Colour infusions in water

[navigator9]

I think I should try a basic plain batch of my recipe first and try to perfect it. I am giving up on oil and infused colours and am going to put an order in for some clay and oxides.

penelopejane, although new soapers hate to hear this advice, it really is to your advantage to go slow in the beginning. Even unscented, uncolored handmade soap is amazing! Practice until you can make a successful batch every time, and then start with variables, one at a time. By changing only one thing at a time, it makes it easier to identify the problem, if one occurs. Don't worry, you'll get there.

 

[penelopejane]

Don't worry, you'll get there.

I hope so. At the moment I feel like a complete dunce.

 

[Susie]

Welcome to what every one of us went through. I felt like a complete idiot for at least 6 months straight. Then, eventually, enough reading and actual soapmaking experience soaked in to where I felt like I could at least figure out how little I knew.

Then I hit on a base recipe (no scents or colors yet) that I could get the same exact good results three times in a row! That was a breakthrough! Then I could change one variable per batch to figure out what each change brought to the soap. Now, I may not know much, but what I know, I KNOW. I have actually run that recipe, and tested those results. It makes all the difference.

 

[penelopejane]

Just thought I should let everyone know that drying watermelon to make a powder did not work for me. I had it in the dehydrator on 65 degrees C for 3 days and it still didn't dry.

So it's probably best used as a purée instead of some or all of your water.