Green colourant?
- Thread starter KiwiMoose
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Post 11,997 - photo of my aloe and spirulina soap:https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/what-soapy-thing-have-you-done-today.42556/page-599
That last statement seems to contradict most everyone else who say it fades. Here's hoping it sticks.Go for it, Kiwi! And good luck!
From my notes on spirulina (Note: *Unfortunately, the picture accompanying this info is no longer accessible):
SOURCE: http://learn2soap.com/?p=10
"Spirulina is a blue green algae. It contains loads of protein, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. *Here it is used in a cold processed soap recipe which produces a white soap bar. 1/2 teaspoon of Spirulina was used per pound of oils in this soap recipe. The soap is a bit dark, but the lather is still creamy and white. A hint of blue may be seen when the soap is first cut into bars, but that hint of blue quickly disappears. What you end up with is green soap. And the green color of the spirulina seems to last a very long time."
Lots of green shades! Can’t wait to see it cut!
@Zany_in_CO super impressed by your notes and filing system!
Beautiful colors!! @KiwiMoose
This is the direct link to that post in case someone doesn't want to advance a page or some other post in the thread gets deleted.
I am looking forward to seeing the cut soaps and your report over time of how the color survives.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Here you go, Zany:
1. Click on the number of the specific post - in the upper right-hand corner of the post. See image:
Your post above is #47 right now, so there it is. When you click on it you get a pop-up box.
2. Copy the link from the pop-up box. See image:
Paste that as you would with any post. And here it is:
Link to your post.
1. Click on the number of the specific post - in the upper right-hand corner of the post. See image:
Your post above is #47 right now, so there it is. When you click on it you get a pop-up box.
2. Copy the link from the pop-up box. See image:
Paste that as you would with any post. And here it is:
Link to your post.
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
SO here's my aloe and spirulina soap. Freshly cut - will keep you updated on colour morphing.
I coloured the entire batch with turquoise and yellow mica ( to make the green)
I then split off about 1/3 for the bottom portion to which I added a bit more of the above micas, plus a tsp of spirulina powder and a smidge of charcoal.
I coloured the entire batch with turquoise and yellow mica ( to make the green)
I then split off about 1/3 for the bottom portion to which I added a bit more of the above micas, plus a tsp of spirulina powder and a smidge of charcoal.
The two greens are perfect together and spot on for me to imagine aloe and spirulina. How does it smell?
So far so good - I used Green Tea and Lemongrass FO.
Gorgeous, KiwiMoose. Perfect color choices.
Nice color. With the micas in there, even if the spirulina fades you should still have a nice color. It will be interesting to see how it does over time. Pretty soaps.
That's the plan Dibbles. Spirulina is really just label appeal more than anything else. And at the amount I use in a batch - my little jar of powder will probably do about 15 batches or more
@Zany_in_CO in reference to your post #27 about indigo, please see my experiments with blue colorants, here
Note:edited to fix the link! (Thanks @earlene!)
Note:edited to fix the link! (Thanks @earlene!)
Last edited:
Your link doesn't seem to work. Is it this thread?
P.S. all this discussion of natural green colorants and my recollection of how we process seawater samples for chlorophyll concentration has driven me to start a little research project on the sensitivity of various plant pigments to temperature, light, pH and any other major variables I happen to come across. For example, in the lab we extract plant chlorophyll (and another pigment called phaeophytin) from marine algal samples using a solvent, measure the color intensity to get concentration, add an acid and measure again. The acid destroys the chlorophyll, leaving only the phaeophytin, which is then subtracted out to get the chlorophyll concentration. It was the part of the process that involves obliterating the chlorophyll that got me thinking. As sensitive as chlorophyll is to low pH, the color stability of many natural greens in soap batter suggests that chlorophyll is not very sensitive to high pH. You will be happy to know that food scientists have also shown this in many experiments. 
It also caught my attention that the critical temperatures for chlorophyll degradation in some of the experiments were in the range of 140F to 170F, the temp range CP soaps with 33% lye concentration are in while they’re going through saponification and/or gel. Differences in color stability of various natural plant pigments can be predicted based on chemical structure. I’m going to start making a table and if and when I finish it, I will report back.
I also learned that consumer demand is driving the food industry to research ways to make stable natural green colorants for edible products. Green is one of the most in demand colors and also one of the most challenging. They’re talking about microencapsulating chlorophyll. Maybe whatever they come up with will also work in soap!
How about this approach for selling soaps colored with parsley, matcha tea, comfrey or your other favorite green colorant? “This soap is made with natural colorant X. Store away from light until ready to use and then expect the beautiful color to last for up to X months if kept out of direct sunlight.” I would buy that!
It also caught my attention that the critical temperatures for chlorophyll degradation in some of the experiments were in the range of 140F to 170F, the temp range CP soaps with 33% lye concentration are in while they’re going through saponification and/or gel. Differences in color stability of various natural plant pigments can be predicted based on chemical structure. I’m going to start making a table and if and when I finish it, I will report back.I also learned that consumer demand is driving the food industry to research ways to make stable natural green colorants for edible products. Green is one of the most in demand colors and also one of the most challenging. They’re talking about microencapsulating chlorophyll. Maybe whatever they come up with will also work in soap!
How about this approach for selling soaps colored with parsley, matcha tea, comfrey or your other favorite green colorant? “This soap is made with natural colorant X. Store away from light until ready to use and then expect the beautiful color to last for up to X months if kept out of direct sunlight.” I would buy that!
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