French Green Clay isn't green..?

[unclejonssoap]

I made a batch of shaving soap tonight with french green clay. It seemed to be a relatively muted green color. As the soap sat in the mold, it seems to be getting lighter in color. Any ideas? I did read somewhere that clay color intensity depends on he region it's mined from, climate, etc.. I don't mind adding more if that's what it takes, but it does seem to make the soap thicken really quickly.

I used one heaping teaspoon per pound of oils.

Jon

 

[Maythorn]

The time I made soap with green clay I didn't like the way it speckled so much so I only did it for that one 2 lb batch but I used 4 teaspoons and it was a very light green.

 

[ClaraSuds]

I've read (although not yet tried it) that barley grass powder is the ticket for a good green. It's alkaline itself so I don't think the lye would morph the colour. I did find a rather beautiful pic of a two toned green soap, one part light green the other a vibrant apple green. The caption read coloured with barley grass and french green clay but didn't mention which part was done with which. :?

 

[lsg]

I think you will find that you get a more subtle shade with clays, muted colors. You can mix the clays with a little base oil or even in your lye water before adding to the soap mixture, that should prevent speckles.

 

[unclejonssoap]

Thanks. I got it mixed well enough that I didn't have any speckles, but I have seen some green clay soaps that were a bit darker with just the clay. Maybe I'll try to add a bit more next time to see what happens. It does have a slightly green hue this morning. I do like the fact that it has a nice creamy look to it. I just hope it shaves well.

 

[Maythorn]

I ground the green clay in a coffee grinder and sifted it twice plus considerable stick blending and still got those speckles. This does not happen with other clays I've used. It was a good definite pale green though at 2 teas per pound.

 

[unclejonssoap]

Ahhh.. 2 teaspoons per pound. That's double what I used. Maybe that is why mine looks almost tan in color. I'll go a bit heavier next time.

 

[unclejonssoap]

OK.. I have been going nuts for the last few days waiting to cut this soap. It's getting better, but still too soft to cut without squishing the log. I upped the castor a bit, and added clay to my original recipe. Soap Calc said that it should have been a fairly hard bar. Any thoughts? I have tried a cut off to shave with and absolutely love it! The lather and slick feeling of the clay really make this a good shaver. .. Just too soft to last. I guess I'll keep letting it cure and check it every couple days.