Ive been infusing OO with indigo powder for a little over two weeks now. Look at this color! I’m hoping for pink soap. Has anyone here done this. I got the idea from Kapia Mera.
Indigo pink
- Thread starter Mobjack Bay
- Start date
Help Support Soapmaking Forum:
Dawni
Well-Known Member
My indigo infusion, in coconut oil, looks exactly the same.... Until I shake it. I've been infusing that for months now.
I tried that unshaken oil for the blue in the landscape soap I recently posted and yes..... Still blue lol.
But that was HP. I haven't actually used my indigo in CP.
I tried that unshaken oil for the blue in the landscape soap I recently posted and yes..... Still blue lol.
But that was HP. I haven't actually used my indigo in CP.
Marilyn Norgart
Well-Known Member
what a pretty color--hope it is what you get
It looks like yummy Sweet Tea! But I thought indigo was supposed to make a blue color.
I think it looks magenta, without any brown overtones, but who knows how it translates on a monitor. The indigo plant powder I have is from the plant Baphicacanthus cusia, not the traditional indigo plant Indigofera tinctorium. I bought it from Nuture. I found this abstract of a research paper which indicates that both plants have the red pigment as well as the blue pigment. This is where I read about the technique for using it in soap: https://kapiamera.blog/2015/12/17/sweet-heart-soap/. Holly does mention that if she includes any of the powder itself the results will be a blue color instead of pink. My infusion has been sitting undisurbed for over two weeks because it took that long for the liquid to become clear of the blue color. Some of the indigo dye on the market is synthetic (sold mostly for dyeing fabric) and my guess is that the manufacturers wouldn’t bother to add a red pigment to the synthetic form unless it affects the shade of blue.
Oh! That all makes sense. I feel like I have soooo much still to learn. Thank you (and everyone here) for sharing your knowledge and wisdom.
That is a beautiful color! I had no idea indigo would do that - I'm going to have to get some of that. I can't wait to see what you make with it.
Unfortunately for my soap making, I’m heading off tomorrow morning on a work-related retreat. Looks like it will be Friday or the weekend before I get a chance to give it a try. I’m hoping for a super pinky pink that my nieces will love
Update for this thread. I succeeded in making a very pale pink soap with the infusion. I have more oil infusing for another try with a higher percentage of infused oil.
Ladka
Well-Known Member
I haven't tried do dye soap with indigo, blue or pink, but have been dyeing textile with indigo producing plants Japanese indigo Persicaria tinctoria and woad Isatis tinctoria. I sometimes get pinks with each of them but can't know when to expect it and when not.
I extract the blue from fresh leaves with warm water alkalinized to a pH about 9-10. Indigo obtained in this way must first be reduced to white indigo which is soluble in water (blue indigo is water insoluble) and then oxidized in air to turn blue. I don't use bought indigo powder that I could infuse oil with.
Any expert out there thas has experimented with fresh indigo leaves?
I extract the blue from fresh leaves with warm water alkalinized to a pH about 9-10. Indigo obtained in this way must first be reduced to white indigo which is soluble in water (blue indigo is water insoluble) and then oxidized in air to turn blue. I don't use bought indigo powder that I could infuse oil with.
Any expert out there thas has experimented with fresh indigo leaves?
@Mobjack Bay at what percentage were you using the infused oil? (Just out of curiosity)
I also have some indigo infusing in oil, but it stays blue.. so I guess I don't have the right type of indigo.
@Ladka, Indigo powder is often used in lye water. You could try to use the indigo extraction that you normally use to dye fabric with to make your lye solution and see how that works out? (Are there any other substances in there that could interact with the lye?) Would be so cool if you could color your soap with home grown plants!!
I also have some indigo infusing in oil, but it stays blue.. so I guess I don't have the right type of indigo.
@Ladka, Indigo powder is often used in lye water. You could try to use the indigo extraction that you normally use to dye fabric with to make your lye solution and see how that works out? (Are there any other substances in there that could interact with the lye?) Would be so cool if you could color your soap with home grown plants!!
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
You might have already found these but this is how to get it out of leaves (it doesn’t mention white indigo):
http://www.allnaturaldyeing.com/japanese-indigo-indigofera-tinctoria/
Then this is how to reduce it so you can use it to dye things:
http://www.wearingwoad.com/creating-a-natural-indigo-dye-reduction-vat/
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Mobjack uses the method and percentage to get pink soap from indigo that she gave us in this link:
https://kapiamera.blog/2015/12/17/sweet-heart-soap/
Ladka
Well-Known Member
Yes, I may try some day, but the prospect of some dull bluish gray soap puts me off :-(
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Yes I’m going to try tiny batches. It is seriously tricky to use and get consistent results. Once you get the right colour you have to copy the exact method you used again- especially temps you mixed the lye and indigo and that you soaped at and whether you gelled or not or you will not get the right colour again.
The link above is pretty detailed about how to get pink soap. I’m aiming for blue atm.
You can infuse it over low heat rather than waiting for weeks.
Thanks, that's the method I've tried to follow as well, but my infusion stays blue.. maybe I'll have to heat it to get the pink out or maybe I need to use even less indigo for the infusion.. I don't know! Anyway, blue is pretty as well
penelopejane
Well-Known Member
Maybe you have the wrong type of indigo?Thanks, that's the method I've tried to follow as well, but my infusion stays blue.. maybe I'll have to heat it to get the pink out or maybe I need to use even less indigo for the infusion.. I don't know! Anyway, blue is pretty as well
I added 2 TBS of Nuture’s indigo powder to a X* fluid ounce jar and then filled the jar almost to the top with virgin OO, not EVOO. According to the Nuture website, their indigo powder contains a very high concentration of dye (6.2%). It seems likely that the dye concentration can vary by lot for the same species and also between plant species. The pink is from a second plant pigment, which may not be present in all indigo producing species.
* I need to check the volume of the jar.
ETA: I had to let the jar sit undisturbed for a couple of weeks before the blue pigment completely settled and the magenta color was revealed.
My indigo did give pink in isopropanol so I guess the pigment is in the plant? I also get very saturated blues with this indigo, so I'm assuming it has a high dye concentration. I do shake every few days (doing cold infusion) so that's probably it!
Similar threads
