How to use this madder root

[Elise]

I want to experiment with adding colors to my soaps.
I first bought indigo leaves powder and was very disappointed to discover only after buying that it was not the kind that can be used straight to color soaps (I still have to try @AliOop 's suggestion to add salt to make the blue pigments appear).

I still wanted to try making blue soaps the way I see people do it all over Youtube and went ahead and bought the right stuff (which is way more expensive than the plain indigo leaves powder ).
Since I was at it, I also ordered madder root. Earlier this summer I tried the Indian madder (rubia cordifolia, also called Manjistha powder where I bought it) and loved it (picture attached). For this one I just dumped the powder into my oils before adding the lye. Now I want to try its european counterpart, but when placing my order I found that the indigo pigment was already quite expensive, so I thought I'd save money by not buying the already powdered madder. I was thinking that i could pulverise it myself if needed and that it would probably keep its color longer than the powder. Now that I have it, I'm not sure what's the way to go.

Can I infuse it in oil as it is ?
Do you usually included the powder in the soap or do you filter it ? If the powder itself participate in the final color, I definitively need to turn those chunks into powder.
Could I use those chunks by infusing them in my lye solution ? I've seen someone do this (but with powder) and she got a pale warm pink.
Anyone used this non-powdered form before ?


Soaps testing indian madder root powder. I love the color. I added the powder directly into the oils.



The rubia tinctorium I bought and am not sure how to use properly.

 

[Elise]

Well, I decided to try using it without turning it into powder and see what will happen.
I'm infusing it in olive oil that I'm keeping warm for a couple of days and will report back when I'll soap with the infusion.

 

[justsomeguy]

I infused madder root into castor oil but it wasn't the one you have. It didn't really do much in the soap. There was a very very very light red hue for a few days in the soap.

I made "tea" and added it into the lye water for the hanger swirl challenge entry and it was very red.

I added the same tea to my dual lye shaving soap but it turned purple instead of red

 

[Elise]

I infused madder root into castor oil but it wasn't the one you have. It didn't really do much in the soap. There was a very very very light red hue for a few days in the soap.

I made "tea" and added it into the lye water for the hanger swirl challenge entry and it was very red.

I added the same tea to my dual lye shaving soap but it turned purple instead of red

Maybe madder root works better in water infusion then. I should try it too.

Purple is unexpected but nor the worst surprise you can get from naturel colorant

Thank you for sharing your experience !

 

[Ekuzo]

Sorry, I can't give you an advice here, but I'm curious, what did you mean by 'it was not the kind that can be used straight to color soaps' when you mentioned the indigo you purchased? Are there different types and how do you distinguish them? Was the only problem lack of color or did it mess something up in your recipe?

 

[Elise]

Sorry, I can't give you an advice here, but I'm curious, what did you mean by 'it was not the kind that can be used straight to color soaps' when you mentioned the indigo you purchased? Are there different types and how do you distinguish them? Was the only problem lack of color or did it mess something up in your recipe?

The pigments of indigo have to be extracted first, before being used is soapmaking. I bought leaves powder that had just been dried and didn't undergo any treatment. My understanding is that it would just make browning greenish soap.

I will probably make a thread comparing the use of this powder and the proper pigments that I have bought since. + try @AliOop advice to add salt to the leave powder + water mixture and see if that help adding blue to the final soap. I only learned about the distinction between leave powder and pigments by chance, reading about other things on this forum, so it would probably help others and clarify things.

 

[Ekuzo]

The pigments of indigo have to be extracted first, before being used is soapmaking. I bought leaves powder that had just been dried and didn't undergo any treatment. My understanding is that it would just make browning greenish soap.

I will probably make a thread comparing the use of this powder and the proper pigments that I have bought since. + try @AliOop advice to add salt to the leave powder + water mixture and see if that help adding blue to the final soap. I only learned about the distinction between leave powder and pigments by chance, reading about other things on this forum, so it would probably help others and clarify things.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to your experience, it's going to be valuable for those who want to color using plant-based powders. Waiting for the results on the madder root as well!

Can you share the link where AliOop talks about that, if it's not too much to ask? I couldn't find it - I'd appreciate it!

 

[Elise]

Thanks! I'm looking forward to your experience, it's going to be valuable for those who want to color using plant-based powders. Waiting for the results on the madder root as well!

Can you share the link where AliOop talks about that, if it's not too much to ask? I couldn't find it - I'd appreciate it!

Here you go : https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/what-soapy-thing-have-you-done-today.42556/post-1011922

 

[Ekuzo]

Just checked the thread, curious if the activation will work the same if you just dissolve the powder in the hot lye solution with some salt in it, maybe I'll try it