Thursday, October 4, 2012

Annatto Seed Infusion (Honey Carrot Buttermilk Soap)







I don’t think I’ve ever tried a natural soap colorant before, but I happened to wander into a specialty food store the other day and noticed some packages of annatto seeds. I remembered reading that people used them in soap for their natural color, so I did a little research and found out that you can infuse your oil with annatto seeds to make anywhere from pale yellow to deep orange colors. I thought the deep orange color would lend itself well to carrot soap, so I decided to make a Honey Carrot Buttermilk soap with some annatto-infused oil. 

To infuse the oil, I used 4 teaspoons of annatto seeds in 16 ounces of olive oil. I put the oil and seeds in my crockpot, on low, for 2 hours and then shut off the crockpot and let the infusion sit overnight. 

I love the rich amber color that developed from infusing the seeds in the oil:



I used buttermilk and pureed carrots for the liquid portion of the soap and added honey at trace. This is just after I poured it into the molds:  


The soap gelled, so the orange color darkened even more. It’s a nice burnt orange color right now….I hope the color holds up, but you never know with CP soap! 

Honey Carrot Buttermilk soap cut: 



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18 comments:

  1. It sure looks like a carrot :) I need to check if there is Annatto seeds is Finland.

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  2. I hope you're able to find some...they work incredibly well! I found these in the Asian food section :)

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  3. I never used Annato seeds to colour my natural soaps,but I heard only good things about it.
    Plus, I love the color that came out to you soap!
    As I am a fan of NATURAL COLOURS,100%,I put these seeds on my tests list.
    Thanks for the information and experiment.
    Much Love,
    Claudia.

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  4. You're welcome Claudia, I hope you get a chance to try them. I'm a big fan of your naturally colored soaps, they're beautiful :)

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  5. Beautiful, Cee Gee! The annatto seeds give the oil such a nice, rich orange hue. I haven't tried infusing oils, but I hear that it is a wonderful way to add color and luxury to your soaps. The carrot soap looks so gorgeous and the scent sounds yummy!

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  6. Thank you Jenny! I was surprised at how deep the color was from the relatively small amount of seeds, they are very potent!

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  7. I just love the pic of your soap in the mold,the tops are also so lovely!I have also tried this natural colorant, what precious ingredient!
    Have a nice we!

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  8. Thank you Kalla, Moj sapun and Natalia =)

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  9. Hey woman,
    Do you ever end up with an ugly soap? Or a failure?
    Beautiful colour, rich ingredients, so yummy...

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    Replies
    1. Failures?! Why yes, I do..lol! But I’m saving those pictures for another day ;)

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    2. I bet those are just close to perfect!

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  10. I love the Carrot Cupcake-smell. First it smells sweet and last spicy, like black pepper. And the lather is so creamy.

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  11. I love the sound of this soap, what did you use to cut it so perfectly.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, I'm sorry I missed this comment! I used a slab mold with dividers for these soaps.

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  12. Hi. Your soap looks lovely? Did the color hold up? Pls answer ��

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