Color disappeared

[Todd Ziegler]

Ok I did my first coloring of CP and it just disappeared. I used just a little over half a teaspoon of mica mixed with some of the oils I was using in the recipe but it just disappeared. I used a little sodium Lactate along with the recipe bellow and pumice. The soap looks just fine so far but no color. Will it appear after the gel phase?

Here is the formula

I didn't want to make a mistake but what is this?

 

[DeeAnna]

If the color disappeared, it's probably not a lye-safe colorant. Many are not. When you buy, be sure to check the supplier's info to verify the mica has been tested in soap.

The color will most likely not reappear later on.

To double check this particular mica -- Put maybe 1/4 teaspoon of NaOH in a quarter cup of water and add a small dab of the mica. If the color disappears, you have your answer.

edit -- Looks like your soap is in full gel and might be overheating slightly and cracking from expansion. You might want to raise it up on a cookie cooling rack or some soup cans and put a fan on it.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

If the color disappeared, it's probably not a lye-safe colorant. Many are not. When you buy, be sure to check the supplier's info to verify the mica has been tested in soap.

The color will most likely not reappear later on.

To double check this particular mica -- Put maybe 1/4 teaspoon of NaOH in a quarter cup of water and add a small dab of the mica. If the color disappears, you have your answer.

edit -- Looks like your soap is in full gel and might be overheating slightly and cracking from expansion. You might want to raise it up on a cookie cooling rack or some soup cans and put a fan on it.

Thanks for confirming my thoughts. After looking at it again I realized that it was the gel phase. My temperature is 150° F. Is that to hot?

 

[jcandleattic]

My temperature is 150° F. Is that to hot?

That is a little on the warm side, but as long as it doesn't volcano out of the mold, or separate due to overheating it should be fine. It might crack (from the pic it looks like yours may be about ready to do that?) If it does, next time maybe soap a little cooler.
I soap at RT and lightly cover my mold with a dishtowel only. I typically don't have a problem with overheating unless I use an additive or FO that is a known heater.

 

[DeeAnna]

Going from not so bad to bad --
If the soap is in gel and is pretty much behaving itself, it's fine unless for some reason you don't want the soap to gel.
If the soap is showing minor cosmetic issues - expanding on top and/or cracks -- from slight overheating, but you don't mind, it's fine.
If the soap is has slight cracks and that bothers you, it's too hot. Cool it down with a fan.
If the soap has large cracks, or if liquids are pooling on the top or leaking out of the mold, or if the soap is badly separating, it's definitely too hot. It is probably too late to prevent these problems, but get it cooled down with a fan as soon as possible.
If the soap volcanoes, in other words if it expands over the sides of the mold, yes, it is really, really too hot, but it's definitely too late to do anything about it besides clean up the mess.

 

[StormyK]

150 sounds hot to me.

Now, I'm by no means an adept soap maker, but for the few batches I've done I've let the lye/water and oils both cool to around the 120 - 130 mark before combining. Those batches I've covered with a piece of cardboard and wrapped in a towel and I've been lucky so far in that all have fully gelled without any cracks. I'd try lowering the temp you're at. I don't believe you need to be anywhere that high unless you're using hard waxes.

(The single goat-milk soap I've done so far was combined with everything at about 110 then popped it into the fridge to avoid gelling).

 

[Obsidian]

It looks like its cracking and beginning to volcano, I would pop it in the freezer.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I uncovered it and it is going through the gel phase quite well right now. I thought it was going to volcano on me too but it didn't. It also didn't crack anymore and seems to have healed itself. I am trying to learn some lessons from this. What does anyone think I did wrong? Could the mica have done this, did I insulate it to quickly? I did bring it to a thicker trace than I wanted and I didn't use enough water to give me time to mix the color and pumice. Can anyone think of anything else that I might have done wrong?

 

[jcandleattic]

What does anyone think I did wrong? Could the mica have done this, did I insulate it to quickly? I did bring it to a thicker trace than I wanted and I didn't use enough water to give me time to mix the color and pumice. Can anyone think of anything else that I might have done wrong?

Soaping so warm and then covering it for insulation is the number 1 reason it did that.
Mica in and of itself would not have made the batch overheat... And using less water is probably not the reason either (more water tends to gel faster/easier than less water does)
So yeah, I would point to the temp of soaping and the insulation - and to an extent the oils in your recipe.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Soaping so warm and then covering it for insulation is the number 1 reason it did that.
Mica in and of itself would not have made the batch overheat... And using less water is probably not the reason either (more water tends to gel faster/easier than less water does)
So yeah, I would point to the temp of soaping and the insulation - and to an extent the oils in your recipe.

Thanks for sharing. I want to learn as much as I can and getting feedback really helps. I am having so much fun. I can't always recognize my own mistakes, so it really helps having someone else see them.

I hope the pumice is mixed through evenly and waiting for it to harden before I cut it is going to kill me lol! I will have to say that getting the pumice suspended in CP is easier than MP soap.

 

[Obsidian]

Coconut has a tendency to heat up as well so a high coconut recipe can be finicky. I wouldn't have tried to gel that but I also don't mind partial gel.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

Thanks for reading my mind. Because that was my next question, what would cause it to heat up like it did. I have decided to kind of jump in feet first with everything. Either it works or I will learn from my mistakes. I am having so much fun!

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I checked the "just pigments" website and it said that the color I used was "cp stable" but the chart has either yes, stable, bleeds or no, so I don't know the difference between yes and stable. I will have to ask them unless someone here knows.

 

[Obsidian]

I would think yes means its safe in CP while stable means its shouldn't morph.

What colorant was it?

 

[Mobjack Bay]

The usual recommendation is 1-2 tsp mica per ppo. If the mica was a very light blue/green it may not show up well at your level of dilution. Could you see the color initially and then it vanished?