Well, it's neither white NOR black (help!)

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My licorice soap came out cream and grey, rather than white and black. Funny- it looks sort of blue and white in this picture, but it's not really. Can anyone help me with how to get jet black and pure white?

Here's the recipe I used:
CO 30
Palm 20
Shea Butter 10
OO 30
Caster 10
36.23% water
8% superfat
licorice F/O
1 T. icing sugar and 1/2 tsp salt dissolved in the water before adding lye.

I mixed 1 tsp TD with a bit of glycerine and added it after I mixed the lye into the oils. (Maybe I should have only added the TD to the white part later?)
I added the F/O to the whole batch, then took out 1/3 and mixed 1 tsp charcoal into the smaller part.
By this time, it was at medium to thick trace and it ended up as layers, rather than a swirl. I tried a bit of a stir, but it was setting up very quickly.
I OP in the mold for 1 hour at 170F then shut the oven off and left it overnight. Perhaps preventing gel by refrigerating would have made it white?

Do you think the TD prevented the charcoal from making true black? How come the TD didn't make the soap white?

Help?

3923194186_72b6140cec.jpg
 
juicybath said:
Do you think the TD prevented the charcoal from making true black? How come the TD didn't make the soap white?

It's still very pretty soap. Only you know what effect you wanted.
To everyone else, it's nice soap!

Yes, only add the TD to the part you want white.
Your recipe isn't a "pure white" recipe to begin with.
Olive oil lends a green/tan cast to the soap.
 
This is what I need to know-- thank you CF!
Can you suggest a pure white soap recipe I could use instead?

I have some lard here that I haven't tried yet...
 
You can go by the color of the fat/oil to begin with.
Olive oil is greenish
Avocado oil greenish, etc. so you know they won't be good in white soap

The white oils/fats are:
coconut oil
shortening
safflower, canola (and all the clear oils)
lard
beef tallow
palm
palm kernel
(probably forgot some, but maybe others will chime in)

I hate to suggest recipes.
Even when it's a good recipe, I get blamed when something goes wrong. LOL

Take your recipe and fix it:
Use shortening and safflower/canola to replace most of the olive
(you can still use olive, but not much)
Lard substituted 100% for the olive oil would work also.

Bet if you Googled "white soap recipe" you'd find some.
 
White added to black will make grey, so I would take part of your batter out before you add your TD and add charcoal to that, then swirl. But fantastic lovely looking soaps though
 
You could try adding your FO to the warm oil before the lye . Take a maybe 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the lightly traced soap and mix in your charcoal. A little goes a long way with black .
Your soap looks very nice :D

Kitn
 
i have made white soap, but you have to use the lightest oo you can find, and if your shea is dk tan, dont use that. Also part lard would help.
 
I would get it mixed up good (emulsified) but not to trace. If it traces fast just hand whisk. Take out for the black. Add 1 rounded tsp. TD pp of oils mixed first with a little water or oil, depending what kind you have to the main batter. Color smaller portion with your black. You'll have more time before the batter gets too thick. HTH

I think your soap looks great! I also know what it is like to want to perfect something or try to.
 
Juicy

I posted how I did my black swirl on the black swirl thread - just add in charcoal powder without the TD if you want a purer black instead of grey. Charcoal powder IMHO always gets it really really black - and if you want to deepen your reds or darken your greens a teeny wee bit of it does the trick. TD will "pastelise" almost anything it mixes with (at least in my experience)
 
P.S I tink the soap looks fantastic by the way -

If you wanted it to go all the way to the bottom - pour both colours at the same time in a sort of zig zag pattern until you fill the mould.
 
Juicybath,

that's a gorgeous soap you've got there. it has the feel of the ocean...love love love it!!
 
Thank you everyone for the kind words. I don't think you can see it on the first photo, but the white part looks a little odd...the only way I can think to describe it is stretch marks...there are little lines that look like cracks ...almost like separation.

Not sure what happened there. Maybe someone recognizes the problem.

3923788692_29e5f0e104.jpg
 
Everybody else cleared up the TD issue for you, but I just wanted to chime in to say that those are gorgeous soaps! Very nice job, JB!
 
I don't know what's going on in the last photo but I wanted to say it's beautiful! I love the look!
 
I have had that a few times when I've used too much TD or didn't blend the FO in enough (the stretch mark lookin' cracks!)
 
cwayneu said:

I was going to ask cwayneu what caused that too. Maybe both HP
and that's the swirls where TD didn't mix? My HP has swirls, but
I haven't tried to use TD yet, so I don't know.
 
I think for mine it might have been not enough mixing after I added the F/O...too much, not enough....will I ever get this figured out?

:roll:
 
juicybath said:
I think for mine it might have been not enough mixing after I added the F/O...too much, not enough....will I ever get this figured out?

:roll:

Juicy, if you have a white soap recipe, you don't have to use TD
 
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