Discoloring FO

[Catscankim]

I am about to put in an order for some fragrance oils. Just before i hit the pay button, i go back to do a quick check on the discoloration (which i am famous for forgetting to do).

To my dismay, most of the fo i am ordering discolor to some shade of brown. A couple of them, thats ok, like the sandalwood. But what do you do when brown doesnt match the smell?

Example, Monkey Farts. Its a blend of tropically fruity smells. I cant envision any type of soap design to match. Another...Orange Vanilla. You would think creamsicle .... Both discolor to brown. How do you over come that?

 

[jcandleattic]

I use a good Vanilla Stabilizer (that also works a lot of the time when an FO discolors even though there is no vanilla in it) The VS I use can stave off most discoloration for a year or longer or indefinitely depending on the % of the discoloring agent.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

You can purchase vanilla color stabilizer and add it to your oils and I will help stop the discoloring. I have had good success with the stabilizer but others say they haven't. Unless you are going to use dark brown or black to hide the discoloring, stabilizer is the only other option.

 

[Catscankim]

I probably already know the answer, but i am going to ask anyway. Can i overscent part of the batter to embrace the brown and leave the other lighter colors unscented?

 

[jcandleattic]

I probably already know the answer, but i am going to ask anyway. Can i overscent part of the batter to embrace the brown and leave the other lighter colors unscented?

Yes, you can, however, there is a tendency over time for the discoloration to merge into the white/light part of the soap.
Many people do this.

 

[Catscankim]

Thank you for that. I guess it would take some planning. I did a loaf with a very brown discoloring fo and did a layer of white on top Without fragrance. It hasnt bled into the white, yet. But you can see some brown on top. Probably from the spoon that i smoothed out the batter with.

Would not putting through gel lessen the discoloration?

I just cannot see brown in a tropical smelling soap. I had Pineapple Papaya from BB and i love the smell. Just dont want to wait a month for my order lol.

 

[Megan]

Would not putting through gel lessen the discoloration?

I have found that sometimes this works for me, but not every time...I can't explain it either.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've used discolouring fragrances in black soap (with charcoal for colour). I usually use two fragrances in this case - the discolouring one in the black part. and the other in the paler part. Eg:

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Thank you for that. I guess it would take some planning. I did a loaf with a very brown discoloring fo and did a layer of white on top Without fragrance. It hasnt bled into the white, yet. But you can see some brown on top. Probably from the spoon that i smoothed out the batter with.

Would not putting through gel lessen the discoloration?

I just cannot see brown in a tropical smelling soap. I had Pineapple Papaya from BB and i love the smell. Just dont want to wait a month for my order lol.

Nurture soap is shipping pretty quickly but then I only live 30 minutes away from them.

 

[Cheeky Goat]

Some FO’s will migrate into unscented batter, the pumpkins and ghost in this one were pristine, but have gone a tad brown around the edges with air exposure- so yes, you can load some into just one area/color, but test it first to see how much it will bleed.

 

[Cheeky Goat]

Some FO’s will migrate into unscented batter, the pumpkins and ghost in this one were pristine, but have gone a tad brown around the edges with air exposure- so yes, you can load some into just one area/color, but test it first to see how much it will bleed. View attachment 50250

 

[lenarenee]

I recently did a discoloring fo where I used td and unscenting a fraction of the batter to get a couple creamy looking layers in it....and I’m satisfied with it. I put the fully scented dark layer on the bottom, then a layer slightly scented with to, then dropped the unscented layer into that....hoping to prevent bleeding. Even if it does bleed, I don’t think it will be noticeable.

For a fruity fo, you could use the discolored layer at the bottom...representing a wooden fruit bowl, then use neon colors in a lightly scented td layer of soap.

I watched a video by Ladybug Lane soaps, Cocoa Butter Cashmere because that’s the fo I had and learned from her method.

I’m leery of vanilla stabilizers as many are sodium thiosulphate, or disodium thiosulfate, and are skin irritants. It’s used to tan leather.

 

[Catscankim]

@lenarenee thats a great idea about the fruit bowl. I will have to try that.

I revamped my shopping cart and ordered all non discoloring fo. Not really in the mood to have soap being fussy right now lol.

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Catscankim]

Some FO’s will migrate into unscented batter, the pumpkins and ghost in this one were pristine, but have gone a tad brown around the edges with air exposure- so yes, you can load some into just one area/color, but test it first to see how much it will bleed. View attachment 50250

That soap is adorable!!

 

[MGM]

My approach is a little different ..I buy an FO, forget it discolours, act surprised, make a second batch trying to work it in to a black/brown colour scheme, then finally decide to only use that FO in lotion or body butter
(also, if you really like the scent and really want some sort of soap, many discolouring FOs behave better in M&P, and you can get M&P with built-in stabilizer).

 

[lenarenee]

@lenarenee thats a great idea about the fruit bowl. I will have to try that.

I revamped my shopping cart and ordered all non discoloring fo. Not really in the mood to have soap being fussy right now lol.

Thanks for all the tips!

Oh yeah...I get that. Used to never order anything that accelerated or discolored. But the scent types my boys liked were all brown! So made brown soap with mica oil on top. Got bored with that and decided to fight it with td and see how that goes.

 

[Kateri]

I’m not going to be any help with your color problems, but you could really embrace the monkey farts and make the soap look like a monkey. Brown would be great for that!

 

[Highfive]

I try to stay away from FO that discolor soaps. However, sometimes I just go with the flow. Often times customers like the unique look.

 

[TheGecko]

I don’t mind embracing the brown, but it can be problematic. If I’m only wanting an accent color, I simply don’t add the fragrance. I did this with the white topping for my Chocolate Espresso Soap and maybe because I add a cocoa line between the brown and white, I haven’t had any bleeding and it’s been several months since I made it. I’m going to try Fruit Loops again as I didn’t add enough TD. I didn’t realize that it discolored (my bad), I was just trying to offset the yellow of my oils. The actual ‘loops’ were not scented. I just did Pumpkin Pie Spice with a orange swirl that I added a little TD to so it will be a dark orange instead of a brown orange.