Frustrated as heck!

[Sibi]

I just made a batch of soap and I wanted to color it yellow and blue and do the swirly thing. I bought some liquid colors at Michaels in these tiny containers and I started adding the blue, many drops - nothing - more drops - nothing - I practically emptied the little container and NOTHING - no blue. Talk about frustrating. Just how much color is needed to color a 2 pound batch of soap (actually 1 pound more or less for the blue)???

I just got frustrated and poured the whole thing in the mold. Argggg....

 

[7053joanne]

Was the color specifically made for soap? And for the type of soap you made?

 

[Sibi]

Yep, I bought it because it said that it could be used in soap. Maybe only M&P? Is there that much of a difference?

 

[Imblebee]

Ha! Hahah! Just wait, it might come back and you'll end up with an electric blue bar! My houdini bacon soap did just that. It was a two tone peach (should have been tone on tone purple) and as the soap cured sure enough the blue came back... good science experiment.

On another note, I purchased the 2oz. sampler set from tradewinds last week and I am very happy with the colors! IMO well worth the money.

 

[angbaby4974]

Sibi~My berries & cream bar (which turned dark purple) was colored with blue food coloring. I've had the same results with the little bottles of "soap" dye from Michaels & Hobby Lobby. They're pretty true in M&P, but CP, & sometimes HP, it's a whole other story!

 

[CiCi]

The best way to do it is to put the drops into the pour container first. Then ladle in the raw soap, at thin trace. Hit it with the stick blender. It will blend easily. You don't need the whole bottle. Also, the blue that you added will actually turn a purplish pink. It won't stay blue. You have to use micas or oxides to get a true blue soap.

 

[Guest]

Sibi, the difference between M&P and CP color-wise is the presence of chemical reactions in CP, which can make color more unpredictable. In M&P, you're just dealing with soap that has already been saponified, so it's easier to color.

 

[surf girl]

What Daniel said.

 

[Barb]

yellow: beta carotene capsules, slightly messy to squeeze out but works great for a nice sunny yellow ( or carrot juice for your lye water if you want the whole batch yellow)

blue: try an ultramarine it will make a blue soap ( unless your fragrance oil is quite yellow and then you might end up with green ). depending on how much you use you can get light blue to royal blue and then adding a titch of black get navy. you don't need a whole lot to color a portion of the soap for swirling.

i have much better luck with micas ( as long as they are for cp soaping) and the oxides for getting a truer color, then i have had with FD&C colorants. sometimes they and the lye do not play nice together. :wink:

 

[IrishLass]

Like Daniel said- CP is more tricky to color compared to MP because of chemical changes that occur in CP. You'll want to make sure your colorants are tough enough to withstand the lye monster. I've used those little colorants from Michael's before (when I first started out a few years ago), but I found from experience that they are only good in MP.

My colorants of choice for CP are powdered ultramarines, oxides and certain micas. Carrot juice also works well, as well as activated charcoal (for black).

IrishLass

 

[barefootbody]

Ok, Barb, I don't understand what you are saying. Are there different Mica's and Oxides for CP soap? I just ordered a sampler of Micas from BB, used them for the first time this weekend, 1st in a Salt Bar, (Rose Mica) the color completely morphed out to nothing!!

So I did the same Rose Mica in a GM soap the next day, that turned grayish white on the top (soap put outside in cold so didn't really gel) but once cut it was a dusty purple inside - sure not pink, sure not what I was looking for.

I thought Micas were supposed to stay true? Are there two different types of micas Barb? Did I get the wrong kind?

And what's with all the posts saying SOUP instead of SOAP???

 

[Sibi]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on my color problem. Would have responded sooner but I've been sick and in bed for a few days.

Below is a pic of the soap. No blue or yellow in there just a tan color (it actualy looks pink in this pic but it's not trust me - it's tan). So although it's not the color I wanted it smells nice (Apricot Papaya with Patchouli) and looks like it will be quite creamy and nice once cured. Live and learn - no more colorants from Michaels! I'll have to try other alternatives for coloring.

I got some oils from columbus foods. Wow they're fast! I'll definitely be ordering from them again!

 

[AshleyR]

If they are the little bottles of colour that I am thinking of, they only work in M&P soap.

You will have to get some high pH liquid colours like Select Shades (from Tradewinds). I'm thinking about ordering the high pH colours from New Directions to see what they're like. You could also use ultramarines or oxides, but I think liquid colourants are much easier to work with.

 

[Lindy]

I've started playing with the ultramarines and oxides - so far I love them. I had the worst time trying to get blue or green to hold until I switched over.

Sibi - your soap looks great from this end!

 

[LJA]

If you're looking to try something new soon, give LabColors a go. They work really well for me. Your soap looks great, even if it didn't turn blue.

 

[Sibi]

I've started playing with the ultramarines and oxides - so far I love them. I had the worst time trying to get blue or green to hold until I switched over.

Sibi - your soap looks great from this end!

Thanks Lindy! I will have to give ultramarines and oxides a go as many others have suggested as well. Heck, all I've ever really gotten so far is pink and tan so far (I've only made 4 batches so far, I'm still a newbie and learning) and I don't even like pink all that much. I'm ready to move on to some bolder colors!

 

[Sibi]

If you're looking to try something new soon, give LabColors a go. They work really well for me. Your soap looks great, even if it didn't turn blue.

Thanks! Not to happy about the tan color but it's rather creamy already (I tried it already and it's quite nice so I'm guessing it'll be real nice after a 4 week cure) and smells nice. But I'll definitely check out Labcolors, thanks for the tip!

 

[Lindy]

Sibi I can tell you that I love them - the way I use them is once the soap is emulsified I take out a little bit add my powder to it and hit it with my SB - then if I am doing a solid coloured soap just add it back in and continue to take my soap to trace. I find you have a lot of control over the depth of the colour as well.

What you've accomplished so far is wonderful and it's great being able to share the journey with you...

Cheers
Lindy

 

[Sibi]

Sibi I can tell you that I love them - the way I use them is once the soap is emulsified I take out a little bit add my powder to it and hit it with my SB - then if I am doing a solid coloured soap just add it back in and continue to take my soap to trace. I find you have a lot of control over the depth of the colour as well.

What you've accomplished so far is wonderful and it's great being able to share the journey with you...

Cheers
Lindy

Lindy,

Ok, I guess I still have a bunch to learn. What is emulsified? Is that before trace but after you've blended the lye and oils?

Sibi

 

[Lindy]

Sibi you got it - Emulsified is when you have blended your oils & lye mixture together and they have combined. So what I do is as soon as I have the oils/lye mixture blended I take out what I need for colour, add my ultramarine or oxide, SB just to mix the colour then add back to the full batch....