TD

[CLMP]

Just wondering what is the best way to mix TD. Now that I started adding it to my colors it's leaving white smears of little drag marks in the form of little lines on my soap when I cut it. I have the kind you mix in oil plus I need to buy more is the water or oil mixing TD better just wondering down below is a pic of the TD smears.

 

[ToniO]

I've only started using TD so maybe someone else on here can give you a better insight.
I make mostly GM soaps and don't gel them so they stay pretty white.
I have been using it in my Aloe soap tho and I mix my TD with a little Aloe juice (it's the water TD).
I like to strain my lye mix (and then any additives) with a fine (400) mesh sieve when I pour it into my oil mix, so any and all 'bits' will be caught.

With your current soap (it looks beautiful btw!), you can rescue it by giving it a gentle scrape across with a bendy painter's palette knife (also a good way to fill in any imperfections on freshly cut soap). I've seen this done by Tree Marie Soapworks on Youtube and it's great!

 

[CreativeWeirdo]

I, personally, have not started using TD and am still using a white mica.

But I am a loyal member of the Royalty Court! And our Duchess of Suds, Katie Carson, on her Royalty Soaps channel uses exclusively the TD that is WATER soluble. She states in many of her videos that she finds it gives a "whiter white". So, I would say that's a good endorsement.

 

[CLMP]

I've only started using TD so maybe someone else on here can give you a better insight.
I make mostly GM soaps and don't gel them so they stay pretty white.
I have been using it in my Aloe soap tho and I mix my TD with a little Aloe juice (it's the water TD).
I like to strain my lye mix (and then any additives) with a fine (400) mesh sieve when I pour it into my oil mix, so any and all 'bits' will be caught.

With your current soap (it looks beautiful btw!), you can rescue it by giving it a gentle scrape across with a bendy painter's palette knife (also a good way to fill in any imperfections on freshly cut soap). I've seen this done by Tree Marie Soapworks on Youtube and it's great!

Thank you I made a few mistakes with this soap the TD plus the FO I used accelerated pretty fast so I had to swirl that in a minute lol I poured as fast as I could it's grape not sure if I like it lol.

 

[Relle]

I use TD, take out some oil out of your total oils, mix to a slurry, then you can add in back in to the total oils and mix with a blender before colours and scent. If you are separating out colours, mix to a slurry, add to the one you want and hand mix with a spatula. Remember it will thicken the batter up quite quick.

 

[ToniO]

Thank you I made a few mistakes with this soap the TD plus the FO I used accelerated pretty fast so I had to swirl that in a minute lol I poured as fast as I could it's grape not sure if I like it lol.

Been there, done that! I made a lemon/lime aloe soap the other day and the plastic grid I was going to drag through to give an interesting pattern to my 3 shades of green, broke and sunk and i had to fish it out. Then I forgot about doing any kind of swirls and ended up with a soap with 3 weird blocks of color! At least you remembered your swirls and it looks pretty!!

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use the water soluble stuff - make sure you mix it in really well with the water before adding or it will go lumpy and result in your little streaks. Last year I did what I see a lot of soapers do on YouTube - i mixed up a whole bunch with some water and put it into a squeezy bottle with a marble to mix it up again before each use.

 

[BritS]

I also use the water soluble TD. Funny story… I thought it was oil soluble, and it just wouldn’t incorporate. I thought I had a bad batch. Nope. It blends perfectly with water. I tend to use it sparingly, enough to notice a batter change. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back.

 

[ToniO]

I use the water soluble stuff - make sure you mix it in really well with the water before adding or it will go lumpy and result in your little streaks. Last year I did what I see a lot of soapers do on YouTube - i mixed up a whole bunch with some water and put it into a squeezy bottle with a marble to mix it up again before each use.

What a great idea!

 

[Christa10]

I found this method on youtube and have used it ever since. It works quite well.

 

[KiwiMoose]

^what you don't see in her video is that TD makes a mess on everything it touches. It's like working with white enamel paint. I would HATE to use my good blender (or even my old blender), and my funnel to mix it up. She says you can scrape out the blender - well even if you do it will still be left with a coating of white. It doesn't just rinse off - it needs to be wiped out thoroughly with a paper towel. For this reason I always mix it by hand in a paper cup then shape the cup into a 'point' then pour it into my bottle.

 

[ToniO]

I found this method on youtube and have used it ever since. It works quite well.

Thanks for posting. I love listening to her voice!!

 

[melinda48]

Just wondering what is the best way to mix TD. Now that I started adding it to my colors it's leaving white smears of little drag marks in the form of little lines on my soap when I cut it. I have the kind you mix in oil plus I need to buy more is the water or oil mixing TD better just wondering down below is a pic of the TD smears.View attachment 70808

Lisa from I Dream in Soap has a terrific uTube video on making your TD pre-mix. It works perfectly.

Thanks for posting. I love listening to her voice!!

Love her approach to soaping. She is extremely thorough and her voice is,, indeed, wonderful to listen to!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thanks for posting. I love listening to her voice!!

Meh - after spending 10 years in the UK I'm not a fan of British accents. I love American accents though - and Scottish.

 

[melinda48]

I found this method on youtube and have used it ever since. It works quite well.

I use this method exclusively after watching Lisa’s uTube video. I also use her method for my oxides and couldn’t be happier with how it works. I use stainless steel nuts as my “mixers”. Works great! Her videos are so detailed and complete - she has become my go-to for various techniques.

 

[Whillow]

I also use the water soluble TD in a squirty bottle. I added 2 small little pebbles since I didn't have any marbles (I lost those years ago-lol). Also if you use it - it will turn a better white if you SB it real quick to incorporate. Not sure if anyone mentioned that already.

 

[Catscankim]

Water soluble weighing in here!! I have tried so many different methods of mixing my oil TD. I am sure it is user error, but i just could not get it so i didnt end up with td boogers in my soap no matter how smooth i thought i got it.

Actually, i had leftover oil td when i made the switch, and just mixed it in with my water td (powder), its still fine using it with just water (Always from my batch water)

ACTUALLY ACTUALLY, i started using my oil td mixed with water after so much frustration, and it worked just fine, thats when i decided to dump the two powders together so as not to waste anything.

White micas are a waste of money imo. You need SOOOO much to get it the color you want. I am speaking on NS white micas, and the website actually tells you as such.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I bought this brand of water or oil soluble TD on Amazon. I add it to DI water in a squirt bottle and shake it to disperse the particles. No lumps, no fuss. Even if it sits for a week or two, the particles resuspend easily when I shake the container. When I add TD to the batter, I hand stir to distribute it as evenly as possible and then SB for a second or two. The first TD I had was oil soluble and it was serious work to get the lumps out.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

I seem to remember hearing somewhere that TD mixed with water was prone to go bad if not used quickly, but mixing it with oil preserves it for pre-mixing larger amounts. Anyone else know if this is true?
I mix mine with oil using Lisa's method and it's been working well for me. No more white flecks.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I seem to remember hearing somewhere that TD mixed with water was prone to go bad if not used quickly, but mixing it with oil preserves it for pre-mixing larger amounts. Anyone else know if this is true?
I mix mine with oil using Lisa's method and it's been working well for me. No more white flecks.

I've been premixing mine with water for over a year now and I haven't had problems wiht it going bad yet. However I tend to remix every 2 months at most because I don't make large quantities of it each time.