Struggling with colorants

[lrachel]

I guess this is morphing? Tried several small batches today. One I put in a purple mica (that I've used before without any issues). I had to add a TON to get to a semi-purple. Then in another batch, I had a turquoise-y green color. It disappeared. I mixed up and added more........same thing. Looks like I put nothing in! The second was a pigment.

Any coloring suggestions so I can stop adding to my rebatch pile?

 

[newbie]

Whose micas and which color names? Purples often will go grayish while in active soap and then will come back once the pH drops. There are many blues that are not soap stable but plenty are. Some places will list which micas are soap stable and which not, but not all of them do.

Nurture and Mad Oils specify which of their micas are stable in soaps so they are reliable suppliers for colorants.

 

[jenneelk]

Yeah I have had this happen a lot while testing out different places and you would be shocked to see how much left over I now have and won't use. Once I found Nurtures I haven't even tried others. I've never had problems with theirs and their guidelines are pretty on par from my experience.

 

[MoonStruck]

The biggest tip I have for you is to learn your chemical names. Ferric ferrocyanide and carmine are both extremely common pigment ingredients in purples, blues and reds and both react negatively to a high ph.

 

[lrachel]

Thanks. I ordered some micas from Nuture to try.

 

[commoncenz]

Thanks. I ordered some micas from Nuture to try.

Did you order a sample pack? The brights and vibrance lines of micas are very good.

 

[not_ally]

That's weird about the pigment, though, have never heard of one of them doing that. What was it, and where did it come from?

TKB also shows most of their micas for CP in soap pictures and specifies if they morph. If they don't have a picture, I don't order unless I am dying to use one and then I ask them, it sometimes takes a couple of days but they do respond.

 

[jcandleattic]

I agree with the others, it could be chemical morphing, and Nurture's are some of the best out there, along with a few other companies.

It could also just be a weird phenomenon that happens every now and then to my soaps.
For example - this is something that happened to one of my soaps. I put in pink mica, and it turned orange, but after saponification, it came back as the pink I wanted.

Before:



After:

 

[newbie]

A few of Nurtures will also morph some in high pH but they will come back. A couple of their yellows will go orange and their green vibrance grays a bit while in batter but they all come back once the pH settles down. I think she had that info on the descriptions, though.

 

[lrachel]

I ordered from ebay (I know, I know). Brand was Dr. Adorable.

From Nuture, I ordered Vibrance samples.

 

[lsg]

I agree with those who recommended Nurture products. When purchasing colorants for CP soaps, I always make sure the description states that the colorants will not fade or morph in CP soap.

 

[Spice]

I agree with the others, it could be chemical morphing, and Nurture's are some of the best out there, along with a few other companies.

It could also just be a weird phenomenon that happens every now and then to my soaps.
For example - this is something that happened to one of my soaps. I put in pink mica, and it turned orange, but after saponification, it came back as the pink I wanted.

Before:



After:

what kind of mold did you use for this soap?

 

[jcandleattic]

Spice, I got it from a friend of mine for $5 - it's a 10" Crafter's Choice silicone mold. My bars after curing weigh about 5.75oz, and this is 2lbs of oils.

 

[not_ally]

I have two of those molds, J, they are my go-to's for medium size (for a hobbyist) batches. I especially like the clear one, you can kind of see how the swirls have gone in through the mold while you are pouring.