Orange Peel Powder

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Just arrived! First time user - any ideas? It seems very fine - and I had imagined it would be coarser..
I also got some rosemary and sage FO with a view to making some kind of gardeners soap - orange peel, pumice, poppy seed...? Or will the OPP be too fine to be of any use?
How do you use YOUR orange peel powder?
I have my lye and oils at the ready, and will hop to it once someone inspires me! ;)
 
I haven't used powder, but fresh orange peel makes soap with a beautiful orange color that lasts quite long (still there at 1,5 years) and I felt it helped 'anchor' my orange EO (probably just because there was a little bit extra in the peel).
I also once made a dirty hands soap with salt and lemon/lime peel on one side for gentle scrubbing and coffee grounds and AC on the other side for more thorough scrubbing. Though I'm not sure how much the (fresh) peels actually contributed to the scrubbing effect (and the two sides didn't really work as I had hoped)
Rosemary and sage sounds like a wonderful scent! I'm curious what you come up with, but I'm sure it's going to be a lovely soap.
 
I think I mentioned that I use ground lemon peel in my gardener's hand soap; in looking at the recipe again, it's actually orange peel. (No big difference, really.) I did find that the orange peel left little dots of orange in the soap, which some people really liked. And, no, it wasn't dos. The spots were tiny and the exact colour of orange peel and interspersed all through the soap.
 
I think I mentioned that I use ground lemon peel in my gardener's hand soap; in looking at the recipe again, it's actually orange peel. (No big difference, really.) I did find that the orange peel left little dots of orange in the soap, which some people really liked. And, no, it wasn't dos. The spots were tiny and the exact colour of orange peel and interspersed all through the soap.
Was yours fresh Misschief? I've bought this as a powder already and it's not really orange.

OK - cover me - I'm going in...

I have a design concept in mind now, but one question for the experts - do you think I should up my CO percentage to 25% for a gardeners/mechanics soap? Or leave it at 20%?

I will wait (im)patiently for a response ;)
 
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I used orange peel powder in a citrus soap cupcake recipe last year and found there to be no difference in the feel of the soap (no exfoliation). However, I and my customers loved the speckled look it gave to the finished soap.
 
Done and dusted! I split the batter and put activated charcoal, pumice and orange peel in one half, and the other half I put green mica, poppy seeds, more orange peel, and a tiny bit of pumice (not as much as the black half). Thank you to @Misschief for the half/half idea from her recent lemon and poppy seed batch. Scented 50% with Rosemary and Sage from Candle Science (nice!) and 25% lime EO, 25% lemongrass EO.
I didn't use 25% coconut oil because i couldn't be bothered plugging it into soap calc so I just ran with my usual base recipe.
E75A6E5B-7B6B-43FA-90E7-7EA81FE48ED0_1_201_a.jpeg BB53C80C-E56B-4299-A007-AFC3CA7106BD_1_201_a.jpeg
 
Done and dusted! I split the batter and put activated charcoal, pumice and orange peel in one half, and the other half I put green mica, poppy seeds, more orange peel, and a tiny bit of pumice (not as much as the black half). Thank you to @Misschief for the half/half idea from her recent lemon and poppy seed batch. Scented 50% with Rosemary and Sage from Candle Science (nice!) and 25% lime EO, 25% lemongrass EO.
I didn't use 25% coconut oil because i couldn't be bothered plugging it into soap calc so I just ran with my usual base recipe.
View attachment 43414 View attachment 43415
Looking forward to seeing the cut!
 
I have a design concept in mind now, but one question for the experts - do you think I should up my CO percentage to 25% for a gardeners/mechanics soap? Or leave it at 20%?

Too late now as you made your soap, my usual recipe has 25%CO, so try it next time and see how you go.
 
Looks beautiful @KiwiMoose

@Mobjack Bay , yes fresh grated orange peel mixed with my oils and SB'd a bit already before adding the lye water (to avoid specks) last time I used it at 6% of oil weight (so +-1oz ppo I guess?) I tried both regular and blood orange, the latter just turned out a bit darker.
 
Looks beautiful @KiwiMoose

@Mobjack Bay , yes fresh grated orange peel mixed with my oils and SB'd a bit already before adding the lye water (to avoid specks) last time I used it at 6% of oil weight (so +-1oz ppo I guess?) I tried both regular and blood orange, the latter just turned out a bit darker.
I was under the impression that using anything like orange peels fresh could cause mold in the soap. Is that not true?
 
I was under the impression that using anything like orange peels fresh could cause mold in the soap. Is that not true?
Just checked on the 2 small pieces I have left. One is about a year old, the other +- 1,5 years. No mold. I think the colors might have lightened a bit, but I'd have to check out the original pictures for comparison.
 
I was under the impression that using anything like orange peels fresh could cause mold in the soap. Is that not true?
I like to add things to soap :) and also worried about the potential for mold. As far as I can tell, the problems have more to do with the size/shape of the food additives than with adding food. I wrote a bit about it, here.
 
I dry mine in the oven and then grind. I did find a bit of mold on one soap, but it did have a lot on! seems ok if used sparingly.
How fine do you grind your orange peel? I just got a bunch of orange peels and I'm drying them so I can make them into powder to add to my soap. Just wanted to know how fine of a grind I need to use.
 
How fine do you grind your orange peel? I just got a bunch of orange peels and I'm drying them so I can make them into powder to add to my soap. Just wanted to know how fine of a grind I need to use.
You have to oven dry the peel long and slow, 100 degrees C for a couple of hours, then I grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder, cost about £10. I keep the powder in a sealed jar. Leave for a while and then have a sniff .... gorgeous!!
 
You have to oven dry the peel long and slow, 100 degrees C for a couple of hours, then I grind them to a fine powder in a spice grinder, cost about £10. I keep the powder in a sealed jar. Leave for a while and then have a sniff .... gorgeous!!
I made some using the peels off of my little clementines and the powder smells like Froot Loops cereal. lol
 

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