I contacted the fellow member of the forum to ask permission to use the photo of her soap and she said that there was some Carotino Oil in the ingredients as well which may have contributed to the vivid colour. I knew that Rhonda had mentioned making something with calendulas on her blog so I read that post and then went looking for calendulas as hubby said that we used to have some growing. I found a few of the flowers in our front garden and picked them and dried them out for a day or so. Then I added them to olive oil and put the bottle in the sun for a couple of weeks. 
We didn't have many calendulas so it probably wasn't a worthwhile exercise but I thought I would 'give it a go' and see what happened.
The oil went a lovely golden colour so I included it in the amount of olive oil which I needed when making soap this morning.
The photo is a bit blurry but unfortunately the soap didn't turn out to be as yellow as I had hoped but it did have some yellow tinges. I might find out some more information on Carotino Oil as I would love to be able to make a vivid yellow soap.
I have picked some more calendulas and will add the petals to olive oil tomorrow after they have dried out a bit. Hopefully a larger volume of calendula infused olive oil will make a more colourful soap not to mention the healing benefits of the humble calendula flower.
Have you used calendulas to make soap, a salve or anything else? I would love it if you could share about it here. Also have you used Carotino Oil when making soap?
Calendula soap sounds lovely. Have you seen Christine's Lemongrass, Olive oil & sage soap over on Slow Living Essentials? That looks great. Once I have done a few learner batches, I'd like to try lemon myrtle or lemon scented gum using the ground up dries leaves of the trees. Still have to get those digital scales though!
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Barb, I can't find that soap on the Slow Living Essentials so can you direct me to the exact page. I have lemongrass and sage growing so it sounds like that will be the next 'Have a go' event! I remember someone at our Simple Living Group saying that the lemon myrtle soap they made was a bit too abrasive for them but another person found it to be okay. To each his own I guess. Don't forget to add digital scales to your shopping list!
ReplyDeleteBarb, I just did a Google search for Slow Living Essentials + soap and found the post. Wow! I will be going back there for more ideas for future batches of soap. I didn't realise you could infuse the oil in a slow cooker. Thanks for putting me on to the blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comment ~ I am looking forward to "meeting" likeminded people in "blogland". Making soap is something I have never tried but maybe I will give it a go sometime. God Bless x
ReplyDeleteYes, give it a go. It isn't hard to make. You just have to be careful with the lye/caustic soda. I look forward to seeing your first batch! :)
ReplyDeleteLovely calendula soap! I use lemon myrtle essential oil, that I can buy locally, in my soap. It only needs about 10 drops to give it a hint of scent as I don't like powerful scents in my soap and lemon myrtle is quite strong.
ReplyDeleteCheers, Rob xo
I love adding a 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric for a lovely ochre colour that is natural.
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