Teach Soap

I’m hoping someone can explain to me what happened?

I’ve made the same recipe numerous times with no problems but yesterday I made a tincture for the first time so I’m guessing this was the problem but I don’t understand it or know if this was a fluke or if it will always happen.

I put my olive oil, rosemary and peppermint leaves into my slow cooker for a warm bath for 2 1/2 hours then I strained it and used the oils in my recipe as usual. I had my lovely green mica ready but when I added the lye it turned bright orange so I split the batter and added TD to one. Later on the colour changed and went to a greyish colour. When sliced I could see the lighter grey in the swirl.

Can anyone explain what happened so I don’t repeat this mistake?
I don’t think this is what you would call morphing as I experienced earlier this week - my pink and white cupcakes turned brown because there was vanilen in it and it is still brown,but yesterday’s soap changed immediately to orange then later on it lost the colour.

Thanks Monica

It sounds like your colorant wasn't high pH stable. Some colors are fine for melt & pour, but don't work in CP/HP because they react with the lye.
As for the mixture turning bright orange, I've had that happen when using infusions from various plants. It usually goes back to normal after saponification.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Thanks Linda,
but I never added a colour It just changed orange on it’s own then it faded later on. Would this still apply ?
Monica

Sorry, Monica. I misread your post. I thought you had added the mica. It sounds like the plant material caused the discoloration. I infused dandelions once and it turned day-glow orange, but went back to an ivory color after it gelled. Ah, the joys of soapmaking. This is why good notes are so important!

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!