How do I make my soap red?

[CreativeNikki]

I am trying to find a natural way to make pink/red soap. I tried alkanet root twice and both times ended up with black soap. I want to try something else. Hopefully something natural that I can get locally. I'm hoping to make a peppermint soap to thank the ER doctors that helped me last weekend.

Thanks!

 

[dixiedragon]

Maybe madder root? Here's a Soap Queen article about it:
http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-b...d-tricks/using-madder-root-powder-color-soap/

Don't know if you'll be able to find it locally.

If you're willing to forgo natural in favor of something you can buy right now, get icing color. Look for one that has Red #40 in it. You can get it in the baking section of Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Rose clay makes pink. I don't think it would make red, though.

 

[CreativeNikki]

Thank you. Have you tried madder root? I may actually have some; I bought a variety pack of natural colorants from soap making resource so I have a bunch of different stuff. If it doesn't work I'm going to go with something that isn't natural. I don't need a bright red color or anything, but what I have tried so far hasn't even been close.

Rose clay makes pink. I don't think it would make red, though.

Pink is fine, really. Has anyone compared madder root to the clay? I'm pretty sure I have both. I haven't made soap since becoming pregnant in January so I no longer remember what I have.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Saw this when looking at dixie's Soap Queen link. I'm putting it here because those "You may also like..." algorithms don't always show the same things every time to everybody and you could miss it.

 

[CreativeNikki]

Also, if using madder root, how would you use it? Will it make the soap gritty the way alkanet root does? I'm making a 5 pounds recipe.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Pink is fine, really. Has anyone compared madder root to the clay? I'm pretty sure I have both. I haven't made soap since becoming pregnant in January so I no longer remember what I have.

I have not tried madder root, no.

Here's a pic of the pink from rose clay, in the upper right. Coincidentally the towel the soaps are sitting on is quite red, for comparison. I don't think you could get it much darker pink with the clay without getting spots - but I'm relatively new at this so I could be wrong.

 

[dixiedragon]

Yeah, rose clay is a soft pink. That's pretty much the color of the clay right there.

 

[DeeAnna]

I get the same results with pink clay that B George and Dixie do. A pretty coral pink. In my experience, once you add enough to get the medium shade in BG's photo, then adding more just makes the batter thicker and harder to work with, not redder.

 

[ngian]

Paprika infused in Olive oil (40%) also gives a nice reddish (orange) color.

 

[CreativeNikki]

Thanks, everyone. I did have madder root so I used that along with the soap queen guidelines. Right now it looks brown, but we will see what happens as it cures. If it looks awful then I'll just use the soap myself.

 

[bhelen]

Paprika added directly to the oils makes a beautiful speckly pink soap. Tomato paste is also nice, 1tblsp ppo. Red is going to be a push with natural colors, they are always going to be a bit muted. I feel with you on the alkanet. It's supposed to give purple not red...my first attempt was amazing, such a lovely rich purple, so I tried it again - horrible muddy gray.

 

[BrewerGeorge]

Historically, red was a very difficult color to make before artificial dyes came along. Not surprising that it's still difficult.

 

[cinnamaldehyde]

I haven't achieved a great red, so the only thing I can add is that beet root powder DOES NOT make red soap.

The cinnamon cassia EO I use turns my soap a deep, rich, rusty red-brown. Like brick. Not sure if that's what you're going for and you have to be extremely careful with cassia EO as many people are irritated by it.

 

[Seawolfe]

The red in the soap in front is madder root infused in OO and some Moroccan red clay.

 

[paillo]

Have used tomato paste and Moroccan red clay for a nice muted brick red. Also Red Hawaiian Alaea salt in salt bars. None is a true red, but the natural colors are lovely.

 

[Earthen_Step]

The deep pink in the first pic is madder root (about 1/2 tbs ppo)+ Moroccan red clay(about 1tbs ppo). The second pink swirl is just Moroccan red clay. That's as close as I've been able to get to red so far. Paprika is nice, but goes peach if too much is used from my experience. A light paprika, Moroccan red clay and madder root might turn out nice.

 

[dixiedragon]

Historically, red was a very difficult color to make before artificial dyes came along. Not surprising that it's still difficult.

Yeah, red is a tough one. My dad is a printer, and even he is not use lab-made inks, it's still actually pretty tough to get a red label that is stable for long-term outdoor use. He has to buy special UV protected red inks and also us a protective coating, IIRC.

 

[penelopejane]

Red cars are the first to fade.

 

[songwind]

Anyone tried cochineal for a natural red soap?