next step -- adding color

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kniquy

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As a beginner - just made my first batch, which i feel was successful, I would like to add color and play around with that a bit.

Any recommendations for what to use as a beginner? It looks like Mica's are not good for cold process soap. Is my best option pigment powders? Just starting out i would like to get a sample assortment of colors. I checked bulk apothecary and it looks like they sell them but a little pricey $24 + shipping for 11 0.01oz samples (doesn't sound like much to work with). Any good sellers on amazon that i should check out?
 
Micas are awesome for soap. You just need to make sure they are CP soap stable. Check out Nurture Soap. They have a ton of great micas that work in soap (I have a majority of them). She also has free shipping on 35.00. They show what the color looks like in CP soap as well. I personally would not purchase micas/colorants from Amazon. A reputable company is the way to go.

TKB Trading and Mad Micas as well as Micas and More.
 
I second Nurture. free shipping for colors if you order $35! We can make some suggestions of things you should be able to find locally, but it's worth it to place that order and get stuff you KNOW will work. TKB trading is also good.
 
I've had fantastic success with micas from Bramble Berry and like their sample packs before I commit to larger quantities. I like micas because they are not fussy, I just dump them in my batter. Other colorants like pigments and oxides require dispersing first in a carrier oil, and I may be imagining things but they seem to affect trace and hardness.

With naturals, paprika and cocoa powder are super easy and beautiful. CONGRATS on your first soap!!
 
I've been soaping for a couple of months and I haven't been brave enough to try colors, other than natural ones like activated charcoal, cocoa powder, coffee, turmeric, etc. with titanium dioxide as an exception.

Micas are expensive where I am, so I figured I want to get my process/technique right, before I waste my micas hehe
 
cocoa powder, coffee, turmeric,
All 3 of these i have on hand. What amounts do you add - say if you were to make a 1-2# batch? And do you add any particular fragrance with any of those colorants? I'd think the cocoa powder and coffee might add a scent to the soap. And the coffee i am guessing -- is it left over grounds from what you have brewed?

If you have any recipes that you have tried and were successful can you share them?
 
All 3 of these i have on hand. What amounts do you add - say if you were to make a 1-2# batch? And do you add any particular fragrance with any of those colorants? I'd think the cocoa powder and coffee might add a scent to the soap.

Nope, cocoa adds nothing. It actually kind of stinks. I use it frequently for coloring though. Either way, whatever you use cocoa or coffee, once it's cured you don't get that scent. It would be nice though.
 
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All 3 of these i have on hand. What amounts do you add - say if you were to make a 1-2# batch? And do you add any particular fragrance with any of those colorants? I'd think the cocoa powder and coffee might add a scent to the soap. And the coffee i am guessing -- is it left over grounds from what you have brewed?

If you have any recipes that you have tried and were successful can you share them?
The coffee I used was the actual brewed coffee instead of the water called for. The cocoa powder, also the turmeric I just threw in there at trace lol.

I have used anywhere from 1tsp-1tbsp per pound of these, because I'm also still at the trial stage and I'm still looking for the correct amounts per recipe.

Having said that, most natural colorants will work for any properly calculated recipe you might have. If I were a more seasoned soaper I'd share, but I'm not comfortable yet sharing recipes that are still in the testing stages, sorry.

I also don't use FOs, just EOs and even those very rarely, sorry. I sometimes go by color association hehe orange or yellow soap might smell citrusy for example, but i mostly just wing it with whatever I feel like lol.

Hopefully someone more experienced will come n give you better answers.

Oh btw, there's a thread on natural colorants here, you might find other things you have in hand :)

Edit: added link
 
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I don't really recommend coffee or cocoa, because they will give you a flat doo-doo brown and do you really want that?

I make a soap that has coffee grounds in it and I get a faint coffee smell when I put my nose against the bar. But it's very faint!

If you want coffee for color, put say a tablespoon of grounds in a half cup of water, then microwave. You want to make really strong coffee. Since you aren't drinking it, it doesn't matter if it's bitter or burnt tasting. Strain (you can use a coffee filter), and then blend the super strong coffee into your soap. Would probably be better as a swirl. You can combine with a little charcoal for a nice black/brown.
 
The brown of cocoa.. Or coffee (if you manage to get brown not a mocha-ish), actually looks really nice if there was another lighter color with it, like white or just the creamish color most uncolored soaps end up as. Swirl them, like dixiedragon says :)

I forgot to say that I brewed really strong coffee (lots of coffee, less water) and also spooned in strong instant coffee during my cook (I HP) and I do have doo-doo brown mini soaps that looked edible to my sons. One is 18mos, one is 15yrs...........
 
I love my micas! They came from Mile High Soap, and were $2.65 - 2.95 for .5 oz jar 2" diameter, 2" tall, a little more than half full, and they say "Cosmetic Grade" on them. This is so you can price compare, or maybe they ship, I don't know. By contrast, a 1 oz jar of Ultramarine Blue Pigment Powder was $3.00 from them. I haven't looked online, so I don't know how these prices compare to the (re)sources listed above by other soapers.

Good luck and have fun!
20190117_colors.jpg
 
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I love my micas! They came from Mile High Soap, and were $2.65 - 2.95 for .5 oz jar 2" diameter, 2" tall, a little more than half full, and they say "Cosmetic Grade" on them. This is so you can price compare, or maybe they ship, I don't know. By contrast, a 1 oz jar of Ultramarine Blue Pigment Powder was $3.00 from them. I haven't looked online, so I don't know how these prices compare to the (re)sources listed above by other soapers.

Good luck and have fun!
View attachment 35164

They may or may not work in soap. You may want to test them. Just because they are cosmetic safe doesn’t mean they are high PH stable. I have some I only use in bath bombs or scrubs as they morph badly in my soap.
 
They may or may not work in soap. You may want to test them. Just because they are cosmetic safe doesn’t mean they are high PH stable. I have some I only use in bath bombs or scrubs as they morph badly in my soap.

I guess I got lucky because I used them without testing. I only have the 3 in the photograph, and have used them all in 3 of 4 batches of soap, so far -- thank goodness!! I'll keep an eye out for this when I get ready to buy more. I got them at a soaping supply shop, though, so i would have been pretty aggravated if I would have had problems!
 

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