Playing with Red & Yellow Oxides

[Gerry]

Two cheap colorants, a world of possibilities that I've been exploring. The orange is red mixed with the yellow oxide. Sorry about the crappy cellphone photos...

 

[shunt2011]

Very pretty. I like using oxides too.

 

[HowieRoll]

Those swirls are gorgeous and the orange you mixed up is really vibrant! I have a love/hate relationship with red oxide because it's so easy to go one step too far and wind up with pink-tinted washcloths.

 

[bumbleklutz]

Those bars are gorgeous. I've been using mostly micas lately, but maybe I should get the oxides and aquamarines out for a little play time.

 

[Susie]

Ooooooohhh! Pretty!!

 

[Relle]

Lovely soaps. I use oxides all the time, I find they hold well, you don't need much and not expensive.

 

[Saponomancer]

Beautiful! I also love oxides

 

[Violet_21]

Your swirls and colors are so pretty! I have yet to play with oxides... I now have to add them to my list of things to try!

 

[dibbles]

Love the top. Very pretty soaps!

 

[CaraBou]

Wow Gerry, fabulous! Super nice top and great colors throughout

It took me awhile to be fully cognizant that you need far less oxide than mica. Mine are packaged the same so I was just grabbing and mixing. Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way... a few times.

 

[Gerry]

Those swirls are gorgeous and the orange you mixed up is really vibrant! I have a love/hate relationship with red oxide because it's so easy to go one step too far and wind up with pink-tinted washcloths.

Oh yeah been there, done that! And if you use too much, your face might even take on an orange tint like a particular presi... oh never mind! Haha

Just kidding. But to be serious, it's pretty easy with red oxide to overdose if you're looking to get "solid" colors. I find you can get away with a deep color as long as it's not a base color or the major part of your soap. And of course never expect to get a "real" red... it's just sort of red in a brick, aged wine kind of red. I really like how the cheap red oxide mixes with other oxides and powdered colors - like the vibrant orange when mixed with yellow oxide.

Your swirls and colors are so pretty! I have yet to play with oxides... I now have to add them to my list of things to try!

You must try especially when you find out that 1 pound of oxides cost about $20, which is a life time supply for me anyway. Consider that 1 level teaspoon is good for 4 or 5 pounds of soap...

The nice thing about oxides is that they're simple and predictable. You know they'll behave, never morph, non-toxic (fine for lips), does not migrate or bleed, and not fade. If you're a seller, they're simple on your INCI ingredient list compared to synthetic colorants found in micas and lab colors. For example, the common English equivalent of the INCI name Iron Oxides is "rust". Okay, maybe sellers should use the INCI name and avoid stating their cosmetics include rust! :mrgreen:

 

[Violet_21]

Wow! All of that sounds almost too good to be true, especially if you're a newbie like me! However, I can just imagine that my testers (aka family members) wouldn't be too pleased if I told them that the soap that they were trying contained rust... yeah I'll stick with calling them iron oxides :grin:

 

[Gerry]

Wow! All of that sounds almost too good to be true, especially if you're a newbie like me! However, I can just imagine that my testers (aka family members) wouldn't be too pleased if I told them that the soap that they were trying contained rust... yeah I'll stick with calling them iron oxides :grin:

Yeah I know the feeling! My parents are very conservative and sensitive about such things. Mixing red iron oxide with titanium dioxide can actually make some nice pinks. My mom loves them... I lie and say they're colored with rose petals. Hahaha *kidding - almost*

I have a very crazy sister on the other hand who loves the idea of rust in soap. She thinks it's a great recycled use of a common material used by our decaying society. :think:

 

[Violet_21]

My mom loves them... I lie and say they're colored with rose petals. Hahaha *kidding - almost*

Hahaha that is is the best thing ever! I might have to try that someday day...

 

[cmzaha]

The colors are beautiful and so are the swirls. Congratulations on a gorgeous soap.I also like oxides

 

[cherrycoke216]

Very pretty! Just like flames!!!
Did you gel the soaps? Or iron oxide will muted itself after saponification?

 

[Gerry]

Very pretty! Just like flames!!!
Did you gel the soaps? Or iron oxide will muted itself after saponification?

Yeah it fully gelled and actually got a bit on the hot side. When I use oxides, especially without TD like in this case, I don't see much difference in the color of iron oxide if any between gelled and ungelled.

 

[Steve85569]

Nice job!

Now where are those oxides in the cupboards?...