discoloration

[Marilyn Norgart]

how do you all color your soaps when the FO causes discoloration? I am trying to plan a soap that the FO discolors to a medium tan. does everybody just use TD or is there some trick to getting the color you want. I have just added a whole bunch extra colorant but am wondering if there is some other way--such as does tan and color X make color Z

 

[Obsidian]

I will try to do darker colors like burgundy, forest green or browns if its much more then a med tan. Adding in some TD might help lighten the tan so it can be colored easier. I will admit that I won't buy discoloring scents anymore unless its really awesome or someone makes a request.

For really dark discolors, I leave a small amount unscented and color it white so I have a dark soap with wispy white swirl.

 

[artemis]

There is something called "vanilla stabilizer," but I hear mixed results and that eventually it will still discolor. The best thing is to make peace with the discoloration. You can do this by 1) just making tan soap, or 2) only adding the FO to part of the batter, incorporating the tan into your design, or 3) using a darker color with the discoloring FO (brown, burgundy, black). Those are my thoughts. Maybe someone will have more options for you.

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

I’m with @Obsidian. If I can’t make my soap design work with the discoloration, I won’t make it. It’s not a given that fighting the discoloration with TD will result in anything but mud. I’ve seen a lot of beautiful brown soaps made with a combo of in the pot swirl and drop swirl and am itching to try that next time I make espresso fragrances soap.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

thanks you guys!! I appreciate your input.

 

[amd]

It depends on how much the vanillan content is. With some FO's in the 1-3% range I can add TD to the lye water and use whatever colors I want with no discoloration. High Vanillan (over 6%) I usually embrace it, although I did try stabilizer in one batch with a 9% vanillan content. In the middle (3-6%) I will leave a portion unfragranced and color it and then let the fragranced portion do its thing, but sometimes as soap ages, the fragrance discoloration will still takeover the colored portion too. I have a few FO's on my list that I want to play with using a stabilizer in the unfragranced portion to see if that helps it hold its color, but I haven't played with that idea yet.

 

[jcandleattic]

Some people accept the discoloration and color around knowing it's going to darken, some people, like myself, use a vanilla stabilizer to avoid discoloration altogether.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

it doesn't all seem to be from vanilla though--some discolors yellow

 

[dixiedragon]

The light yellow discoloration is pretty easy to fight. A bit of TD will whiten it up, and most colors will cover it. I wouldn't try a very pale color, such as pale pink or pale purple.

 

[MGM]

Is it possible to divide your batter in half and use the full fragrance amount in half the batter, then swirl? I'm thinking this might not be skin safe but if it's all swirled up, maybe it's ok?

 

[cmzaha]

Is it possible to divide your batter in half and use the full fragrance amount in half the batter, then swirl? I'm thinking this might not be skin safe but if it's all swirled up, maybe it's ok?

I do that quite often,depending on your recipes some fo could leak into the lighter soap batter. I have not had it happen but my recipes hold quite a lot of fragrance without leaking. If you use high liquid oils I would probably not split 50/50. I use liquid oils including 5% castor between 15-29% total, depending on my recipe and if I want to slow trace

 

[earlene]

I have done soaps with discoloring FO's that altered the colors so much that I didn't know what to expect. Sometimes it's a disappointment, but sometimes it's a pleasant result. Sometimes what starts out as a disappointment turns into a happy pleasure. One example of an FO changing colors that I wasn't sure I liked was a red turned brown, but when I realized the color scheme and swirl resulted in a feminine camouflage look, I went with it called that soap 'Lady Cammo'.

Another one that started out disappointing me was when I made some Easter Egg soaps using Dragon's Blood and it turned all the pastels quite dark. Well, it smelled fabulous, but I wasn't sure about the colors at all, so I put it away for a year to cure and only occasionally looked at them, lamenting my ruined Easter Eggs. But a year & a half later, I cleaned them up, removed the bit of ash, shined them up and found I loved the deep rich jewel colors that resulted. And they still smelled fabulous. So I called them Dragon's Egg Soap and put labels on them to give to family.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

kinda sounds like I need to play around and see what the FOs do--maybe I will do test batches.
WOW Earlene, those were pastels? they are pretty but on the opposite color spectrum . I have seen quite a few references to Dragons Blood--is it an orange or floral-- I don't know why but I imagine it being an orange scent. I did a CP today of choco indulgence and a caramel scent. one discolors dk brown the other tan but not for up to 4 weeks per company. I tried it HP and didn't like how they came out. problem is its hard to do swirls when the colors are basically the same----so I blindly swirled and just need to be patient and see what happens. I think I can see faint outlines but not sure

 

[Rogue-Soaper]

Is it possible to divide your batter in half and use the full fragrance amount in half the batter, then swirl? I'm thinking this might not be skin safe but if it's all swirled up, maybe it's ok?

I divide my batter and did not put fragrance in the batter I want to be light. I found if you do not use a non bleeding color in the colored batter, your light side may not come out light. I made "white" soap with colored embeds, but much to my surprise after the curing time my white soap was greenish (really ugly). After that I started to use the vanilla stabilizer, it really helps.

 

[IrishLass]

how do you all color your soaps when the FO causes discoloration? I am trying to plan a soap that the FO discolors to a medium tan. does everybody just use TD or is there some trick to getting the color you want. I have just added a whole bunch extra colorant but am wondering if there is some other way--such as does tan and color X make color Z

The fragrance in the soap pictured below (Santa's Pipe from SweetCakes) discolors to medium tan on me, but when I use BCN's Vanilla Stabilizer in it, it stays beautifully white for up to 2 years before beginning to turn (although parts near the edges look a little yellow in the pic, that was just from my flash. The white parts are actually stark white in real life):

IrishLass

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

The fragrance in the soap pictured below (Santa's Pipe from SweetCakes) discolors to medium tan on me, but when I use BCN's Vanilla Stabilizer in it, it stays beautifully white for up to 2 years before beginning to turn (although parts near the edges look a little yellow in the pic, that was just from my flash. The white parts are actually stark white in real life):

View attachment 36421


IrishLass

thanks I will have to look into some Vanilla Stabilizer!! beautiful bars--you do such awesome work!
What does BCN mean--what company? TIA

 

[IrishLass]

BCN is Bitter Creek North, a soaping/candle supply vendor. Based on testimonials (and my own experience with it), their vanilla stabilizer is the best one around. If you buy it, use the same amount as per the amount of the FO in your batch, and add it to your soaping oils, not directly to the FO.


IrishLass

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

Thank you IrishLass I will have to check them out!!!

 

[KiwiMoose]

@Marilyn Norgart are you using the fragrance spreadsheet in the fragrance thread to see which FOs discolour? It's very useful.

 

[Marilyn Norgart]

I used the one from the manufacturer. I have not looked at the one on the site here--I have seen mention of it before and will have to check it out. thanks