Teach Soap

Hello all!
Happy soap making!
I'm just new to the mp soap making, and i have a fading problem with my soaps. I'm using americolor food coloring gels (i had them anyway, and they are the only ones here, in Turkey) with white base. In a few hours my soaps fade and don't look cool at all.
I've been doing some research on the net, and came across lots of choices, and could not make my mind. I would be very happy if you could help me.
so is it better to use labcolors (or food colorants?) and add uv inhibator? is uv inhibator safe to use in soaps?
or use pigments, like oxide or ultramarines?
or else mica?
do pigments really not fade?
oh, and is the dust form or liquid form better?
any help is sincerely will be appreciated.
thank you very much, love from all the way from Istanbul, Turkey

Welcome!
Food colors do fade. I would try oxides or ultramarines if you can find them in Turkey. Labcolors will work, but be aware that over time they bleed.

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

Hi, canank, and welcome! FD&C colors (like food colors) will bleed in your soap, so I stay away from them. I pretty much use oxides/ultramarines and micas. Oxides are very stable and don't bleed or fade. Some micas can fade or bleed, but most of them hold up well. I've never tried the Labcolors. Most of Bramble Berry's liquid colors, with a few exceptions, are oxides dispersed in glycerin. The liquid kind comes in a dropper bottle and that makes it very easy to add your colorant drop-by-drop to your base. Just make sure you give your bottles a shake because the oxides settle to the bottom over time. If you get the powders, you can mix them with a bit of rubbing alcohol, glycerin, or even your fragrance oil to work out the clumps. (Powdered pigments tend to clump and speckle if you put them directly into your soap and then stir.)

BB does make a UV inhibitor for soap: http://www.brambleberry.com/Uv-Inhibitor-P3563.aspx. I've never used it myself. It's supposed to help prevent fading due to sun exposure, so I'm not sure how much it will help with general color fading. Keep in mind, too, that some fragrances can change the color of your soap. BB makes a Vanilla Color Stabilizer that helps prevent or minimize vanilla-containing FOs from discoloring your soap brown. Anne-marie posted a video on how to use both: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-KjcS-L2Sg.

Hope that helps. Have fun!

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