Didn’t expect this Soapy transformation
- Thread starter Martha
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How long did you let it cure before giving it to her? All the soaps from the batch should have changed colors which is not unusual for some colorants. Some such as lavender colorants can change with ph, being gray when the ph is high and curing out to pretty lavender.
I made the soap at the end of September and gave it for Christmas. I still have a bar on my curing rack that looks just the same as it did in the first photo. So it is something about sudsing it up. I just didn’t know this was a possibility. I wonder if @KiwiMoose has experienced this. She and I had some mica batches we weren’t happy with.
It’s not soda ash. It looked like this when I cut the bars and didn’t develop the ash. I think I will give it a wash. So odd. Has anyone else had this color “blooming” happen to them?
Some of mine are brighter upon using. You could 'wash' your bars under running water and leave them to sit. That's what I did with my Fig and Rhubarb ones in the photo gallery. They look great now.
Yes, I will do that. Now I’m sad I only have one bar left of this soap. Is this gifter’s remorse? Hee hee.
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Love the colors!
I hate to say this, but even if I totally ignore the color morph, the pattern of the blue/black bar honestly doesn't seem related to the pattern on the yellow/gray bars. I know sometimes the swirl can vary a lot, but this is almost like two different pours, not variation within a pour.
The blue/black pattern has the wispy lines and swirly details typical of pouring at light trace. The yellow/gray pattern is more blocky as if it was poured at medium trace.
I've seen a complete morph of one color but I've not seen a morph of two colors -- yellow to white, and gray to dark blue. Again, not to say that can't happen, but it's pretty unusual.
If it's just the tap water that is creating this unusual change, cutting a section off the blue/black bar should show the original yellow/gray colors in the center where the soap hasn't been affected by exposure to the tap water.
The blue/black pattern has the wispy lines and swirly details typical of pouring at light trace. The yellow/gray pattern is more blocky as if it was poured at medium trace.
I've seen a complete morph of one color but I've not seen a morph of two colors -- yellow to white, and gray to dark blue. Again, not to say that can't happen, but it's pretty unusual.
If it's just the tap water that is creating this unusual change, cutting a section off the blue/black bar should show the original yellow/gray colors in the center where the soap hasn't been affected by exposure to the tap water.
I don’t think it’s a color morph as the remaining bar on my shelf looks like it did originally in the photo. That is why I was so stunned to see the soap at my friend’s house. So stunned I had to take a picture of it. I almost feel like I should take a video when I first use this last bar so I can see the transformation.
Well, you explained the colors changed after exposure to the person's tap water. Sounds like a color morph to me ... but maybe I'm not following your thinking here.
In all my years of soaping, I have never seen such a color change other than some I know morph but as we all know soap does odd things at times. It will be interesting to see what this remaining bars does.
@DeeAnna I have no experience with color morphing, so I’m probably the one who’s not following.
I thought the colors morphed when they came in contact with the high ph of the lye. I didn’t know rap water could do that too.
Rap water?
jcandleattic
Well-Known Member
As DeeAnna said, these look like completely different swirls to me as well.
Are you sure it is the same soap? I've never seen/nor heard of a soap changing that drastically after a full cure, just by using tap water.
I'd be inclined to think the person showing you the soap is mistaken as to which soap it was and it's a different soap altogether.
Are you sure it is the same soap? I've never seen/nor heard of a soap changing that drastically after a full cure, just by using tap water.
I'd be inclined to think the person showing you the soap is mistaken as to which soap it was and it's a different soap altogether.
Yes, colors can morph from the alkalinity of soap. But they can also change for other reasons -- reaction with oxygen or carbon dioxide in the air, water evaporation, reaction with fragrances that contain vanillin, exposure to light, etc.
I do know exposure to tap water (plus contamination from hands) has triggered rancidity on soap bars that were used for washing and then were left unused for some months. Those bars turned orange -- the typical color change of rancidity.
Other than that, I agree that tap water doesn't normally change the color of soap.
Rap water?
Ha ha ha!! My phone is trying to spice things up. So much so that this is the second time I’m trying to write this reply.
Definitely sure it’s the same soap. I only gave them two bars. I have the same Brooklyn tap (cue Sugar Hill Gang) water, so I will just see what happens with my remaining bar. To be continued.
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Just because you gave them two bars does not mean that they did not get soap elsewhere. I agree with @DeeAnna and @jcandleattic that this is not the same soap (sorry!) Definitely not the same colors or swirl pattern. Using a soap in tap water does not transform the patterns or colors in this manner. I'd be very interested to see follow up pictures of your remaining bar as you use it.
I have to jump on the same bus as the others that's it's not the same soap. Different pattern and color. I too am looking forward to follow up pictures.
