Starting My Soaping Journey

[KiwiSoap]

Thanks for testing my soap for me KiwiSoap. So it looks like mine will end up at about 90% of their unmoulded weight. Good to know

It has definitely been my pleasure! Thank you for so generously sharing your recipe and for all your helpful advice!!

 

[KiwiSoap]

Today, inspired by Natural Colourant Goddess, (@Dawni), and she who is in direct communication with the Goddess (@KiwiMoose)'s Green Colourant thread, I am experimenting with green colourants.

I call it The Battle of the Greens -- I coloured with ingredients I'd read elsewhere as being used which I also had on hand:

• Chlorella
• Spirulina
• Matcha
• Parsley flakes
• Chromium Green

I made my usual soap batter (thanks @KiwiMoose!) and took half cups of soap batter to add the colourant to, added ⅛ tsp colourant (except for matcha and parsley flakes which I added ¼ tsp of), mixed and poured.

There are two sets: one for CPOP (sitting in the oven now) and one which went to the garage (which on this cold and wet day has no chance of gelling).

Clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha

Whoops, getting messy: Chromium green

The matcha seems to have changed colour already, and I should have infused the parsley flakes in oil beforehand ... let's see how it turns out

 

[KiwiMoose]

So glad I didn’t use matcha!
Do you have a coffee grinder? You could grind the parsley into a powder.

 

[earlene]

Today, inspired by Natural Colourant Goddess, (@Dawni), and she who is in direct communication with the Goddess (@KiwiMoose)'s Green Colourant thread, I am experimenting with green colourants.

I call it The Battle of the Greens -- I coloured with ingredients I'd read elsewhere as being used which I also had on hand:

• Chlorella
• Spirulina
• Matcha
• Parsley flakes
• Chromium Green

I made my usual soap batter (thanks @KiwiMoose!) and took half cups of soap batter to add the colourant to, added ⅛ tsp colourant (except for matcha and parsley flakes which I added ¼ tsp of), mixed and poured.

There are two sets: one for CPOP (sitting in the oven now) and one which went to the garage (which on this cold and wet day has no chance of gelling).

Clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha
View attachment 39440
Whoops, getting messy: Chromium green
View attachment 39441

The matcha seems to have changed colour already, and I should have infused the parsley flakes in oil beforehand ... let's see how it turns out

What is your Matcha like? And how did you prepare it? I just bought two bags of Macha Tea Powder, a bright green tea that looks exactly as pictured on the package: https://ujido.com/collections/all/products/matcha-4oz
And a brown Roasted Matcha Tea which also looks exactly as pictured on the package: https://ujido.com/collections/all/products/roasted-matcha-2oz

I am just wondering how yours started out, if it was green and is turning brown in soap. And of course, how you prepared it (infusion? water? oil? added to the lye solution? etc.)

I am drinking the Matha green tea right now, which turned an olive green in the hot water. Of course, with my experience with green botanicals, I expect it would turn brown in soap, but I thought, why not give it a try using different methods to see what kinds of results I can get.

 

[KiwiSoap]

So glad I didn’t use matcha!
Do you have a coffee grinder? You could grind the parsley into a powder.

Hallo KiwiMoose! It looks to be turning a really beautiful shade, just not of the colour intended (although I had an inkling that was going to happen). Our only small grinder is our Nutribullet, but I didn't have enough parsley flakes to process properly. We'll see what it does...

What is your Matcha like? And how did you prepare it?
I am just wondering how yours started out, if it was green and is turning brown in soap. And of course, how you prepared it (infusion? water? oil? added to the lye solution? etc.)

Hallo Earlene, this was pure green matcha (although it has been sitting in the cupboard for a while so not as fresh as the drink you're enjoying!) All of the samples I added straight to the batter, I did think about preparing them in oil first but was short on time so tried some economies... (although I think it is only truly 'economical' when wisely applied, but I'm learning!)

