Orange for fall

Orange really isn't my colour at all.  I look like death warmed over, if I attempt to wear it, while my daughter on the other hand, simply glows.  But it is a beautiful vibrant colour that is both happy and energetic. And it is the undisputed colour of fall.

I didn't set out to make an orange soap.  I have been wanting to do a yellow one since early this year.  I was longing for spring and wanted the warm golden yellow that I got from Annatto once.  So I infused Annatto seeds and expected them to turn the oil a golden yellow overnight.  It didn't. I'm still waiting.  Then I thought of the left over unrefined palm oil that is in my cupboards and decided to use that.  I just had to try palm oil once so I bought it even if the environmental effects are questionable.  Since I bought it I might as well use it up, there is no reason to waste it.  

And then, as I was selecting my ingredients I looked at the infused rhubarb oil and decided to blend it in and see if I would get orange. So thus this orange soap. It was fall after all.  

It is a rather small recipe, 500 g / 18 oz. 5% super fat, water 38% lye 70 g / 2.5 oz (but run through a calculator be be sure)

Coconut oil     26%     130 g / 4.6 oz

Rapeseed oil   20%     100 g / 3.5 oz

Lard                20%     100 g / 3.5 oz

Palm oil          14%     70 g / 2.5 oz - Unrefined yellow

Olive oil         10%     50 g / 1.8 oz

Cocoa butter     4%    20 g/ 0.7 oz

Castor oil         3%     15 g/ 0.5 oz

Sunflower oil   3%     15 g/ 0.5 oz - Rhubarb infused

The water was yellow from infusion with Weld, a well known dye plant. I added Sweet orange, Ylang ylang and Litsea cubea for scent.  It traced really quickly and I had to jam it into the mold.  It also heated up quite a bit so I threw it into the freezer after I decorated it with some dried plant material that  was lying around in the kitchen.

It has cured now and it looks like a really nice hard soap.  The lather is rich and creamy and soft.  I have found that the soaps that I put lard in are my favorite soaps.  I also like to put a bit of castor oil, so that I can use it for my hair if I want to.  And that makes for a nice soft lather.

The soap has retained it's orange colour except on the top which has turned a bit pink.  The Rhubarb will not be subdued :).