Suggestions on black colorants

[Dahila]

I used 1TBS per pound of soap. It also had exfoliating properties to it, which I don't want.

this amount of activated charcoal can be drying. I use like Irishlass not even teaspoon for a pound of oils. My last black was 3 pounds of oil and 1 tbsp of AC and it was deep black. The lather is snowy white

 

[DWinMadison]

On old fashioned mortar nd pestle can really help to reduce grit in AC too. No matter how fine it's ground, it can always be finer.

 

[boyago]

Well first off, you need a really fine strainer. And second, I tape my strainer so that powder can only sift from a small area on the bottom; that helps control things quite a bit.

Went to a couple stores looking for a finer strainer and couldn't find one, wound up taping mine like you suggested and played with it a little and thought things were going well. In actual application I think it dumped too much but not a total disaster. I did get close to the effect I was going for in a small yogurt container but have yet to see how the big ones turned out. I think if I wrapped the strainer in panty hose I would have gotten to where I wanted to be.

 

[houseofwool]

I just saw this post. But, when I do a pencil line with an extremely fine powder, I use a nylon stocking instead of a sieve.

 

[CaraBou]

Yep, break out your stockings, boyago, they've been in your closet far too long!

 

[boyago]

Yep, break out your stockings, boyago, they've been in your closet far too long!

Maybe not as long as you think.

 

[bhelen]

Disclaimer: I have never tried this! But a local company over here makes a beautiful black soap using black cumin seed paste (nigella sativa). It's really smooth and doesn't stain.

 

[Logansama]

Ryan, if you scent your soap with a FO containing vanilla your soap will turn brown - light to dark brown depending on the vanilla percentage. You can then add less black oxide, charcoal or other pigment to turn the soap black. This should greatly lessen the degree of having gray suds. I tried this a few years ago and it worked for me. Gray suds....:sick:

I was wondering if this would work. I tried AC and got a dark grey soap and it does lather light grey. I have a client who wants a black soap and I haven't found a good method of doing it. To further complicate the design, the scent he's chosen doesn't discolor at all! LOL! I might add some vanilla and see if the blended scent would be okay.

 

[Shoshi]

What beautiful black soaps. I saw something online a while back about adding black colouring (liquid, I think, and also some dark blue) to clear M&P base, and then swirling in some other colours and adding some glitter - galaxy soap! It looked really cool and I'm keen to try it.

Those black soaps look really sophisticated - very different! Love the marbled ones, too.

Shoshi