Coloring and Mold Questions - new to soaping

[sue1965]

I was wondering if some of you with more experience can give me some advice on coloring cold process soaps. What type of colorants do you find the easiest to work with? I heard oxides work well. Can you recommend any other types/suppliers?

Also, someone recommended starting out with small 1 lb batches, which is a good idea :razz: Are there any molds that are the best when starting out? I don't really want to invest a whole lot of money in them to start out.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[melstan775]

Boxes and Pringles cans lined with freezer paper. There was a thread about this yesterday if you look around.

 

[chicklet]

I've had good luck with the ultramarine colorants and the oxides but they can be a pain when it comes to cleaning up. I use Dixie cups most of the time so I can just throw them away when done. I also like some of the natural colorants - alkanet is good although the pH of your soap can affect what color you actually get. I also like woad. Activated charcoal is good as well as some of the clays. I made lime salt bars last night with French green clay that I added a tiny amount of green oxide to. The bars are the perfect shade of lime green. I also like madder root powder for a rosy pink. I ordered the sample pack of natural colorants from soap makers resource online (i think thats the right name) when I first started and played around with them to see what I liked.

 

[sue1965]

Thanks for the info. I think it will just take some time and experimenting with different types of color until I find what works the best.

 

[melstan775]

Here's the other mold thread http://www.soapmakingforum.com/f11/your-favorite-alternate-molds-31475/

 

[sue1965]

Thanks for sending me the link! I can save a lot of money with things I can use around the house.