Here is a photo of the four samples (apologies for 'potato quality'), clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha:

I have read about a botanical that will stay green but couldn't have that ready in time for today. Another adventure!

Thank you for your questions and suggestions!

 

[KiwiSoap]

Update: Day 1
Left set: Gelled, clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha, bottom: chromium green; Right set: ungelled

 

[KiwiMoose]

Update: Day 1
Left set: Gelled, clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha, bottom: chromium green; Right set: ungelled
View attachment 39457

Well that IS interesting - I had heard the gelling actually precipitates the colour morphing and fading for spirulina. Not so it appears. I guess we will have to wait...

 

[KiwiSoap]

Well that IS interesting - I had heard the gelling actually precipitates the colour morphing and fading for spirulina. Not so it appears. I guess we will have to wait...

I'll keep you posted on how things go, interested to see how long things hold for and how they change, right now we're headed to Akaroa for the rest of the long weekend (Winter is making it's arrival known, tomorrow is forecast to be nice though). Enjoy your break!

 

[Dawni]

Very interesting! I like how your spirulina turned out, such a nice, soft shade.

I haven't tried matcha but the powder I've seen in my sister's stash is loads more greener than yours, a lot like in earlene's first link. You've made me wanna steal some from my sis to try it out in HP lol

I'm glad my messes inspire you hihihi

 

[melinda48]

Thanks! No colours or fragrance this time, how boring! Will go through your media again for inspiration! I need to put in that order for soy wax, avocado oil and ROE, so will pick some colours and fragrance as well


Great tip, will def try this next time, speed the process along!

Making a nice bar of soap is never boring! Enjoy that it came out well. Use some, save some and move to the next bar

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I like them all . I really appreciate that you provided the detailed information so clearly! That’s a big difference in appearance for the gelled vs. ungelled soaps and it’s nice to be able to see them side-by-side. Your lighting is also really good. Is it natural light?

 

[KiwiSoap]

I like them all . I really appreciate that you provided the detailed information so clearly! That’s a big difference in appearance for the gelled vs. ungelled soaps and it’s nice to be able to see them side-by-side. Your lighting is also really good. Is it natural light?

Thank you @Mobjack Bay, appreciate the feedback! Lovely colours so far, we'll see how they hold... And yes, the lighting for this set has been all natural so far (I'll have to remember to take photos at the right times now, as we near the Winter's Solstice we have less and less of it!)

 

[KiwiSoap]

Batch 9: Salt Bars
I've made one batch of salt bars already, which are patiently waiting until summer returns for use, and I realised that if they are half as good as the talk around here says then I am going to need some more! Last time was an introduction to Coconut oil in soap, and I made 100% CO with 20% superfat and different levels of salt (0%, 25%, 50%, 100%).
This time I thought I would try 80% CO with 20% avocado oil and fine sea salt. Having not tried my first bars yet, I wasn't sure which percentage of salt was best so I made 25%, 50% and 100%. To help distinguish them I used increasing levels of Ultramarine Blue, added to the salt. Superfat at 20% again.

Here they are before unmoulding (see 'What Soapy Thing Have You Done Today?' for the glamour shot

Batch 8: 'Battle of the Greens' One week update
So, last week I tried some natural green colourants to see how they would perform over time.

Left set: Gelled, clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha, bottom: chromium green; Right set: ungelled

One week later:

It looks like the gelled Chlorella and Spirulina have mellowed out a bit, and the ungelled have caught up in colour. Lots of soda ash on the ungelled set, which I largely removed with a steam bath. How long until the Battle of the Greens turns Brown?

 

[Dawni]

Batch 8: 'Battle of the Greens' One week update
So, last week I tried some natural green colourants to see how they would perform over time.

Left set: Gelled, clockwise from top left: chlorella, spirulina, parsley flakes, matcha, bottom: chromium green; Right set: ungelled
View attachment 39641One week later:
View attachment 39642
It looks like the gelled Chlorella and Spirulina have mellowed out a bit, and the ungelled have caught up in colour. Lots of soda ash on the ungelled set, which I largely removed with a steam bath. How long until the Battle of the Greens turns Brown?

