Complete beginner

[AliOop]

The brown coloring may also be related to the scent that you used. According to the Voyageur site, their Spiced Hot Cocoa fragrance oil contains up to 3% vanillin, and up to 3% ethyl vanillin. Their picture shows a tan bar, but with that much vanillin, you can probably expect the soap to turn even darker over time.

 

[Susie]

I am not a big fan of having food particles go down my shower drain. Just don't want to be having to try to unclog that. I, personally, would not use anything like seeds or coffee grounds in my soap.

 

[LynetteO]

Did my first batch today, messed up first time matching lye water and oil temperature which took little bit to fix but then when they both hit 120 F i mixed…”

I’m very type A personality & was taught 2soap@ specific high temp & lye & oils MUST be with 10 degrees. It gave me so much stress I made soap literally ONCE a year. THEN, I started reading this forum. Made my own recipe & own temperature & caught the soap bug.
Even went so far as experiment @ room temp, pre-made materials. I made my lye solution & mixed oils one day & then a full 24 hours later mixed together to make soap @ room temperature. The chemistry was still working. Yes, batter went thru false trace but kept mixing with whisk & tah dah made


Even piped a top just because I’d never done it. It’s so bad. but point is FORGET thermometer & temp MUSTS!

 

[Cat&Oak]

Lovely soap Lynette!

 

[SoapNoobs]

@SoapNoobs For soft & gentle exfoliating, I like poppy seeds.

Perfect thank you!

 

[SoapNoobs]

The brown coloring may also be related to the scent that you used. According to the Voyageur site, their Spiced Hot Cocoa fragrance oil contains up to 3% vanillin, and up to 3% ethyl vanillin. Their picture shows a tan bar, but with that much vanillin, you can probably expect the soap to turn even darker over time.

I heard of vanillin but didn’t read much on it. I think I’m going to do some research.

 

[user 49910]

what do you recommend for colouring cold pressed soap? There is different pigment and colour options not sure which to go with. And lastly what are options for a light exfoliating? I want to go with something not too sharp just nice and light.

I believe you meant cold processed soap, not cold pressed. Regardless, you could try colored mica but I have had issues with it in the past, I tried an aquamarine blue colored mica and my soap turned a military green color! I know it was a reaction either to the lye and/or the heat generated during saponification, probably the lye to be honest.
I have used Red Palm Kernel oil and have gotten a nice golden yellow color similar to the color of the original DIAL deodorant soap.

Personally I am not much in the "Let's color every batch of soap" camp as some are. Probably the difference between XX and XY chromosomes... LOL!

I do use kaolin clay for a better skin feel, plus I have been adding Titanium Dioxide as a whitener to my soaps. TiO2 really brightens the soap up and gives a nice clean visual eye appeal. Some will disagree with the use of TiO2 but I happen to appreciate what it contributes to the overall appeal of the soap. It is very fine consistency, like talcum powder or "00" Flour, so be careful when measuring it.

The are some natural earth clays with nice muted colors such as Purple Brazilian, Dark Red Brazilian, Yellow Silt Clay, French Green Clay, Rose Clay, etc. Some makers dissolve the clay in the melted oils, but it is recommended to dissolve the clay in distilled water instead, at least according to The Soap Queen website.

Here's a link: How to Use Clay in Bath & Beauty Projects

Here's a quote from that page:
"Clay is a versatile ingredient for a wide variety of bath and beauty projects. It’s probably most well known for clay face masks, but can also be used in cold process soap and scrubs. It adds color and various oil absorbing properties."
"Clay in Cold Process Soap
Because of their ability to absorb liquid, including oil, clays are a popular additive for soap created for oily skin. If you’d like to add clay to your soap projects, keep those properties in mind; clay also absorbs moisture in soap. To compensate for the moisture clay absorbs, disperse it in distilled water (rather than oil) for cold process soap recipes. The usage rate is 1 tablespoon distilled water per teaspoon of clay. In general, a usage rate of about 1 teaspoon of clay per pound of soap is a great place to start for cold process soap recipes. Feel free to use more if you’d like, just keep in mind clays also speed up trace. The more you use, the faster your soap will become thick.'

I dissolve my clay a little differently, I just dissolve it in the lye water instead of 1 tsp. clay to 1 Tbsp. distilled water. That way it doesn't really affect the trace that much.