Gel or No Gel and Coloring with Herbs/Spices

[TeriDk]

Greeting Soapers. A quick question when using herbs or spices for color. I made a eculyptus-orange soap the other day. I used a 50:50 ratio of turminic/paprika for orange color and a 50:50 mix of nettle leaf/comfrey for more color. The soap was gelled but after comparing the gelled soap to that left over in the bowels, the ungelled soap is brighter and prettier to me. Is that the case for all colors made with herbs or spices? I just starting to explore use of natural colorants. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

 

[CaliChan]

Gelled soaps in general are brighter than non gelled soaps
I prefer to gel my naturally colored soaps.

 

[lsg]

It would be my guess that the natural colors changed during the gel stage. Soap heats up during the gel, so the colors might morph. Some colors morph because of the pH level of the soap.

 

[Lynnz]

I mostly use micas but know with these that gelling brings a brighter colour