# indigo colorant



## dirrdee (Apr 15, 2012)

I tried the indigo colorant, but forgot to add it to the lye water and put it in at trace instead...its just plain grey....Im so frustrated with natural colorants...ugh!!


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## eleraine (Apr 15, 2012)

I still think it looks nice. 

I added mine at trace as well - for my beer bar. Definitely didn't get a blue. LOL.


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## moosie (Apr 15, 2012)

I added mine in at trace too, does adding it to the lye change the color?  I still think it looks good, but I know how frustrating it is to not get what you wanted  8)


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## dirrdee (Apr 15, 2012)

I tried another small loaf today and added it directly to the lye water (supposed to get a better color that way) I got a light smoky blue (like faded jeans) and I used 1/2 t. and my batch was 28 oz.  I was under the impression that a little goes a long way, but it seems like you would have to use at least 2 teaspoons to get a dark blue...I got my indigo from SMR.  Im having a hard time believing some of the pics I have found on this site that were a beautiful blue were really obtained with indigo alone?  Anyone have any advice?

I just made the loaf today so maybe it will darken by morning...I'll post cut pics.





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## dirrdee (Apr 15, 2012)

thanks soap peeps...it is frustrating!

Also, the lye water turned green when I added the indigo and the batter was pretty grey/green and I gelled also.


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## judymoody (Apr 15, 2012)

I made some with the indigo from soapmaking resource and added the indigo to my lye water.  It looked great shortly after cutting but faded to gray within a few weeks.  Yes, I stored it in a dark place.  Here are before and after pics:


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## Pamela (Apr 16, 2012)

great pics girls....dirrdee...love the smoky blue....you'll have to post pics in a few weeks....keep us all posted if the color changes....it is very frustrating when you love your soap color after you cut it only to see it change over time  :cry:


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## Mouse (Apr 16, 2012)

I got the same results as judymoody....a pretty, sky blue that morphed over time into a flat gray. I like yo use natural colorants, too, but I'm coming to the realization that nature does what she wants regardless 
I think I will be ordering some colors sometime soon.


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## dirrdee (Apr 16, 2012)

wow, thanks for posting...thats a beautiful blue!  I too will be ording some pigments soon, this is too frustrating.


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## judymoody (Apr 16, 2012)

I have been getting very good results with oxides, ultramarines, and clays.  I haven't yet used micas but I have a stash of them that I need to test.

I still use a few botanicals like comfrey, yellow dock, and annatto.  I also use vegetable and fruit purees like carrots, pumpkin, and avocado.


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## Genny (Apr 16, 2012)

Has anyone tried infusing indigo in your oil first?


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## dirrdee (Apr 16, 2012)

I'd be curious to see if infusing in oil would make a difference, but Im tested out now..lol


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## dirrdee (Apr 18, 2012)

this is about a week later...already grey.  Im going to start playing with ultramarines and pigments for some colors that are too difficult to get/stay with natural colorants...





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## fiddletree (Apr 24, 2012)

strange, I've never had indigo turn grey on me.  I add it at trace and it stays blue over time.


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## judymoody (Apr 24, 2012)

fiddletree said:
			
		

> strange, I've never had indigo turn grey on me.  I add it at trace and it stays blue over time.



I wonder if it's a different variety of indigo?

Also I suspect superfat and/or base oils may play a role.  I remember seeing alkanet tests somewhere and there was a big difference depending on SF with respect to color.

Dirdee, I think your soap is very pretty even if it wasn't what you were aiming for.

I just made this with black oxide, blue mica and chromated green ultramarine and I was pretty happy with the result.


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## Pamela (Apr 24, 2012)

judymoody....your soap looks amazing.  I've tried a few natural colorants and am just ok with how they have turned out at cure....ordered some oxides to play around with.


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## dirrdee (Apr 24, 2012)

thanks judymoody, I love the swirls and especially the colors in that bar!  I guess my frustration comes from the advertsing of "natural colorants" but leaving out important infomration such as "the soap will turn gray over time"?

I do remember reading somewhere about there being some kind of indigo with crystals?  My memory is vague, but that it is the right kind to use and not the other kind...lol...wish I had bookmarked it!  From what I remember the indigo "crystals" gave you a blue color that stayed"


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## Bama (Apr 24, 2012)

Judy your colors are amazing. I appreciate you all sharing your results as i am wanting to try some natural colorants and I don't like to waste my time or oils.  I am thinking of trying Madder root powder. Has anyone tried this and with good results no fading?


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## Bama (Apr 24, 2012)

Judy your colors are amazing. I appreciate you all sharing your results as i am wanting to try some natural colorants and I don't like to waste my time or oils.  I am thinking of trying Madder root powder. Has anyone tried this and with good results no fading?


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## semplice (Apr 24, 2012)

I bought a sky blue colorant from Elements Bath and Body, and just soaped it today.  It gave me a great sky blue color.  It looks black in the little jar, when mixed it's navy blue, but in the soap you get the sky blue color.  

first mixed:






as it's gelling:


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## judymoody (Apr 24, 2012)

That's a great sky blue color!


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## semplice (Apr 24, 2012)

It's what I was hoping for.  There are a lot of specks in it, though.  

Not to take over the OP, but I'm glad to see what the indigo looks like in soap.  I was going to buy some, but now I think I'll pass.  (the soap still looks awesome, though.)


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## fiddletree (Apr 25, 2012)

judymoody said:
			
		

> fiddletree said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



I get my indigo from Aroma Zone (in France).  It hasn't gone grey on me, not even a bit. I generally SF at 7%, and use a shea-heavy palm free recipe. In case anyone wants to try to reproduce it .  I'll search around for a photo, but I have a good example of one that I made a few months ago, an embed soap using all natural colors.  One of the imbeds is a dark blue, and the background is a light, water blue, both using indigo.  Just to say that indigo CAN work very well. 

 Come to think of it, my alkanet soaps don't fade much, either.  I even purposefully left one in the sun all day every day for 2 months, and it didn't fade.  Maybe it's my recipe?


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## fiddletree (Apr 25, 2012)

Ok, this is the picture I was thinking of.  Only natural colorants, using plant infusions and clays.  They all use the indigo embeds, but in the front soap, the background is a very light blue (a bit washed out in the photo, it's a bit bluer IRL), and there are navy  embeds.  That's indigo at 4 months.  I think it is a lovely blue!


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## Bama (Apr 25, 2012)

Beautiful embeds Fiddletree.


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## judymoody (Apr 25, 2012)

That's a gorgeous blue!  How much did you use PPO?

ETA: I did a little bit of research and learned that there are several varieties of indigo. Old world indigo, indigofera tinctoria, comes from India and is also known as Indigofera sumatrana.  It's also known as "black henna" and is blended with true henna if you want to end up with a dark brown shade instead of screaming red hair.

Aroma Haven carries indigofera suffruticosa, also known commonly as añil.  This indigo is native to Central America.  There is a second New World variety called indigofera arrecta.

I don't know what kind Soap Making Resource carries (my supplier).  It is dark blue, almost navy, in powder form.  The stuff on the Aroma Zone site seems a trifle lighter - more like an electric blue.

I have some of the indigofera tinctoria and in its powder form it's an olive green color.  I haven't used it yet but it's on my to do list.


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## fiddletree (Apr 25, 2012)

My indigo is indigo suffruticosa.

For the dark blue, I used 1/4 tsp PPO

for the very light blue, I used about 1/32 tsp PPO 

very very tiny measuring spoons come in very useful for measuring indigo 

Edited to say that the powder I have from Aroma Zone looks almost black, in person.


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