any suggestions on how to get these colors correct?

[jd_198818]

i am going to make a beer and oats goat milk soap soon. i would like to have the bottom half of the soap a dark dark brown.. and the top a light tan..like the color variations of a guinness stout beer.

the FO i am using (BB Oatmeal Stout) shows it discolors to a fairly brown color. I am needing to lighten some of it, and darken some of it.

cocoa for the darker side? Titanium dioxide for the lighter?

thank you in advance for the tips!

 

[Obsidian]

I would leave a small portion uncolored and unscented for the "head" TD doesn't really help with a FO that discolors. Over time, the dark portion will start to bleed into the lighter portion, making a nice blended look.

Coco powder will work for the darker portion but I don't know how much to use to make that super dark color. You might try and find black walnut shell powder, it will make a really dark brown.

Make sure you boil your beer until all the carbonation is gone and let it cool over night. If it has any carbonation or alcohol left, you can get seizing or a volcano.

 

[jd_198818]

fair enough. i feel like i should just have your cell # you have all the answers

thank you for mentioning the boiling of the beer, i had no idea and can imagine why you would not want any carb left. thank you for saving my future mess.

 

[jd_198818]

if i do add enough cocoa powder to make it super dark, will it bleed all over the tub? is there a dark brown colorant that doesnt bleed too severely?

 

[Obsidian]

Yes, too much coco powder will leave a bit of a mess. It won't stain anything but it will make slightly brown bubbles and the drips from the bar will leave brown streaks.
Not sure if a dark mica will be as messy. You might try a mica or oxide if you can find the color you want. Personally, I don't care much for really dark bars. If you use a extra dark stout in your soap, it will make a nice light chocolate brown bar and a light ale would be good for the head part.

When you add the lye to the beer, be ready for a really bad stink and don't be disappointed in the fresh soap smells bad, the weird yeasty smell will fade.

These bars were made with a dark chocolate extra dark stout. I boiled a large bottle down to about 4 ounces so I could use the whole bottle in my batch. I had to add water of course to get the right amount of liquid. I did add 2 tsp of coco powder to deepen the color some. These do not make a brown mess.

 

[kharmon320]

I've used that FO, but not with beer. I would suspect that you will end up with a very dark soap if using a dark beer such as guinness in addition to the Oatmeal Stout FO. I did add TD to part of my batch and ended up with a lighter brown color, but I think you'll need to use a soap batter without the beer to get there. I think you could use the FO and add TD, but it may be easier to make 2 separate batches, one plain. You could use 2/3 of the FO/beer combo for bottom, mix the remainder with part of the plain batter, then top off with the plain.

That's what I would try to replicate the beer with head as shown in the picture.