Questions about using oxides for color

[Guest]

Anyone who's experienced in using oxides for color, I need your advice.

1. What's the best way to mix the oxide into the soap? Dissolving in water? Adding raw?

2. When's the best time to add the oxide or does it matter?

3. How much oxide is typically needed to get a rich, true shade?

4. Is what you see usually what you get after the soap sets up, as far as color intensity, or does the color tend to lighten/darken throughout saponification?

Thanks :?

 

[AshleyR]

Anyone who's experienced in using oxides for color, I need your advice.

1. What's the best way to mix the oxide into the soap? Dissolving in water? Adding raw?

I usually blend them into a small amount of my oils first. Then blend the soap and add about the same amount of soap to the coloured oils. Mix that, then add it all to the soap. Oxides can be difficult to work with - I always had little specks of colour in my soap from not blending them in well enough, so you need to mix them with the SB as much as possible.

2. When's the best time to add the oxide or does it matter?

I add the mixture of oils/soap to the rest of my soap at very early trace. Like I said, you will need lots of time to mix, mix, mix, so add them as early as possible.

3. How much oxide is typically needed to get a rich, true shade?

It really depends what you're going for. You pretty much have to test this out yourself. Start with just a little and keep adding more until you get the colour you want. You don't need a lot - I use less than a tsp. in 5 lb batches.

4. Is what you see usually what you get after the soap sets up, as far as color intensity, or does the color tend to lighten/darken throughout saponification?

Not always. I have had ultramarine blue turn dark green in the mold, but after a few days of the soap being cut it went back to blue. I have had this happen with other colours too. If it doesn't turn the right colour right away, don't worry, it will probably change as it cures.

Colouring CP soap can be quite an adventure.

 

[Guest]

Thanks Ashley -- just one question, you said:

I usually blend them into a small amount of my oils first. Then blend the soap and add about the same amount of soap to the coloured oils. Mix that, then add it all to the soap.

What is the purpose of adding the small amount of soap to the colored oils before mixing everything together? Do you feel it not best to just add the oxide to the small amount of oil, blend it well, then add the colored oil to the rest of the oils and lye?

 

[kwahlne]

If possible, I blend the oxide in with the whole batch of oil before adding the lye water.

As for color, it seems to be a fine line between getting bold color and too much color that runs. It seems for every type of oxide it's different. it doesn't take much to get a lot of color for sure.

 

[AshleyR]

Thanks Ashley -- just one question, you said:

I usually blend them into a small amount of my oils first. Then blend the soap and add about the same amount of soap to the coloured oils. Mix that, then add it all to the soap.

What is the purpose of adding the small amount of soap to the colored oils before mixing everything together? Do you feel it not best to just add the oxide to the small amount of oil, blend it well, then add the colored oil to the rest of the oils and lye?

Yeah, you could do it that way. Not sure why I add the little bit of soap first - someone told me to do that when I first started using oxides, so that's how I do it!

Like kwalne said, you can add your colour to all of the oils if you're only going to use one colour. The way I described is if you are going to seperate the soap and colour it more than one colour.