My first time with color--RED!

[kikajess]

Uh oh. I may have overdone it. I am afraid it will have red lather that dyes everything in the bathroom.

Here's what happened: I was pretty conservative with my colorants at first: 1/2 tsp merlot mica and 20 pinhead-sized drops of non-bleeding cherry liquid (I have no idea how much to use). I added a tiny bit of plain soap to the color and stirred it well to disperse the color into it. I then added a little over a pound of plain soap. I continued stirring with my spatula and I was getting nothing. Maybe a little bit of a slight tan color. I was disappointed. So I put in another 1/2 tsp of mica and 10 more teeny drops of the liquid red. Still looking pretty scant on any color. I guess I was mad at the soap and I wanted to hurt it, so I put the stick blender in there to show it who's boss. WOAH! The stick blender got the red colorant that must have been stuck to the bottom of the measuring cup because it was red, red, red. Just what I wanted!

But now I am thinking I used too much color. Can anyone ease or confirm my worries?

Here's a blurry teaser pic of what I put in the freezer. I will add cut pictures as soon as I can.:

 

[Hazel]

Wow! That's beautiful! I hope you'll post cut pics. I don't know if you added too much or not. I'd say probably not if it had just been the mica but I don't know because of the cherry liquid. It will be interesting to hear about the results.

 

[kazmi]

I think colorants have been the biggest learning curve for me - not enough, too little, not the right color. So I feel your pain about getting mad LOL I don't know if the cherry liquid will take your color saturation over the edge since I've only been experimenting with oxides and micas and showing them whose the boss. Let us know how it ends up when you get to try a bar.

 

[judymoody]

Only one way to find out!

A good clear saturated red is hard to obtain and it looks like you got a nice one!

 

[angelsthreeinc]

Oh my goodness! I am so jealous I have been trying to perfect red( this is the hardest color for me) an your soap is simply GORGEOUS!

 

[Lildlege1]

Yep what they said! I can't get red to turn RED lol your soap is pretty.

 

[Millymarket]

It looks pretty i hopeit doesn't turn everything red on you im new at this so i couldn't tell you but i love your loafs look

 

[seven]

Very pretty swirls!

Yes yesss pls do post cut pics, i really want to see the inside.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Looks great! When are you cutting it?

 

[kikajess]

Thank you, everyone, for the compliments and kind words. I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving. One thing I'm thankful for is this forum!

Thinking about this soap is what got me out of bed at 6:19 this morning.

I let it thaw in the fridge most of yesterday afternoon and evening, then left it in my soap closet overnight. It seems like it escaped gelling, which was my intention. However, the red is now slightly pale, like a very dark pinkish red. It's nice, though.

The loaf is like a stick of butter right now--a little too soft to handle, but firm. I unmolded it this morning, and now it's getting some air. I hope by tonight it will be hard enough to cut. The suspense of what it looks like inside is torturing me!

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Us too!

I think from now on I'm going to try to wait with pics till I can get things set up for it properly (my tent, DSLR and so on). But it's so hard to wait!

 

[kikajess]

Cut pics

I love these soaps! I got what I was going for, a candy cane, peppermint look. Even my boyfriend said they look beautiful. The lather is just a tiny bit pink tinted. I can live with that.

 

[savonierre]

That is such a great red, I hope it is perfect when cut..

 

[Hazel]

Really beautiful and I love the swirl. I wouldn't be bothered by pink lather, either.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Stunning swirls and color!

 

[renata]

Gorgeous! I love those swirls and the color combo is just perfect

 

[Skatergirl46]

Beautiful! Great swirls!

 

[TVivian]

Yay! It's perfect!