# Oxide disaster



## thankyougifts (May 20, 2010)

This is my first time using powders in my soap for coloring. I have always used the cheap colors from craft stores, however I wanted a rich red and blue for my graduation soaps. The color turned out beautiful... but I noticed when I handle the soaps my hands become red. So I used one and my entire sink turned red!!! AUGH! This is not what I want happening with my soaps! 

Is there any other way to get a strong color in white soap base, or do I need to just use clear base and stick with my cheap coloring? These soaps are for my nephews graduation party the first week of June... and I would hate to have to order more supplies and wait!


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## krissy (May 20, 2010)

can you get more base and melt down your already made soaps and mix them to dilute the color?


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## pops1 (May 21, 2010)

I don't think you can ever get a really strong color in opaque base without the problem you have met,maybe by adding a tiny amount of opaque to clear you might get a brighter color but its never going to be a vibrant red like you want.
I think that you will have to start again with clear and don't be too heavy handed with the oxide ,a little goes a long way.


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## tincanac (May 21, 2010)

Here is what I did to get this red:




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I mixed a tiny bit of red oxide and strawberry pop mica from TKB Trading in a teeny bit of glycerine.  I melted clear MP base.  

 I added a touch of titanium oxide - to clear soap.  I made a bar of the white TD soap.  

I mixed in the red oxide and mica to clear melted MP then cut a sliver of the white TD soap and blended it with red clear soap.  It seemed to keep the red - reddish but added the opacity that I wanted.

I hope this helps!


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## supersoaper3000 (May 23, 2010)

Red oxides will do that, my condolences.  I agree that you will probably need to start over again as well, as it doesn't sound like a product you can re-melt.  You will get the best results using a clear base.

I would mix the oxide with glycerin and the mica in a spot of water (it distributes much easier in water).  Anyone who has made the leap into color-mixing has had similar experiences.  Red, black and blue seem to be the colors with the most propensity to bleed.

You cannot overstate the importance of thorough mixing of oxide powders.  Any little particulates floating in there can cause the type of bleeding you are seeing as well.

I like to mix my colors right on a counter top.  I pour some glycerin onto the counter, add some powder and use a 4" putty knife to drag the powder and glycerin back and forth until every last little molecule or spot of powder is gone (if you can point a heat lamp at the counter you are working on it will go faster).  

One last little tip is to use the spoon you are mixing with to gauge the color you are mixing.  Add oxide until you can just barely see the spoon when you hold it under the surface of the soap.  If you mixed it so strong that the spoon disappears as soon as you put it in the soap, it will probably bleed.

Whenever I am trying a new oxide, I like to make a little test batch to see how it will wash out.  Sorry I can't think of any way to save the batch you already made.

Best of luck!


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## chafalota (May 24, 2010)

You need to re-do the hole thing over,but you have to use a clear base.  Also you are familiar with TKB,they have in the section of Glycerin-dispersed colors Oxided in liquid so you don't have the trouble of the powdered ones and don't put too much red because red color even if it's non-bleeding when you use too much of it it will do all of that. I hope this helps.


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