Pigments stain counter

[Sab_77]

I have made a soap with the Green oxide pigment and when the soap is wet, the green seems to spill, or drip from it. Colored water drops fall from the soap and it colors the counter.

I've never used commercial colored bar soaps, but I was wondering if this was normal? IE, do people who buy a blue soap from the store expect it to drip blue?

It does not stain the skin though. I have not had the problem with the Marine blue pigment but I think I used less (in proportion) than I did with the green.

 

[shunt2011]

Generally if it's dripping color you are likely using too much. Although, some colors will bleed some onto the surface or wash cloths. I tell customers not to use a 15 dollar cloth. Mostly oxides give me the most trouble if too much is used. I mostly use micas.

 

[Obsidian]

I use green oxide and it never drips color. I use just enough to give a nice color. If I want really dark or vibrant color, I'll use mica instead.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Been there and done that, with green oxide, ultramarine blue, and black oxide. And once, with Blue #1, leaving purple residue all over the place.

Like the above note, we use too much, you and I. Cut back the amounts and, for a good dark green, look for a forest green mica.

You can also use a much smaller amount of green oxide and just a nick (the tip of a spoon, really) per pound of black oxide. That will deepen any color beautifully, but mind using too much. Black is extremely powerful.

 

[cmzaha]

Green Oxide can be bad about running color even though I love green oxide. Other bad colorants for running color include but not necessarily all are red oxides, red clays, rose clay, and even soaps that turn brown from vanilla content will drip color. My labels have a warning about color running in handmade soaps. I also tell my customers not to use a $20 white wash cloth and do not set the soap directly on a counter or sink top

 

[Sab_77]

Ok, thanks everyone. Good to know. I will use less for my batches.

I was reluctant to use micas, thought they were not as natural.. although after some research I found that it wasn't true. Neither are natural (mica is natural but the one we would buy is synthetic).

So whenever we use those, we can't say the soap is all natural. It seemed less of an issue when I used clays. I will continue in that route then, I love to say that my soaps are natural..

 

[shunt2011]

Ok, thanks everyone. Good to know. I will use less for my batches.

I was reluctant to use micas, thought they were not as natural.. although after some research I found that it wasn't true. Neither are natural (mica is natural but the one we would buy is synthetic).

So whenever we use those, we can't say the soap is all natural. It seemed less of an issue when I used clays. I will continue in that route then, I love to say that my soaps are natural..

Just an FYI, I never consider soap as all natural. It's made with lye....not natural.

 

[Sab_77]

No? My first soaps were made with KOH made from the ashes of a fire I made outside. I guess I assumed the NaOH was similar, probably a mistake. It's true that at first I thought I was making lye, NaOH from my ashes, then discovered it was in fact KOH. I might have stayed with that impression!

EDIT: I just want to say that I don't sell my soaps! I would never advertise about something I was unsure of. I just thought of them as natural for myself and my family!

 

[jcandleattic]

No? My first soaps were made with KOH made from the ashes of a fire I made outside. I guess I assumed the NaOH was similar, probably a mistake. It's true that at first I thought I was making lye, NaOH from my ashes, then discovered it was in fact KOH. I might have stayed with that impression!

EDIT: I just want to say that I don't sell my soaps! I would never advertise about something I was unsure of. I just thought of them as natural for myself and my family!

Wood ash lye is closer to KOH and will usually never yield a hard bar. I think it was DeeAnna that had a great post about this somewhere on the forum. Although it's a few years old, so I'm sure it's well and buried.

 

[Sab_77]

Oh, thanks. I'm definitely NOT looking into that anymore. So, so much work for a bar of soap. I burned my wood for 3 days straight, adding wood late at night and first thing in the morning (it's winter here in Quebec, snow on the ground, etc.. not fun to wakeup and walk outside at 6am to feed the fire). Then it took me a whole day to add water to the ashes and strain it. And then several hours of boiling it down to get the "lye" or "KOH" or something close to that.. with windows and doors open in my house because of the fumes (it was freezing cold). And then having so little semi-lye that I could do only a few bars of - very soft - soap..

I am not trying that again! lol.

I am looking into ordering micas, will be trying that. Thanks all, again, for the help.