Natural colourants trial for European Soap Swap

[Rowan]

I'm a little nervous as I haven't posted any photos of my soap before. This is a trial soap I've made for the European soap swap using natural colours. I used paprika and anetto infused oils as well as AC. The scent is a combination of grapefruit and lavender EO's. I'd love feedback, even if it's how to improve my technique! I'd also like to give it a name, any ideas?

 

[shunt2011]

Those are very pretty!

 

[Obsidian]

Beautiful, I love the colors.

 

[Rowan]

Many thanks for your lovely comments. It may sound strange but i love soapmaking so much and put so much into each new soap, that it feels like I'm putting a bit of my heart out there on display!

Virtually everything was new for me when making this soap. I'd only ever made one soap with natural colourants, I'd never tried spoon swirls and never used grapefruit EO. I'm just pleased it turned out ok.

 

[soapylondon]

I can't wait to try this soap. I love how it turned out, its beautiful.
I have never tried grapefruit and lavender together. It sounds lovely.

 

[Rowan]

Thanks so much @soapylondon, I can't wait to try your soap too!

I'm a bit disappointed because the scent has faded so much already! I used 50/50 of lavender and grapefruit EO's at 2percent of the soap volume or roughly 0.5oz ppo. I'm hesitant to use more as I think the European limit is 2percent of the soap volume?

 

[Saponista]

Have you tried adding anything as a scent fixative? I have tried mixing my oils with a couple of tbsp clay which seemed to help. With my latest batch which had orange and lavender EOs, I used some natrasorb (modified tapioca starch) this seems to have worked pretty well as I have had real troubles keeping a lavender scent.

They are really beautiful soaps Rowan. Can't wait to try your soap

 

[nframe]

Have you tried adding anything as a scent fixative? I have tried mixing my oils with a couple of tbsp clay which seemed to help. With my latest batch which had orange and lavender EOs, I used some natrasorb (modified tapioca starch) this seems to have worked pretty well as I have had real troubles keeping a lavender scent.

This is a really useful tip. Thank you. Where did you find natrasorb though?

 

[Saponista]

http://www.ofasimplenature.webeden.co.uk/dry-ingredients/4538505175

 

[Rowan]

Have you tried adding anything as a scent fixative? I have tried mixing my oils with a couple of tbsp clay which seemed to help. With my latest batch which had orange and lavender EOs, I used some natrasorb (modified tapioca starch) this seems to have worked pretty well as I have had real troubles keeping a lavender scent.

They are really beautiful soaps Rowan. Can't wait to try your soap

Thanks so much Saponista. I can't wait to try your soap too! I've tried clay to hold scent before, but never heard of using natrasorb. It sounds great, do you mind me asking how much you use? Does it affect the feel of your soap in any way?

 

[Saponista]

I use about a tablespoon per 500g batch of soap (weight of oils). This forms a liquidy sludge when you add the EO. I think you could get away with using a lot more as it is designed to hold fragrance. It is used in bath salts etc at a rate of 3% natrasorb and 1% fragrance. If you do that you get a fluffy white powder, but I didn't want to use 3% in my soap in case it felt weird so I just used a little bit. Would be interesting to know if anyone has used that kind of percentage.

 

[Rowan]

Thanks for that. I'll definetely have to order some natrasorb and give it a try.

I'd like to second Saponista's question and ask if anyone else has used modified tapioca starch as a scent fixative? Many thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[Saponista]

I tried it at a higher amounts today while messing with natural colourants, I added enough so that it formed a paste with my essential oils (didn't weight it). Problem was that the soap is now speckled with pale flecks from the starch. Will post a pic later.

Oh and I saw earlier you said that EU scent max was 2%. It's 3% (info given to me direct from a cosmetic safety assessor) so you can add a bit more. I use the IFRA standards when making soap for myself so I go up to 5% for rinse off products like soap, but I also adhere to their regulations regarding essential oils with restricted substances so use much less of things like clove and ginger. I spoke to an EU cosmetics assessor and he said he would allow me to use 5% if I could supply him with an IFRA statement for the fragrance I was using stating that this was acceptable.

 

[Saponista]

My rubbish spotty soap.

 

[Rowan]

That's really useful information about IFRA. I'd put 2percent as a question as I wasn't totally sure. It's great to know I can add more. I'm going to have to start reading up on cosmetic safety assessments. I'm nowhere near ready to sell yet, but would like to know more in case I decide to sell in the future.

I love your soap. It looks like it's snowing over hills and mountains. Maybe not what you were going for but very effective.

 

[nframe]

Well, I was told by my cosmetic safety assessor that the limit is 3% for a single essential oil but only 2% when they are mixed.

Thank you Saponista for the natrosorb link. I ordered it this morning and will try it as soon as I get it. Maybe I will stick to 1 tablespoon for 500g of oils.

 

[Saponista]

I enquired with them well in advance as I wanted to make sure any test batches I made would be legal if I decided to sell and I wanted to test recipes for at least a year to see if they were stable to sell. I didn't mean to sound critical in my previous post if I came across that way then sorry!

I think we are our own worst critics, my soap wasn't what I wanted it to be, it set up too fast so I couldn't swirl and had to blob lumps into the mould, then it got the weird snow from too much natrasorb. You have made me feel better about it though as I can see the snow capped mountains now.

It's frustrating that different assessors are giving different guidelines, I guess the EU guidelines are available to be interpreted slightly differently depending on what the assessor is willing to accept themselves.

 

[Rowan]

It is so confusing when different safety assessors are advising on different percentages of essential oils. I'm glad I'm not selling right now! Saponista, would you mind posting or sending me the contact details of your assessor. They sound more forgiving on essential oils than Nframe' s.

Saponista, you really didn't sound too critical in your post before. I know that frustration when a soap doesn't come out according the picture in your mind. You should see my failed madder root and clay trial!

 

[soapylondon]

Saponista, The end result although not as you planned it has turned out an

 

[Rowan]

That's a great picture of snowy mountains and exactly what I saw in my mind when looking at Saponista's soap!

Thanks for the tip with the lavender. I've been trying so many lavender EO's and couldn't get them to stick. It's also another excuse to order more soap making products! Can't wait!