Teach Soap

I just used BB's Cedar and Saffron in some CP soap that I soaped cool and then put into the freezer. I had seen that it could discolor; but am surprised to see a cheddar cheese color. I love the fragrance. If I add TD, does that help to overcome the color change? I'd love to use the fragrance again, but this batch looks, well, UGLY.

Thanks, Justkate. Your soap looks terrific. The brown oxide and mica really set it off. I may go ahead and gel next time. My current batch may still have a little color changing to do. It's a couple of days old. My oils are olive, coconut, soybean, apricot kernel, shea butter and castor. I just prematurely tested a sliver, and it does seem to have a nice conditioning, creamy lather feel. I haven't used much soybean oil and wanted to give it a try, since I'm seeing it listed here a lot, and since it's locally available and relatively inexpensive. Did you add the oxide to some portion of your soap and then pour as a top layer? It looks really nice.
Scents

Hmm. I'm not sure what the culprit is then. Could be the olive oil. I got a more amber olive oil than usual one time and between that and my yellow palm oil I didn't have anything but orange soap. I haven't used soybean. I bet Soapbuddy knows. She uses soybean. What I did with the brown oxide and mica was mix them together in a tiny bit of oil, then add them to about 1/4 cup of raw soap, mix well, pour over the base layer in a zig-zag pattern and lightly swirl. I was going to pull it all the way through but the soap started setting up. Mica gives it a bit more shine and bling on the top but it's not my favorite thing to work with in soap. I may use just the brown oxide next time and save the mica to dust the tops. Thanks, btw. Appreciate the compliment! I found out I really like striping tops so it was a good experience. And you're right that your soap may change to a more acceptable color. Anyway, I'll wait for Soapbuddy or Magic_hands to weigh in. I'm sure I'll learn something too.

ETA: Cedar&Saffron is a strong enough fo that you're not going to lose it when gelling, btw. It's a hefty scent. Not overdone but it's not a fader either.

pretty tops on the soap Kate. Did you use a red mica with the oxide? I can't get red to work for me so this might be an option.

Hi Karen,

Thank you. I used Bordeaux mica mixed with brown oxide. From what I understand red is really elusive in CP soap, though. If anybody gets a true red that doesn't bleed will they please kick the clue bucket my way?

I use soybean in pretty much every batch. All my oils and butters are light in color. I haven't used this particular FO. I also don't gel. Is it possible that you might have used too much FO, or your soap overheated? How hot did you soap?

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

Hi Soapbuddy,
I used .5oz ppo of the FO in a 2# batch. The oils were 105 F and the lye water 100 F. It's a small batch, so it's not a big problem. I was just surprised to see the orange tint rather than tan. I had also removed 2 cups and added ultramarine violet oxide. This part became a sort of ugly gray. I've seen that gray in the past, but had it turn purple with a gel. Maybe a gel would have been better? Thanks for your suggestions. The FO is quite pleasant. Maybe I'll try Justkate's method next.
Scents

Ultramarine violet can turn gray if you don't gel. If you want a lavender color, I would suggest using FD&C Blue #1. For a 2 lb. batch, I would have used at least 1 oz. of fragrance.

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

Thanks so much, Soapbuddy. I think I may redo this one when I get restocked on fragrance and color. Your help is much appreciated as always.
Scents

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

This fo has been selling out at the past 2 shows I've done---- amazing! I do use full goatmilk, no water, no gelling, in the freezer 18-24hrs--- out and cured 4weeks. The color is light orange tan early then gets quite a bit darker as the cure continues. It is a rich dark tan/brown in the end. I personally would never try adding a color to the whole batch as it will probably not become anything you would want. I like to save colors for the scents that don't turn the soaps brown. The micas/oxide touch from Kate was a great idea--- that swirl in there really set it off.

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You may be only one person to the world, but you may also be the world to one person

ha, kate, great minds think alike. here's my cedar & saffron soap, with bordeaux mica swirled in and brushed on top. You can get a decent red with the bordeaux if you go a bit lighter in adding it.



now, scents, your soap - it may have started yellowish orange, but it will turn tan. if you look at my soap, all the areas that aren't red have no color added at all, that's just the shade you get after cure. I did gel mine - I always gel soap - but it starts yellowish and slowly darkens.

the color is utterly incompatible with utramarine violet, i'm sorry to say - that works best with a fairly white base and a non-discoloring FO. I'd bet you end up with those areas as a funny shade of tan.

You'll find that a lot of discoloring fragrances don't discolor immediately - it needs some time for the coloration to show. A yellowish tinge when you add the FO to the soap is a pretty good indicator that somewhere down the road you'll be seeing some shade of brown, though.

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Thank you all. I am learning more than I ever imagined about cedar and saffron FO, not to mention my ultramarine violet oxide choice. I don't know what I was thinking on the color choice. Total experiment, I guess. The confetti approach with this batch might be the way to go. However, Magic, you are spot on about the gradual color change. I've looked again tonight and am seeing much less orange and more dark tan. Even some of the violet is recognizable as violet and not gray, but I'm not holding out too much hope on that color. The Bordeaux mica is perfect, but does it come off on your skin and/or soap dish? I used both cinnamon red pigment and yellow mica in soaps, and really liked the look until I went to use the soap which left either a trail of red or yellow behind. I still have a lot to learn about color choices and rates of usage, and I'm sure lots is trial and error. Meanwhile, thank you for all of your suggestions. I really do want to rework this one.
Scents

Ditto. I used copper mica in a goats milk and get a nice red lather. So what is the trick? I love the color of the copper mica but could never gift a red lathering (and I mean, red lathering) soap.

Lisa J