Infusion and Herbal stuff

[Guest guest]

Hi Nika and Everyone,

 

The info below is from my experiences and I hope that it helps. When

I first started making my own infused oils, I was told to let the oil

bubble with the herbs in it, did that, had a stinky house and family

that wanted to send me away LOL!!!! But they let me stay and I

learned a better way to do my oils. Fried herbs do not do well and

the frying of the herbs only destroys the value that the herbs give

to the oils. I would love to do the sun thing, but have found that

it seems to work best for me to just warm the oils very, very slowly

and then allow them to steep and they make some wonderful healing

oils for ointments, body butters, cream or lotions and for making a

nice herbal soap. I do prefer to make a soap base with not

superfatting in it and then use the herbal oil in the shredded soap

to add to the helpfulness of the soap. So I want to use 3 oz. of the

herbal oil after making the soap base and the oil I use to infuse the

herbs into is extra virgin olive oil, then I calculate that into my

formula to the amount of superfatting that I want. I then hold that

herbal infused oil out and make the soap without it, then add it

after I have shredded the soap and I have my soap, superfatted at the

level I want.

 

Anyway I hope this and what is below is of help. Click on the link

below and you will find more info on infusions, etc. :-)

 

 

Infusion and Herbal stuff

 

Gotta tell ya bout somethin' that happened. I ran into someone that

I do not see very often and she was telling me that she had a nice

herb garden going and that she wanted to know how to make her own

essential oils. I told her that is was possible to get some

essential oil from certain plants with steam distillation, but that I

was not versed in how to do that process. I have seen distillers for

sale, but most good ones are to pricy for the small amount of EO you

will get from home distillation. She was disappointed in that, but

was tickled to know that she could infuse the herbs into oil to make

some herbal oils.

 

Below is some info that I have given her and shared on the list as

well and the free page on the site that tells ya how to make your own

infused herbal oil, herbal tea, etc.

http://www.tlcsoaps.com/mknghrbl.htm There is more to it than is

stated there, but that is the general info that will help you get

started.

 

Here's a little more that might be of help.

 

A question that is always asked is does an infusion in oil and/or

herbal tea keep their scent in the process of making a soap from

scratch? What I have found is if I make a triple infusion in oil and

a very, very strong tea for the same soap, that some of the aroma

does stay in the soap. Mostly those of us that are sensitive to

synthetic aromas, but can smell the lower notes of oils, will be able

to smell these lighter scents. I also find adding some of the herb,

powdered and sifted to the soap helps with the aroma when one only

wants a small amount of aroma or can not take any aroma. But then

remember, I also am very sensitive to aromas, as are many patients

going through cancer treatments and after treatments, as is my case

and others. Now some herbs will do better than others because they

have a natural high ratio of essential oils in them, Lavender being

one and Peppermint being the other. But, because they do give off a

very small amount of aroma after the soap has dried, it is best to

use an essential oil that is the same or compliments the herb. I

recommend never, never use a fragrance oil when making an herbal

soap, because I believe that it takes away from the healthfulness of

the soap. Say you are wanting a rose like scent in the soap, use

something like Rose Geranium and use some powdered and sifted Rose

Petals or Buds in the soap. For Peppermint, use Peppermint essential

oil and use some powdered and sifted Peppermint Leaves. For

Lavender, use Lavender essential oil and use some powdered and sifted

Lavender Buds. Now for Citrus soap, Orange and Lemon essential oils

do not hold up well in the saponification of made from scratch soaps,

but you can use them and also use some Litsea Cuba or Lemongrass or

Bergamot to make a Citrus soap. Powder and sift some Lemongrass and

even some of the zest from an Orange and Lemon in the soap. You get

the idea. You can always compliment herbs with an essential oil if

you wish and you can just use the herbs, as you like.

 

That takes me to the next question. Does the soap hold any help for

the skin when herbs are used? In my time of making soap, 10+ years

now and doing a lot of experiments for the first 6 years because

there was little to no info out that was good, herbal soaps are

amazing for the skin. And using good formulas is also a key for

those needing extra help for skin conditions. I was given a soap to

try that is made of Olive and Laurel oil recently. It is a soap that

is said to set for 6 months before packing. It is a very different

type of aroma, not pleasant to me at all, but also I find very drying

to my skin. Now this might count for a lack of superfatting in the

soap, which is most likely, this soap is mass produced and so being

able to control the moisturizing of the soap is probably not done

very well. Now, saying all that, an Olive Oil soap is usually very

nice for the skin, especially those with skin problems, but there

still needs to be at least 6% superfatting in the soap.

 

Next question…. How to hold aromas in soap, especially with essential

oils? There are several ways. One is using about 1/2 oz. of Beeswax

per lb. of oils in the soap. Remember that the beeswax has to be

melted with all the oils before processing the soap. The aroma is

added at trace as usual when making a Beeswax soap. Another is to

put your aromas in a little Jojoba, which is a liquid wax, not an oil

and add it at trace as you would just the plain aroma. Adding your

aroma to powdered and sifted herbs and/or oatmeal also helps the

aroma last longer. For several years I stayed with the beeswax and

now mostly use Jojoba and the powdered and sifted herbs and/or

oatmeal or both sometimes. I have also found that just using

powdered Oatmeal, even if the aroma is not added to it, helps the

scent last longer. These can also be of help when making a soap

strictly with herbal infusion and herbal teas as well. Another thing

is the use of Stearic Acid. This not only helps scent stay, but it

helps the soap become harder and last longer and only small amounts

are needed.

 

Written By Rita Scheu

TLC Soaps and Sundries

********************

NOTICE:

You are welcome to use these to make your products that you sell as

well as for personal use. NOT to be place on a site or printed

materials or any other form of media to be sold or other wise

distributed, without written permission.

Make sure you know that you are not allergic to anything in any

formula before using. If you find that you are sensitive to

anything, discontinue use. I'm not a Dr., the formulas shared are

some that I have made and have found are of help to some people.

*********************

 

God Bless your life's walk

Rita...Homeschooling Mom in Georgia

May the ~A~ngels up ~A~bove Guide

you with Love ~A~

---

My Self-Published Books, full of info and formulas to help you with

your soaps and sundries making.

http://www.tlcsoaps.com/book.htm

[Guest guest]

Rita,

 

Thank you very much for the information. It is really handy. I am very

far away yet from attempting to make soaps, but this is a good beginning

for experimenting with infused oils. I saved the link, though, for

future reference when I do venture into the soaping world.

 

Cheers,

Nika

 

Rita S. wrote:

 

>Hi Nika and Everyone,

>

>The info below is from my experiences and I hope that it helps.

>

<snip>