Trial by fire: I can't make it work!

[lenarenee]

I followed the directions - 2 tsp per lb of oil. I cpop one, and didn't the other. Both turned out a purple dark pink - like an anemic cranberry. Now, because my heavily td'd white layer wasn't very white - I wonder if there's a touch of discoloring from WSP's peppermint stick fo, even though the reviews said no discoloring. But I think there's something going on that I don't understand about Trial by Fire.

 

[gardengeek]

I've only used it twice and the notes I have for this bar was for 11 grams of batter I used 1/8 tsp of Trial by Fire and a smidge (yes, I actually recorded that) of Black Oyster mica. The soaps were for a birthday gift for my friend who is an avid Ohio Buckeye fan so I was worried that if I didn't add the black it would be too bright red.

Edited to add:
I didn't CPOP it. I found a wood Buckeye cigar box, lined it with parchment paper, and placed it in a cardboard box with towels. I'm sure I covered the box with a towel too.

 

[AliOop]

Sorry @lenarenee I have nothing to offer; I’m just here to gawk at @gardengeek’s soap masterpiece.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I followed the directions - 2 tsp per lb of oil. I cpop one, and didn't the other. Both turned out a purple dark pink - like an anemic cranberry. Now, because my heavily td'd white layer wasn't very white - I wonder if there's a touch of discoloring from WSP's peppermint stick fo, even though the reviews said no discoloring. But I think there's something going on that I don't understand about Trial by Fire.

What did it look like when you mixed it in the batter? I just got this color but haven’t used it yet.

 

[lenarenee]

What did it look like when you mixed it in the batter? I just got this color but haven’t used it yet.

It looked very much like it does now. I cpop it and the color didn’t change. Although, I think the white got dingy-er..

 

[lenarenee]

What did it look like when you mixed it in the batter? I just got this color but haven’t used it yet.

I used 2 tablespoons of coconut milk powder in this 2.5 lb recipe, and gelled it. Would that affect the color?

 

[glendam]

That is so odd, I have always gotten a bright red with Trial by fire. Even with soap dough that I didn’t gel. I do remember once I got a more pale looking red (just slightly) because I had not used enough. I used it to make soap dough for these watermelons:

Recipe is here just in case. I wonder if the coconut milk played a role in your case.
https://soapsbyglenda.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/making-soap-watermelons/

 

[Arimara]

Do you have a pic of the soap, @lenarenee ?

 

[GemstonePony]

What color is your soap batter if you don't have anything influencing it's coloring? And if your white layer wasn't white, what color was it? TD and Trial by Fire are both pretty potent, so if they're getting overpowered I'm curious what they're up against. WSP's Peppermint Stick isn't known to discolor, but their Peppermint Cream and Peppermint Bark ones do, so I wonder if there was a mixup.

 

[tommysgirl]

I used it recently for the first time and had no issues. I honestly didn't measure exactly how much I used but I think I just got a little on the end of a popsicle stick and mixed with a little oil then mixed to the portion of batter I wanted red. I put it in an insulated tote, covered with a towel and zipped the tote closed. I'm not positive if it gelled I never actually caught it at a point that I felt like it looked translucent, but I tried to leave it alone to keep the heat in. I used 2Tbsp GM powder in this batch and the FO is Sweet Orange and Chili from Nurture.

 

[jcandleattic]

All of these look more red to me than when I try to use trial by fire. Mine always comes out pink - no matter what I do with this mica I get pink every single time.
So instead, I use Mad Micas true red set and get a true Christmas red every single time.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I used 2 tablespoons of coconut milk powder in this 2.5 lb recipe, and gelled it. Would that affect the color?

Not sure, but every time I use any kind of milk in a soap it darkens it some as I always gel. Did you use any darker colored oils that may have affected it? Possibly you just need to use more mica. Seems like there are a lot of differing results from people.

 

[lenarenee]

Do you have a pic of the soap, @lenarenee ?

I do. I used freezer paper to contrast the white, and a bar of soap made with same recipe but didn't use td in the white.

The other soap is colored with NSS red raspberry . Of course the pics make the peppermint soap look slightly better than reality! I used NS td....which is powerful stuff, so that white should be bright.

 

[Jersey Girl]

I do. I used freezer paper to contrast the white, and a bar of soap made with same recipe but didn't use td in the white.

The soap on the right is coming through looking red to me on my screen. The drop swirl soap looks more dark pink to me.

 

[lenarenee]

The soap on the right is coming through looking red to me on my screen. The drop swirl soap looks more dark pink to me.

Unfortunately the pic makes it look good. They are actually almost identical in real life. The red raspberry looks a bit brighter in the picture.

 

[tommysgirl]

I know its not what you wanted and this doesn't help your issue, but I wanted to say it is very pretty

 

[GemstonePony]

Mom and I have noticed that our phone cameras tend to make things more red than they appear, which is frustrating if we're trying to tone match paint/furniture/etc.
I have noticed that TbF seems to be tone-corrected for a slightly orange base, so if your batter is normally very white and TbF is looking purple in it, you may need to throw a little orange Mica in there. Or switch to True Red and discontinue using TbF altogether. Or just put honey/sugar in everything.

 

[dibbles]

Do you have NS My Red Obsession? This is a soap I made with WSP Peppermint Stick and My Red Obsession. It was a couple of years ago and I can't remember if I added a bit of Really Red to it or not. can find here.

I find MRO to be red enough for me in most cases, but if I want to bump it to a brighter, more cherry red I will add a small bit of Trial by Fire or Really Red.

 

[TashaBird]

Mom and I have noticed that our phone cameras tend to make things more red than they appear, which is frustrating if we're trying to tone match paint/furniture/etc.
I have noticed that TbF seems to be tone-corrected for a slightly orange base, so if your batter is normally very white and TbF is looking purple in it, you may need to throw a little orange Mica in there. Or switch to True Red and discontinue using TbF altogether. Or just put honey/sugar in everything.

Maybe that’s why my TbF is pretty red, because my base tends to be orange-ish. Then I separate some out to add white to. If I’m converting it right, this is 1 1/4t per 2 1/2c batter. I always add sugar, so the base has some color to start out.

 

[Carolyne Thrasher]

Did you add td to your base or lye water? I use coconut milk and a fairly light colored base recipe and get a good red from Trial by fire. But I’ve seen other people on Facebook mention having problems with it.