Teach Soap

This might be a lost cause...but I have some fresh herbs (LOTS), Rosemary, Parsley and Chocolate mint (just smells like mint to me). I'd like to use them in my soap, infusing them in water and the oil and maybe even using the parsley to color? I'm just not sure how to go about doing this. I know how to infuse them into the water.
What about the oil? Just heat the oil without boiling/getting too hot and let them chill out for awhile? Or should I just add the herbs to the oil and leave em alone for a few days? I know I need to strain the herbs out, but can I leave some in? Or do they need to be dried?
I've heard parsley is a good colorant? How do I do this? Blend it up really good?

I use dry herbs to infuse in oil and fresh herbs for tea infusion. You can use dried parsley in soap, but it will fade to a yellow over time. Some herbs oxidize and turn brown. I would not use fresh directly into soap.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

If you want to use your herbs in your soap instead of using them fresh you can easily dry them out by hanging them upside down or what I do it put them in a wicker type basket and set them on top of my fridge and then mid them around every few days for a couple weeks till they're dried out and use them. Like soap buddy said though if you add them directly (only suggested if their dried) they will eventually turn brown. Once their dried you could infuse hem in your oil by either a warm infusion or a cold infusion. For a cold infusion put the dried herbs in jar with your choice of oil (olive oil is a good one anything with a long shelf life) and set them in a sunny area for at least two weeks. For a warm infusion use a double boiler and just covering the top of the herbs with your chosen oil keep the oil below boiling and do this for a minimum of 4 hours to up to 2 days making sure to obviously turn the oven off when you're not around.

As for the chocolate mint, where did you buy the initial plant from? Any chocolate mint I've ever had had always actually smelled like both chocolate and mint.

I kind of just gave up on the herbs last night...maybe I'll give it ago another day. I did make a tea with some of it and froze it. I just remembered I have a small crock pot that would be PERFECT for infusing herbs/making teas. Maybe I'll try that and just keep straining the old herbs out and adding new herbs every few hours. Maybe...

Think I could do this one pine/Christmas tree?
Could I put the herbs in the oven to help dry them out, or would that ruin them? What about a dehydrator? I think I need to do some research.

I have NO clue where the chocolate mint came from. My sister planted the herb garden when she was going through a divorce and never paid it much attention after that. It's all way over grown and just going to waste right now. I'm totally ok with it not smelling like chocolate, it's very possible that it's some other type of mint.

I am not sure if you could dry them out in an oven or in a dehydrator. I mean I'm sure you could but I have never tried it. I have always let mine air dry. I'm sure there are tons of info on the internet though.

Here is a link on Anne Marie's blog about infusing herbs.
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body- ... nfusion-2/

As for infusing a Pine tree I am not sure. I have never done that. I would see if you can find info online about using that type of plant for infusions.

Crock pots do work great for infusing, just make sure you keep the crockpot on low to avoid burning the oil or herbs and only ever use dried out herbs for infusions. Fresh herbs have a lot of water in them and can cause your infusion to grow bacteria.

Here is a link to a few really good posts by Amanda from lovinsoap.com on infusing too.
http://www.lovinsoap.com/category/color ... ly-series/

Thanks for the links! LOVE the second one.

The crock pot I have is one of those mini "warming" crock pots, like for cheese dip. I don't think it even gets very hot, so it would be perfect for the oils. I'll try it with water/tea first just to be on the safe side and get a idea of how hot it gets.

I think for now I'll just stick with buying already dried herbs and maybe try to dry some on my own. Thanks for the help!

I dry my herbs in the microwave.

Some people use a french coffee press for squeezing oil out of herbs when doing an infusion.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!