Procion dyes

[~Dragonfly~]

I have a bunch of fiber reactive Procion dyes that I used to dye yarn. Is there any reason they couldn’t be used for cp soap? It dissolves in water, doesn’t dissolve in olive oil. I haven’t tested it in lye water. Could there be a chemical reaction with the lye?

 

[Kamahido]

If it's not designed for use in Cold Process the color could morph. I had a beautiful purple morph into a puke green when I accidently used the wrong mica.

 

[Relle]

I have a bunch of fiber reactive Procion dyes that I used to dye yarn. Is there any reason they couldn’t be used for cp soap? It dissolves in water, doesn’t dissolve in olive oil. I haven’t tested it in lye water. Could there be a chemical reaction with the lye?

These dyes are specifically for fabric and fibres, not soap. I wouldn't use them for soap at all.

 

[Tara_H]

I wouldn't either - a lot of fabric dyes will bind to a protein when in a specific pH range. (Although I don't know those ones specifically) Great for dyeing wool, not so much if you want to avoid blue (or whatever) skin from your soap...

 

[DeeAnna]

Procion fiber reactive dyes are for plant-based cellulose fibers such as cotton and flax/linen. They require an alkaline environment to bind to the fibers and develop the color properly. That said, I don't know that I would use them in soap making.

For one thing, you'd need to test to see if the color stays true in a very alkaline environment such as soap. Also fiber reactive dyes react with the fiber just like the name says. Excess dye is normally removed before a person would wear the dyed fiber. They're skin safe in that kind of situation.

I couldn't guess whether they would be skin safe in soap or any other situation where they aren't bound to cellulose. That's definitely an "off label" use for these dyes, so unless you figure this out for yourself or find another soap maker who has that knowledge, it would be swimming in uncharted waters.

 

[~Dragonfly~]

Procion fiber reactive dyes are for plant-based cellulose fibers such as cotton and flax/linen. They require an alkaline environment to bind to the fibers and develop the color properly. That said, I don't know that I would use them in soap making.

For one thing, you'd need to test to see if the color stays true in a very alkaline environment such as soap. Also fiber reactive dyes react with the fiber just like the name says. Excess dye is normally removed before a person would wear the dyed fiber. They're skin safe in that kind of situation.

I couldn't guess whether they would be skin safe in soap or any other situation where they aren't bound to cellulose. That's definitely an "off label" use for these dyes, so unless you figure this out for yourself or find another soap maker who has that knowledge, it would be swimming in uncharted waters.

My mind was going to “I used soda ash as a fixative” and “if there can be a layer of soda ash on soap….”. I know they aren’t the same (or are they?) but it had me wondering. Maybe I’ll make a little extra the next time I make a batch and see how it works as far as color holding or changing, and see if there’s any skin irritation. I’m going to contact the manufacturer too.

 

[paradisi]

Procion dyes stain your skin til that layer of skin wears off, if your glove leaks while dyeing.

Seriously, there are hundreds of known, perfectly safe soap colorants. No matter how much you might want this to be a good idea, it's not.

 

[~Dragonfly~]

Procion dyes stain your skin til that layer of skin wears off, if your glove leaks while dyeing.

Seriously, there are hundreds of known, perfectly safe soap colorants. No matter how much you might want this to be a good idea, it's not.

Okay. I have so many dyes, I was kind of hoping this would be a good way to use them up. I really don’t want to use any artificial colors, though. I’ll go back to researching natural colorants

 

[Rsapienza]

I can attest to the skin staining. I make tie dyes and use procion dyes. My hands look like I’m turning into a smurf some days