So glad you like it Rachelle!
for colorants, I use less than 1 tsp of powder ppo (per pound of oils), and if I want solid color, I mix it with a little of the oils before trace, and mix it into the pot really well to avoid clumps. My recipe uses 6 pounds of oils, and sometimes I only use 2 Tbsp color ( 1 Tbsp=3 tsps)
But lately, my fav coloring technique (cuz I do not like the soap to color my washcloth) is to take out a cup of soap at medium trace, add in the powders which have been mixed with a little of the oils first ( I find the powders don't blend well with water); stir really well, then pour the cup of colored soap back into the pot and stir it only 3 times. Then pour into the mold for a nice swirled effect.
as for dried herbs, I usually grind them well in a coffee grinder, and if I'm using lavender buds, mix in a tsp of colored powder before adding to soap; because lavender buds turn blackish brown in soap, looking like mouse turds. But with a little color in there, they are disguised as herbs.
When I add oatmeal and/or cornmeal (for exfoliation) I use 1/2 cup of ground stuff to my 6 pounds of oils. Could add more, but this seems sufficient for my tastes. Once I added poppy seeds and found the soap painfully scrubby, but my S-I-L loved it. Different tastes.
I have added honey in at trace, and also into the lye water (it turns bright orange and smells burnt, but works ok in the soap). I don't discount the water for the added honey. I love honey in soap.
It has a tendency to cause the soap to heat up more in the mold, so I cover it less heavily then, or not at all.
If you don't cover your molds, the soap will not turn gel-like but remain opaque in color. This is ok too, but the gelled soaps seem to get harder, in time, than the un-gelled.
I also find that adding sugar or honey to soap makes the bubbles in the lather bigger.
Just my personal observations. Somebody else may tell you different things.
