Teach Soap

I seem to have done nothing but ask questions since I joined this forum . I'm having trouble 'doing' anything with my soap. If I try to add a colour or fragrance I seem to get thick blobby soap immediately and can't do anything with it. I can't imagine being able to divide it up and add different colours and so on, it's all I can do to get it into a mould. I mix the lye and oil around 110 degrees and try to add the colour as soon as I get to trace but just mixing it in seems to get it to thick trace straight away. Is there a trick to it?
I added spirulina to a batch today. Booger green is a very apt description. Yuk!

Besides the spirulina, what colors do you have? Any oxides, ultramarines, FD&C colors or micas? Your temps sound fine to me. Are you using a stainless steel whisk or a stick blender?

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

I have a few ultramarines and clays. I tried using a pink ultramarine and it went a muddy colour it I think that was the olive oil I was using, it was quite dark. Had a little success with a purple ultramarine. I have used a stainless steel whisk, and a stick blender if I thought the mixture was thin enough to take it. Should it always be whisked In rather than blended? I'd like to attempt some basic swirls but it just seems to go gluggy on me.

I will say clays seem to always thicken up on me

_________________
Anna Rose @-}--
blog

The darker the olive oil, the more the final color will change. You need to use at least a whisk, so all the oils and lye will emulsify. If you have a lot of the so called hard oils in your recipe, the faster it can trace. Pomace oil can accelerate trace too.

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