Teach Soap

Here is me again with all my color issues. I recently bought a eClass from Nova Studio about coloring soap. To date all my soap is a mushy swirl, I guess because I use Lab Colors or a pastel (Lab Colors again but I am ok with it for this use) or I just make a lot of vanilla soaps and let it go tan. After 2 years of soap making I should have a better handle on colors.

I always admire the bright and distinctive colors every gets so now I have come to the following conclusions.

Ultramarines, oxides, and titanium dioxide are what I need to be using. Am I correct??????????

Some thing on Brambleberry are listed under pigments but their container says they are mica. My understanding mica is best in M&P not CP. Will Tangerine Wow color my CP orange like the container it just won't have the shimmer it would have in M&P???????

I am confused on what I combine these powders with. Water, oil or glycerine? I seem to find conflicting information.

I just swirled a TD white with an untramarine violet and for the first time it looks like I might have distinctive colors.

Many micas are safe to use in CP soap as well! And a lot of them do shimmer in the final product! Just check the info on the colourant to see if it says "CP stable" or "stable in high pH". If it says "soap stable" it could mean MP, CP or both. Those ones I always ask the vendor if they are stable in CP. If they give no info then just email them and ask.

BB, TKB, and conservatorie all have a lot of nice soap stable colourants!

When using a vanilla scent you can always colour an unscented portion of the batter so you get swirls of colour through the discoloured base portion. It looks really nice and the vanillin won't be in there to change it.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

If you use goat's milk in soap, it's harder to get a bright color. The lighter your oils and butters, the lighter the final soap will be. I use FD&C colors (like lab Colors), ultramarines , oxides and micas and I can get pretty bright soaps with all of them.

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

The soap base can have influance in the final color... but just to get you started what color combo do you want to achieve...maybe we could help.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!