coloring mistake?

[Guspuppy]

I wanted to do a pour half and half lengthwise in a Pringles can, then remove cardboard and swirl. But I've never used colors before, and I poured out at least an ounce, maybe 1.5, of my oils to mix the mica in before I added the lye water to the rest of the oils. So then when I split my batter to color it, the half with color had way extra oil. (21 oz total oils in batch) In the end my plan did not work so everything got poured together for an 'in-the-can' swirly mess so I'm sure the lye can work everything. But if I had done as I planned would the half with extra oil, or the half with not enough oil for the lye, have turned out badly? I had a 5% SF and 29% lye concentration because I was expecting my FO to accelerate. (but it didn't)

 

[mzimm]

I wanted to do a pour half and half lengthwise in a Pringles can, then remove cardboard and swirl. But I've never used colors before, and I poured out at least an ounce, maybe 1.5, of my oils to mix the mica in before I added the lye water to the rest of the oils. So then when I split my batter to color it, the half with color had way extra oil. (21 oz total oils in batch) In the end my plan did not work so everything got poured together for an 'in-the-can' swirly mess so I'm sure the lye can work everything. But if I had done as I planned would the half with extra oil, or the half with not enough oil for the lye, have turned out badly? I had a 5% SF and 29% lye concentration because I was expecting my FO to accelerate. (but it didn't)

I don't know the answer to this, GP, but I'm interested in the question, and hope someone with more experience than me will chime in. If I had to guess, I'd say you're not being too paranoid about the effect of taking out oil for the color in such a small batch. 5% SF could provide the wiggle room, but I'm really not in a position to offer advice---much too new at this myself!

 

[Obsidian]

I don't have a answer either but do know, you don't need to use so much oil to mix your mica. I only use a tsp or so of oil unless its a big batch and I'm using quite a lot of mica. You just need enough oil to make a creamy slurry.

 

[dixiedragon]

I think that since the batch was so small, that much extra oil could have made the colored half of the soap soft. But it may have turned out fine in the end.

Currently, I mix my colors + oil or water in a Dixie cup. For a 20 oz batch (generally my smallest batch) I start with 1 teaspoon, which is enough to mix with, and use a chop stick or bamboo skewer to stir.

 

[Guspuppy]

I had read about mixing micas in small amounts of oil but that somehow did not translate to doing it with such a tiny amount of oil in my head, until after I had already mixed the color, and the lye with the rest of the oils. Haha. I think it did maybe make a difference, the colored batter left in the cup after pouring has not hardened yet this morning, and it usually always does overnight for me. Of course this was a new recipe and only my 4th batch ever so there is not really a 'usually' yet.

Anyway thanks for the answers and I'll be sure to use way less oil to mix color next time!!