Teach Soap

I have been making soap a long time, but only recently have decided I need more purple in my lineup.
I use a mica from the Conservatorie - Cosmo Martini, to get a nice lavender in my lavender soap.

But yesterday I tried to get it to go deeper, more vivid, to no avail. I have read a lot on the various forums, and everyone says to make sure your soap is nice and white before you go purple. So, I added some TD - nice white batter, and then started adding the mica. I am embarrassed to tell you how much of that expensive stuff I added! I never got to a vivid, bright or deep - (any of the 3 would have been fine) purple. All I got was a slightly more saturated lavender. It doesn't look bad - just not what I intended.

So after a lot more reading yesterday, I ordered a mica called "purple vibrance"

Just wondering - has anyone ever used this mica? Did you add TD before, or not? Not sure if my problems with the cosmo martini were the mica itself, or just that it couldn't "overcome" the TD. Or both.

TIA

Try Brambleberry's Lab Color or purple mica.

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

This has been a challenge for me as well...so this is what I have come up with: Brambleberry's Royal Purple lab color is a very beautiful vivid purple, I would personally describe it as more on the blue side of the purple spectrum, especially if you gel. I have also had good luck with mixing ultramarine blue and ultramarine violet. Another poster on this forum mentioned combining Brambleberry's Pink Bubble Gum and ultramarine blue to get a bright purple. I haven't tried this yet but it's on my list.

Also, I've had found that it helps to use lighter colored oils in my recipe such as grade A olive oil, coconut oil, lard, castor and sweet almond oil. The darker olive oils and palm oil tend to give the soap a yellowish hue and throw off the purple shade. These are just what I have noticed in my experiments. Good luck!

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If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane
~Jimmy Buffett

I LOVE Purple Vibrance! It really is a deep, vibrant purple and you don't have to go overboard with it, nor do you have to go all the way white with your batter. I think you'll be quite happy with it.

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Jennifer
Doing my best to blow up my kitchen. In style!

I appreciate the suggestions. Unfortunately, BB's products are not on my list. The shipping charges to my country are completely insane.
I have used several different micas - no success yet getting a true, vivid purple.
Yes, I use light coloured oils for this recipe - no palm or darker olive.

I just ordered the purple vibrance mica, and my fingers are crossed that it will do the trick.

LOL it sounds interesting, I will have to give Purple Vibrance a try, I love to experiment!

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If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane
~Jimmy Buffett

It will be at least 2 weeks before the mica gets to me, but I promise to post results as soon as possible!

I use violet mica from Conservatory. Gives me an awesome colour. I also use cosmo martini and get great results, it is the purple in this soap:



Cosmo martini is the one I use most often for my super bright purples, around 1 tsp ppo. If you added TD first you'd never get a bright purple, TD mutes it. I never add TD to my purples unless I want a pale purple.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Interesting, Heather - I appreciate the info. i was told that you couldn't get a decent purple unless you made your soap really white first,...hence the TD.

You can't always trust what you hear on OTHER forums...especially the ones filled with all the soap gods and goddesses who are never wrong!

Teach Soap is the best AND the nicest!

I've never had trouble getting nice bright purples! Must have good luck (finally, luck with SOMETHING LOL)! TD will make any purple more milky and light. Not sure it is even possible to get a nice bright purple with TD in the mix.

Hope it helps!! Maybe I'll do a short video on purple CP soaps, or a pictorial.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

I find that Purple Vibrance and Wisteria Purple, both from Nurture Soap Supplies, are my go-to purple colorants.

Strong colors.

I agree with Hestey; it might be really hard, if not impossible, to get a bright, vivid shade of any color if you add TD to the soap. The TD will keep the color opaque and light, even if you heap the purple colorant in.

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Olivia :)

I have found to get a good purple you have to start with light oils that produce white bars

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Anna Rose @-}--
blog

Ok - the Purple Vibrance arrived t day, so I whipped up a tester batch - little wooden moulds that my hubby made that make 5 bars - a mini loaf - the same dimensions, except for length, as my bigger soap moulds.

I was a bit concerned, because it lists as one of the ingredients "manganese violet" which is well known NOT to work well in cp soap. It turns an ugly grayish brown. I have used it straight before and you can google "cp soap manganese violet" and see what other soapers, suppliers and even manufacturers have to say about it.

And yet - everyone says it works in cp soap.... so I tried it.

It went a beautiful vivid purple with waaay less than the amount their website says you can use. That was an hour ago - it is still purple. I will give it a week or so before using this colorant in other, bigger batches, tho.

So what is the deal? I know for a FACT that manganese violet discolors...so....either this is NOT MV (mislabeled) or they have added something to it that counteracts the discoloration?

But - the main point it - it is PURTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!