Indigo Powder turns soap brown instead of blue

[camproses]

Hello,
I recently became interested in using indigo to color my CP soap blue and, not fully knowing what I was doing, ordered a 1lb package of indigo powder off of Amazon. When I first dissolved it in the water before the lye it looked like a beautiful peacock blue color, but once I added the lye, it transformed into a mostly deep brown/rust/gold color, and that was the color of my soap. After doing more reading on indigo soap making, it seems that the indigos sold as soap colorants are a purified version of the indigo powder I have, where the dye has been separated from the iron and plant material that is still present in my indigo. I would like to try to extract the dye out of my powdered indigo so that it wasn't a wasted purchase. Has anyone done that or can anyone offer me some insights?

 

[cmzaha]

Sorry no help here, but I think DeeAnna works with fiber dyes so she may be able to help. I know she will show up LOL, I wonder if DeeAnna ever feels used

 

[DeeAnna]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Carolyn! I've done a little fiber dyeing, but I have never worked with indigo, so I don't have a clue. Let's hope someone who has will contribute their thoughts.

 

[cmzaha]

Yippers I knew you would show up I know someone here did fiber dying but may very well be someone that has not shown up for awhile

 

[penelopejane]

I don’t know how to change it, sorry. I just know you have to buy the right one in the first place.

I have recently purchased some (it’s in the mail). If it works I’ll give you a link.
As usual I have avoided BB because by the time their products get to Australia they cost more than twice the price you pay for them. So I've been looking at aliexpress and India direct.

 

[Spice]

Hello,
I recently became interested in using indigo to color my CP soap blue and, not fully knowing what I was doing, ordered a 1lb package of indigo powder off of Amazon. When I first dissolved it in the water before the lye it looked like a beautiful peacock blue color, but once I added the lye, it transformed into a mostly deep brown/rust/gold color, and that was the color of my soap. After doing more reading on indigo soap making, it seems that the indigos sold as soap colorants are a purified version of the indigo powder I have, where the dye has been separated from the iron and plant material that is still present in my indigo. I would like to try to extract the dye out of my powdered indigo so that it wasn't a wasted purchase. Has anyone done that or can anyone offer me some insights?

I use Indigo blue powder in my salt bars, it took a while to find out that I needed to use a natural dye that has no mordant (I think that's what it's call), the mordant is what helps keep dye on fabric. I called a dye place that has natural dyes from plants and animals, they had the indigo blue in natural powder form with both a mordant or without, I order the indigo without the mordant. I never use water to blend, I use oil from my SF amount to blend before pouring into the lye batter for swirling or coloring. If water works then great. When I make my salt bars, I HP and when I'm done, there is a lot of soapy indigo; I found out that indigo blue also whitens, so I store the indigo in bottles and use in my whites.
Here is the link to Dharma Trading; https://www.dharmatrading.com/techniques/natural-dyes.html
Hope this helps.

 

[psfred]

Dharam Trading has "pre-reduced" indigo (which isn't pre-reduced, it's blue). It is really, I think, synthetic indigo powder very finely ground, so it's easier to work with. Quite strong, be careful, I made some soap that was nearly black!

The trouble with indigo is that it can easily exist in two oxidation states, fully oxidized and blue, or reduced and rusty yellow. BHT will bleach it right out, as I sadly discovered last time I used it. Great preservative, prevents DOS, but will take the color right out of indigo. Reduced indigo, the pale yellow/rusty colored stuff, is used to dye cloth as it is soluble in water. Dyed cloth isn't very blue until the indigo reacts with oxygen in the air to oxidize, become blue colored, and insoluble in water.

Reduction of indigo is rather easily accomplished in soap. Any sugar added (milk, sugar, honey, etc) will result in reducing conditions in the soap and bleached indigo. Probably protein will do the same thing in caustic solution.

Rusty yellow makes me think you had reducing conditions and bleached out the color. It may come back some as you use the soap, I'll see what happens with mine. I added some blue food coloring after it bleached, forgetting that blue lake #10 or whatever it is turns pink at high pH, so I have bluish pink instead of blue. Lilac wisteria scented, so that's OK, but not what I wanted.

If you do want to use indigo, get the Dharma pre-reduced powder and add it to your oils. It will disperse very nicely when stick blended, and if you do not have reducing conditions, make a nice denim blue. 1/4 tsp per pound is PLENTY, 3/8 tsp will be dark navy and stain things!

Hope that helps. I'm going to use blue micas in the future, much more predictable.