Micas

[stewiesmom]

When I tried to color a rebatch with a red colored mica, it turned my lather red and stained the wash cloth. Did I do something wrong? Or should I only do it when making soap and add to oils?


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[Hazel]

It sounds like you added too much. Red is known for being tricky to use. I've used it in a rebatch but it only made up a small portion of the colors. It worked fine and I didn't have discolored lather. I've also used it in CP and added too much so I had pink lather. How much did you add?

 

[stewiesmom]

I just kept sprinkling it in until I like the color. Lol how much mica should I use??


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[lsg]

stewiesmom, I came across this hint for red on the Soap Queen blog. You might try it.

http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/sunday-night-spotlight-merlot-sparkle-mica/

 

[Hazel]

I just kept sprinkling it in until I like the color. Lol how much mica should I use??

That's a hard question to answer. I've read to use approximately 2 tsp ppo to get a loaf completely colored. I've never used mica to color an entire loaf. I generally use 1/8 tsp to 1/4 tsp in approximately 8 oz - 12 oz for swirling (or not swirling as the case may be - I'm not good with swirls). The amount used also depends on the color. I might use slightly more of a pale colored mica. It's something you need to experiment with to determine what amount achieves the color you want.

Amy Warden wrote an article on coloring soap which you might helpful.

https://www.greatcakessoapworks.com/handmade-soap-blog/index.php/coloring-your-cold-process-soap/

I noticed she mentioned using 1 tsp per cup of soap for getting a brilliant color. This might explain why my soaps are normally pastel.