Colorant brightness

[Buckscent]

Other than gelling, is there a way to get your colors bright? It just seems mine are just dull looking, no brightness, no pop no nothing. I have gelled on a heating pad with same results. Thanks

 

[shunt2011]

Where are you getting your colorants and how much are you using. I get great color pop when I gel. I se Nurtures and TKB Trading colorants with excellent results. Here's some that I made yesterday.

 

[penelopejane]

Where are you getting your colorants and how much are you using. I get great color pop when I gel. I se Nurtures and TKB Trading colorants with excellent results. Here's some that I made yesterday.

Those lookkk great. Are you using micas or liquids?

 

[Buckscent]

I have tried BB and Nuture Soap. I am using Micas, 3lb (48oz) mold and using 1tsp of each color.

 

[shunt2011]

Mostly Micas. I'm guilty of not measuring and just me till I think I like the color. I'm guessing 1/2-1 tsp per lb of batter. I always gel.

 

[newbie]

That's waaaaaaay too little for 3 pounds of soap. I think the recommendation is in the ballpark of 1-3 tsp per pound. I often use more than that. Mix 2 tsp of your mica in a small amount of water or oil. Take out a portion of your batter and start blending in the color until you get the color you want in your soap and try to get a feel for how much you needed for that small part of the batter. That will help you gauge how much you need for the whole three pounds. Lighter micas usually require a little more than deeper colors to get where you want to go.

I find the micas blend into the batter better if they are already in water or oil than if I try to blend the powder directly into batter, but I have had to do that as well. Powder into the batter just requires more SB'ing (which can lead to heavier trace than you might be wanting at that moment.)

Also, Nuture has a usage rate for their micas in the MSDS section of each colorant. Hollywood Pink, for instance, has 1-2 tsp per pound listed for CP. HOwever, most of us eyeball it to get the color we want and I have almost certainly used more than 2 tsp per pound.

 

[SunWolf]

Where are you getting your colorants and how much are you using. I get great color pop when I gel. I se Nurtures and TKB Trading colorants with excellent results. Here's some that I made yesterday. View attachment 22118

Those are beautiful Shunt, do you find that they make colored lather and color a washcloth?

I can get nice bright colors, but invariably...my soaps color the washcloth...:cry:

 

[newbie]

Not Shunt, but washcloth staining doesn't seem to happen so much with mica. With oxides and ultra marines and AC, it is more likely. With micas, you can get a lot of color in a bar without coloring the lather but AC and the others mentioned seem more likely to tint your suds. It is, however, possible to get a rich black with AC without making your lather gray, but it's very easy to overcolor for black and then you've got drab looking bubbles.

 

[lsg]

Ultramarines seem to give me bright colors

 

[newbie]

I just thought I'd add something I heard to help me remember which goes into oil and which into water; ultraMARINEs like water and Oxides like Oil.

 

[shunt2011]

I don't have much in the staining problems at all. My reds do discolor my cloths but washes out with no problem in the wash. Cocoa powder kind of discolors too but doesn't stain.

 

[Buckscent]

So my last couple pours I took them and put n heating pad covered for 20 minutes then turned it off and left coverd for 24 or so hours with no real difference. I have 1/2 plywood arount the mold, even the bottom so I wonder if thats the problem? Wood all around the mold is to thick for the heat pad to do any good?

 

[newbie]

Can you post a coupe pics? Can you tell if it gelled or not?

 

[shunt2011]

My molds are all wood as well and has a wood lid. I just lay a doubled over bath towel over the top and side and always get gel. No heating pad.

Pleas post pictures and let us know if you got gel.

 

[Buckscent]

Sorry all been waaaay covered up. Ill get pics and post tomorrow....thanks for the help!!!

 

[Buckscent]

Sorry so late, So here are pics of the last soap I did. you can see the thick wood box I made (Not a carpenter but it works). The bottom is real thick. I put it on a heating pad and cover with a piece of saran wrap and a kitchen size towel that just covers the top of the mold. This soap seems to be a little brighter than the other 2 I have done, this is my 3rd soap... Pic does look brighter than actual soap... Ant input appreciated

 

[dibbles]

You said the colors in the picture look brighter than in person, but from what I can see they look like nice, bright colors. Good job!

If you are looking for brighter than what you have, maybe you want neons. Oranges can be tricky for me, and sometimes I do mix a little neon orange in with my orange mica.

 

[Buckscent]

I guess i need to see a "real" soapers soap to compair.... I might be thinking it should be super super bright like a hi gloss paint . So maybe my expectaions are all wrong.

 

[shunt2011]

I too think your colors look great. Not dull at all.

 

[Steve85569]

Looks great on my screen too.
If I try for much more color than that it's just too much mica. Begins to get cartoonish and makes colory lather.