First Soap Advice

[Lin19687]

I LIKE IT !!

 

[steffamarie]

I did a few weeks ago. I separated the batter in to two batches and one i colored with cocoa powder. I just put the powder in the batter (on a very thin trace) and stick blended it. After it was mostly blended i gave it a mix with a spatula to make sure i had no chocolate clumps and proceded to mold (made a basic swirl). I had no issues with it. Here is a photo of the soap the next day after i cut it: View attachment 30842

That looks awesome!!! Ok, you guys have me feeling good about this.

 

[earlene]

I have made coffee soap with cocoa powder, also. Depending on how much of each is used, the color can be light to very dark. One of my soaps with cocoa powder was a very dark brown. I don't recall how exactly I dispersed it in that soap, but I would guess I mixed the powder into the batter while stick blending. One can choose to add it to very hot water, or oils, or even the lye solution. I did not feel as though it was at all difficult or a hassle using the cocoa powder.

 

[Parfumerie]

I was reading using coffee for the water can make it Brown? Cocoa nibs would probably be darker than powder maybe, but i dont know if youd have to account for the fat/cocoa butter in them, you could also mix colors too micas or other natural colorants together, mixing primary colors red+yellow+blue makes Brown or a primary with complementary orange+blue, purple+yellow, red & green makes shades of brown.

 

[steffamarie]

I was reading using coffee for the water can make it Brown? Cocoa nibs would probably be darker than powder maybe, but i dont know if youd have to account for the fat/cocoa butter in them, you could also mix colors too micas or other natural colorants together, mixing primary colors red+yellow+blue makes Brown or a primary with complementary orange+blue, purple+yellow, red & green makes shades of brown.

I've seen some people make coffee soaps on YouTube and it turned them a lighter brown than I was wanting, but I'm sure it'll help!! Hmm...color mixing might work. If the cocoa powder doesn't do what I want it to I might just try that!! Thanks!

 

[Parfumerie]

I've seen some people make coffee soaps on YouTube and it turned them a lighter brown than I was wanting, but I'm sure it'll help!! Hmm...color mixing might work. If the cocoa powder doesn't do what I want it to I might just try that!! Thanks!

I wonder if the darkness of the roast and/or bean to water ratio saturation plays a role in depth or hue, I'm gonna use some clays in my next soap for color and texture, I love the earthy look and the way it feels

 

[steffamarie]

I wonder if the darkness of the roast and/or bean to water ratio saturation plays a role in depth or hue, I'm gonna use some clays in my next soap for color and texture, I love the earthy look and the way it feels

I'm sure it does!! I just made an activated charcoal soap with bentonite, rhassoul, and kaolin clays. I'm excited to see how they perform once they cure!! I had some issues with my last batch being veeeeeery soft but I tweaked a different recipe (I don't have any palm oil) and used some dissolved table salt to harden this charcoal batch and it worked really well. It did set up REALLY fast on me even though I used full water, and I'm sure the clays were the main culprit. You learn something new every day!!

 

[earlene]

I searched my photos and do not have any (recently lost a hard drive), not even saved anywhere online that I can find, or I would post a picture of one of my cocoa powder colored coffee soaps. The shades of brown I have achieved however, are really quite dark. Coffee liquid itself, does not make a very dark soap, in my experience. Coffee grounds do contribute to a darker soap, but that depends on how much you use and of course, it will be mottled. But the darkest I have got was with all three. As to intensity of color, you just have to experiment. MANY factors can alter your shade of soap.

Fragrances with vanilla will darken your soap. Dragon's Blood FO will darken your soap, as will several other fragrance oils. Darkly colored soaping oils will darken your soap. Honey will darken your soap. So if you want a deeper brown, try using some combination of the above, as well. Keep really good notes so you know what shades/colors you get with each try.

If you want a creamy latte colored soap, however, you might want to avoid the vanilla-heavy fragrances and Dragon's Blood, especially if you are going for a lengthy cure. DB soaps I've made over a year ago still seem darker every couple of months.

If you want a rich chestnut brown color, try using a small percentage of perhaps red palm oil to help the browns to look a bit reddish. I haven't tried that myself, but I really think it would work because soap I've made with red palm comes out a looking a lot like the insides of a pumpkin pie.

 

[steffamarie]

I searched my photos and do not have any (recently lost a hard drive), not even saved anywhere online that I can find, or I would post a picture of one of my cocoa powder colored coffee soaps. The shades of brown I have achieved however, are really quite dark. Coffee liquid itself, does not make a very dark soap, in my experience. Coffee grounds do contribute to a darker soap, but that depends on how much you use and of course, it will be mottled. But the darkest I have got was with all three. As to intensity of color, you just have to experiment. MANY factors can alter your shade of soap.

Fragrances with vanilla will darken your soap. Dragon's Blood FO will darken your soap, as will several other fragrance oils. Darkly colored soaping oils will darken your soap. Honey will darken your soap. So if you want a deeper brown, try using some combination of the above, as well. Keep really good notes so you know what shades/colors you get with each try.

If you want a creamy latte colored soap, however, you might want to avoid the vanilla-heavy fragrances and Dragon's Blood, especially if you are going for a lengthy cure. DB soaps I've made over a year ago still seem darker every couple of months.

If you want a rich chestnut brown color, try using a small percentage of perhaps red palm oil to help the browns to look a bit reddish. I haven't tried that myself, but I really think it would work because soap I've made with red palm comes out a looking a lot like the insides of a pumpkin pie.

Oooooh!! All great tips!! Thank you!! I'll do some hunting around for a good FO with a decent percentage of vanillin. Any recommendations that stand out in your mind? I love a good exfoliating soap so I plan on using a fairly large amount of coffee grounds.

I'll look around and see if I can get a little red palm oil - sounds like it would add a beautiful depth of color to this and other soaps. Maybe I'll even make a pumpkin pie soap for fall! So many ideas, how do I even keep track of them all?!

 

[earlene]

For a really lovely fragrance that will continue to darken soaps, try Dragon's Blood. It's one of my favorite scents. I have one that I got from Mad Oils (now called Mad Micas) and one from our member cmzaha, that she special orders periodically (see this thread for more info). Also another vanilla containing FO I really love the fragrance of is Chai Tea Cybila (BB). The Chai Tea Cybila gets mixed reviews, which you should always take into account before purchase, but personally I love the fragrance. It doesn't last as long as DB, though, but it also doesn't darken as strongly.

I am sure others will come along with other suggestions of fragrance oils.