Select Shades is a FD&C and D&C dye based coloring system whereby you buy a set of 8 colors, and using the color charts provided, can mix them into over 800 color shades.
The cost is very reasonable, $26 for eight 2 oz bottles. I had no problem with ordering and delivery from Tradewinds Fragrance Company, the exclusive supplier of the product. http://www.twfc.com/ I received several e-mails informing me of the progress of my order and it was shipped on a timely basis.
When you calculate product usage, you must include all your liquids, not just the amount of oils used . They make this clear and I had no problem with the usage calculations.
The dropper tops provided for each bottle made the product easy to measure precisely. I found no problem in extracting each single drop. I did not experience any problems incorporating the product uniformly into my soap. The lather stays white and I did not notice any color in my soap dishes.
Select Shades provides both online and downloadable pdf color charts. http://www.selectshades.com/ For CP soaps, they have both low and high OO charts. I always refer to both of them in selecting a color and usage rate.
The first 2 colors I tried were Sea Holly and Cranberry. The Cranberry was accurate to the color chart, perhaps slightly to the dark end. Sea Holly was brighter than the charts – more of a lime green, and lacked the sage undertone that I was hoping for.
Trying to produce any kind of lavender or purple was a complete failure. All attempts came out pink or gray. Referring to their charts, I tried Cuban Orchid, Misty Lilac, and Easter Egg. All seemed to come out way more pink than purple. I also tried Purple Velvet by itself and the soap just came out gray. The non-gray colors were generally very nice, but bore no resemblance whatsoever to the charts. In fact, one color was, to my subjective eye, such a perfect rose color that I purchased some rose fragrance specifically to match with that color. In my opinion, the color charts are unreliable.
There are some significant discrepancies between the online and printable color charts. For example, Cuban Orchid has a different recipe online and is not even listed in the same color family. The Easter Egg color recipe also varies significantly. I tried several times to send an e-mail to SS (using both the Contact and Technical Help tabs) in order to get an explanation for the discrepancy, but got an error message each time. I tried using 2 different browsers, Firefox and Explorer, so I’m pretty sure it’s them. I also tried the Forum tab but just received more error messages. I also send an e-mail to Tradewinds but received no response. In my experience, there does not seem to be any customer support of any kind whatsoever.
After wasting a lot of time and materials trying to get a lavender, I tried the Lye Water testing method outlined in the SS FAQ section. They instruct you to mix some titanium dioxide into a lye solution (and optionally, OO) and this becomes your base for testing colors. I tried to match several colors that I actually produced into soap previously. I feel very comfortable reporting that this was a complete waste of time, lye, and TD.
SS uses the preservative Diazolidinyl Urea Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate. I don’t have a problem with the use of a preservative in a dye, but do you really want Diazolidinyl Urea Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate on your ingredient list – it’s almost as long as all my other ingredients combined!
Conclusion:
SS’s are capable of producing beautiful colors, both subtle and vibrant. If you already have SS and are getting the colors you want, by all means stick with a good result. The system is economical and easy to use. If you are looking for your first or a new colorant system, I would not recommend this product. The color charts are unreliable and customer support is non-existent. To paraphrase Alicia Grosso, you need to ask yourself whether you want to experiment with color or work with color. I am interested in working with color. With SS, I always feel like I’m experimenting. I find myself moving in the direction of pigments and clays.
The cost is very reasonable, $26 for eight 2 oz bottles. I had no problem with ordering and delivery from Tradewinds Fragrance Company, the exclusive supplier of the product. http://www.twfc.com/ I received several e-mails informing me of the progress of my order and it was shipped on a timely basis.
When you calculate product usage, you must include all your liquids, not just the amount of oils used . They make this clear and I had no problem with the usage calculations.
The dropper tops provided for each bottle made the product easy to measure precisely. I found no problem in extracting each single drop. I did not experience any problems incorporating the product uniformly into my soap. The lather stays white and I did not notice any color in my soap dishes.
Select Shades provides both online and downloadable pdf color charts. http://www.selectshades.com/ For CP soaps, they have both low and high OO charts. I always refer to both of them in selecting a color and usage rate.
The first 2 colors I tried were Sea Holly and Cranberry. The Cranberry was accurate to the color chart, perhaps slightly to the dark end. Sea Holly was brighter than the charts – more of a lime green, and lacked the sage undertone that I was hoping for.
Trying to produce any kind of lavender or purple was a complete failure. All attempts came out pink or gray. Referring to their charts, I tried Cuban Orchid, Misty Lilac, and Easter Egg. All seemed to come out way more pink than purple. I also tried Purple Velvet by itself and the soap just came out gray. The non-gray colors were generally very nice, but bore no resemblance whatsoever to the charts. In fact, one color was, to my subjective eye, such a perfect rose color that I purchased some rose fragrance specifically to match with that color. In my opinion, the color charts are unreliable.
There are some significant discrepancies between the online and printable color charts. For example, Cuban Orchid has a different recipe online and is not even listed in the same color family. The Easter Egg color recipe also varies significantly. I tried several times to send an e-mail to SS (using both the Contact and Technical Help tabs) in order to get an explanation for the discrepancy, but got an error message each time. I tried using 2 different browsers, Firefox and Explorer, so I’m pretty sure it’s them. I also tried the Forum tab but just received more error messages. I also send an e-mail to Tradewinds but received no response. In my experience, there does not seem to be any customer support of any kind whatsoever.
After wasting a lot of time and materials trying to get a lavender, I tried the Lye Water testing method outlined in the SS FAQ section. They instruct you to mix some titanium dioxide into a lye solution (and optionally, OO) and this becomes your base for testing colors. I tried to match several colors that I actually produced into soap previously. I feel very comfortable reporting that this was a complete waste of time, lye, and TD.
SS uses the preservative Diazolidinyl Urea Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate. I don’t have a problem with the use of a preservative in a dye, but do you really want Diazolidinyl Urea Iodopropynl Butylcarbamate on your ingredient list – it’s almost as long as all my other ingredients combined!
Conclusion:
SS’s are capable of producing beautiful colors, both subtle and vibrant. If you already have SS and are getting the colors you want, by all means stick with a good result. The system is economical and easy to use. If you are looking for your first or a new colorant system, I would not recommend this product. The color charts are unreliable and customer support is non-existent. To paraphrase Alicia Grosso, you need to ask yourself whether you want to experiment with color or work with color. I am interested in working with color. With SS, I always feel like I’m experimenting. I find myself moving in the direction of pigments and clays.
) But I don't know what I'm going to get and I think that would be a problem for someone who soaped professionally and wanted consistent and reliable results.