Nice greens! My soap that had both spirulina and chlorella, among other things, looked kinda like your spirulina after unmolding... But my high salt content faded it rather quickly into a tan at about 3ish months. Let's see how long yours take.

I really like the one with just chlorella, different than freshly made but still a nice green

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I still love all of the colors you got and gelled and ungelled. Are you keeping them in the light during this test? I would love to know just how long anyone has had the natural green colors hold in the dark. Inspired by you and @szaza, yesterday I made soap with matcha tea powder soaked in olive oil (for 24 hours). The powder didn’t feel gritty or scratchy, so I went ahead and added it as a slurry with the oil. My powder was bright green out of the bag and the color is still green. ( I also have major problems with ash when I use these individual bar molds although it’s not so bad for this batch. I covered the soap with plastic wrap after it firmed up enough). I did not attempt to gel these, just left them sitting on the counter.

 

[szaza]

This is such a wonderful thread! I can't believe I'm only seeing this now.. I'm very curious how your soaps will hold up @KiwiSoap! And I hope you have better luck with your matcha infusion than me @Mobjack Bay!

 

[KiwiSoap]

Are you keeping them in the light during this test? I would love to know just how long anyone has had the natural green colors hold in the dark.

The soaps are stored in the garage between photos, so mostly living in the dark. Hopefully this may extend their life, but I think the biggest threat to the colours is the lye monster, and that chlorella and spirulina have lasted so long because their cell walls are (currently) intact; my matcha however wouldn't have that protection which is why it went brown so quickly.

Yesterday I made soap with matcha tea powder soaked in olive oil (for 24 hours). The powder didn’t feel gritty or scratchy, so I went ahead and added it as a slurry with the oil. My powder was bright green out of the bag and the color is still green. ( I also have major problems with ash when I use these individual bar molds although it’s not so bad for this batch. I covered the soap with plastic wrap after it firmed up enough). I did not attempt to gel these, just left them sitting on the counter.
View attachment 39651

Wow, your soap colour is beautiful! I wonder what this means for my theory above, I hope that colour will last, keep us posted!!

Thank you both, @Mobjack Bay and @szaza for your kind words and all that you've shared that has in turn helped and inspired me!

 

[KiwiSoap]

Nice greens! My soap that had both spirulina and chlorella, among other things, looked kinda like your spirulina after unmolding... But my high salt content faded it rather quickly into a tan at about 3ish months. Let's see how long yours take.

I really like the one with just chlorella, different than freshly made but still a nice green

Thank you always, @Dawni! Fortunately I didn't use salt in these, so that won't be a factor, though I know the tan will still come..

"3ish months?" Ooph -- I hadn't thought how long I might need to leave them on that board! I don't want them to move about too much, for consistency in the photos, but I'm out of curing space again. Maybe there are some other soaps I can box to make more room for more soap... #feed the addiction...#

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I still love all of the colors you got and gelled and ungelled. Are you keeping them in the light during this test? I would love to know just how long anyone has had the natural green colors hold in the dark. Inspired by you and @szaza, yesterday I made soap with matcha tea powder soaked in olive oil (for 24 hours). The powder didn’t feel gritty or scratchy, so I went ahead and added it as a slurry with the oil. My powder was bright green out of the bag and the color is still green. ( I also have major problems with ash when I use these individual bar molds although it’s not so bad for this batch. I covered the soap with plastic wrap after it firmed up enough). I did not attempt to gel these, just left them sitting on the counter.

View attachment 39651

I also should should have thanked @Zany_in_CO and @KiwiMoose and all of the other contributors to the threads for being a part of the inspiration for my soap

 

[KiwiSoap]

I also should should have thanked @Zany_in_CO and @KiwiMoose and all of the other contributors to the threads for being a part of the inspiration for my soap

I echo your thanks, and to all the other unnamed people who've contributed to this community. A true team effort behind each of our soaps!!