Hi there!
I am very new to soapmaking but have watched MANY episodes of soapqueen tv and tutorials. I've read about all this and done my research and hope I am ready to begin!
My question: I see there are two (maybe three) options when mixing pigments and micas. I have a question about each method and hope someone out there can help me out!
1. If I mix the pigment with a carrier oil WITHOUT taking the oil from my original recipe - how do I account for the extra oil I am adding in? In other words - let's say I am mixing 4 colors and each one requires a few tbsp of oil - how do I factor that into the total amount of lye I need? The lye calculators don't give an option for this and I don't think that's part of the superfatting - or is it??
2. If I do use the carrier oil from my original recipe - that means that specific amount of oil (which can be quite significant if I am using 4 colors and each one requires a few tbsp) is not saponifying with the lye and only being added later. Will that affect things such as DOS occurring bcs that oil has not saponified originally with the lye??
3. I've seen tutorials where the pigments were poured directly into the thin trace and not emulsified in carrier oil or water first. I understand this can cause clumps or uneven graininess - but this seems the easiest as you don't have to consider additional oil...is this method very tricky and finicky and should I not attempt it as a newbie?
Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this. I am SO happy I found brambleberry and soapqueen!!!