones above but you can bet I will!! Thank you!! I finally decided on doing two types of goat milk soap. 'Natural' soaps, but I've also decided on adding a different line with FOs and Micas. Of course this is all new, but it's also fun. It's all with goat milk. I'm milking 9 goats now and they're doing great! I'm attaching a picture of the logo for Live and Let Live, along with the very first batch of soap I made about two weeks ago. I have some other ideas, but so far, they're as excited as I am. The logo was designed by Marc Victor's daughter who is a graphic designer. He is the owner ofAttorneys for Freedom. Thanks for your suggestions! They always help!
The Blue Hawaii looks really good!!!

 

[Basil]

At 5% of oils, this product has a lovely scent that holds up (softly) for more than 6 months in cp soap. I haven’t purchased it in over a year but, as I recall, the price point was similar to using EOs and high end FOs. None of the tiare FOs I’ve purchased smell anywhere near as nice.

View attachment 59576

For what it's worth, with all due respect to @Mobjack Bay, alcohol infusions are better suited to medicinal or cosmetic purposes rather than scenting soap.

I was not recommending alcohol infusions for scenting soap. As I suggested in post #2, it’s unlikely that a scent in alcohol would survive the alcohol evaporation step.

Thank you @Mobjack Bay . I understood what you meant. I did make some infusions with your suggestion by using dried roses just to start, trying to learn more about the process with alcohol . It's been fun and I plan on using it when it's ready to see what happens. I'll also look at Monoi oil. I'd never heard of it before until you mentioned it. I'm in the process of exploring all avenues!