Titanium Dioxide - interesting find...

[RogueRose]

I've been using TD on and off for a year and found that I never got the true white's that I was expecting and never understood the amounts people used and the color they got from it (they used so little & got good results). I thought that they may have had some special TD or I had some bad stuff.

Every time I used TD, I put it through a very fine tea strainer and sifted it so it fluffed up a lot. I measured amount first and then sifted. The TD flufed up to like 4-5x the volume after sifting. I thought this would ensure the mixture into the oil

I added the TD to either my EO/FO + maybe 5% of the oil and mixed well with a stick blender (very well) - then added to the main batch. Still didn't get color I desired.

I was recently trying to mix some green and it was clumping so I used a spatula to smear/press it against the bottom of the bowl (along with the TD in the bowl). Well I saw streaks of green & white, LOTS of streaks of white. The more I looked the more I saw that maybe 80%+ of the TD was VERY small clumps that wouldn't break up unless smeared with a spatula. After like 30 mins of this (yeah, had too much oil so had to chase them around) I had the whitest mix I had ever used and very little TD in comparison.

So I looked at past recipes and saw VERY small white specs which was the TD that hadn't broken up.

So, if you use TD, maybe take note of this and see if this is happening to you. I don't think mixing the way I did is the solution but it will work for the time being. What I would do is get a small bowl with a rounded bottom -> edge -> sides and *** maybe 1% of your oil with the TD and then use the spatula. Look for a consistency just a little more liquid than a thin paste. Just smear it across the bottom and sides.

The solution, I guess, is to find TD that doesn't clump like this. IDK what to look for to garuntee this but I know there has to be different mesh sizes. Also keep it as dry as possible when in storage as it is going to be mixed with an oil so a damp ()even a few %) will make a difference. IDK if it would mix better in the lye solution or possibley in some water. It is used as a ceramic's dye so maybe I'll look at how that is done b/c I don't see the specs in most glazes.

 

[Obsidian]

Another reason why I like TD that mixes with water, the clumps break up really easy.

 

[rparrny]

Another reason why I like TD that mixes with water, the clumps break up really easy.

Yeah, I didn't even realize my TD was made for water until I happened to get a good look at the label. Explained why my oil mixtures were so difficult to work with.

 

[houseofwool]

I keep all of my colorants premixed with water in squeeze bottles. I add a couple of marbles to help mix.

 

[IrishLass]

Yep, you need to make sure of what kind of TD you have. Some are water dispersible, and some are oil dispersible. Rose- it sounds like yours is the water dispersible kind.

When in doubt as to which kind of TD one has, I've found that they both mix well with vegetable glycerin.


IrishLass

 

[skayc1]

I made sure to buy the oil soluble TD...

 

[TwystedPryncess]

I have had both and prefer water soluble myself. Its like it just almost mixes itself. Mine is from NG, melts beautifully in the water. I still mix well of course, but it disperses much more easily than my oil soluble did. The oil soluble was fine, just like any other mica or oxide though. True that the key is to mix mix mix well! Also, since I still pretty much use full water in all my recipes, (I like slow trace whenever possible, still learning NOT to overenthustiastically stick blend, even after all this time) I have to worry about glycerin rivers. They can be beautiful when done on purpose, though. A goal on my soap technique list is to learn to control them. And not be terrified of water discounts.

 

[newbie]

It seems like oil soluble TD does best when it is mixed with oil and then allowed to sit for hours, to get fully saturated. I prefer water soluble but even then, if you just hand stir the td into batter, it's not nearly as good as if you SB into batter. Seems the same with oil dispersible. Being able to SB well into the batter make it far whiter than hand stirred. I try to pre-mix whatever type of TD well before I start soaping, just to be safe.

 

[cmzaha]

I know I have mentioned this before, I mix up jars of oil td with glycerin and an old whisk mixer attachment. Since I went to oil td I no longer have crackle issues that I always had when using water td. The longer it sits the better it dissolves. Stick blending it into your soap batter makes a big color difference.