I like adding clay to soap for color. In the last year, I've had two successful batches, one with Brazilian red, one with Brazilian purple. Both maintained their colors very well. Recently I decided to use French green clay in a small batch of 400g oil. I used two rounded tsp (undispersed) of French green clay at emulsion and it looked great as I poured it. I wrapped it up to keep it warm (as I always do) and the next day I was surprised it had practically no hint of green at all (I saw it but my husband didn't; he thought it was meant to be cream). I'm motivated to try again given the size of the batch so I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thank you.
Troubleshooting Using French Green Clay for Color
- Thread starter Arlo
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I add about 2 TBS for 48 oz of oil and get a pale green bar. You might try adding more clay; but it will still give you a muted green.
I often mix chlorella powder and / or nettles to soaps in which I use green clay, simply because the color payoff is pretty lame when used alone, unless going for a very pale, pastel green.
Mixing chlorella with green clay bumps things up a notch, and it doesn't take much. And, as mentioned, finely ground stinging nettles also intensify things. I can obtain very nice, lasting green shades doing things this way. I am doing a 3 color batch tonight using only chlorella & nettles, actually, which are hydrating in a little bit of water right now.
Mixing chlorella with green clay bumps things up a notch, and it doesn't take much. And, as mentioned, finely ground stinging nettles also intensify things. I can obtain very nice, lasting green shades doing things this way. I am doing a 3 color batch tonight using only chlorella & nettles, actually, which are hydrating in a little bit of water right now.
I added 10 tbsp French green clay per pound of oil and got a dark green:
It may seem like a ridiculous amount, but it was less about the color and more about the different texture it creates. It’s still not a vibrant green, but I liked the soap a lot.
It may seem like a ridiculous amount, but it was less about the color and more about the different texture it creates. It’s still not a vibrant green, but I liked the soap a lot.
Hi, did this make the soap batter thick? I just got a bunch of French and Moroccan clay and I’m just starting to experiment with amounts. What is the effect on the texture with this amount of clay? Thank you!
The soap batter becomes impossibly thick! It’s like cookie dough batter. The texture of the finished soap is a bit like soap with pumice powder, but much more gentle. The main reason I liked it was that it doesn’t go flying out of your hands. The bubbles were also more creamy, which was nice. It held the scent really well too, and was ready to use after only a month of curing.
That’s great, thank you for that. One more question-how do you know it’s ready to use? Do you weigh it (weekly?)?
I enjoy watching your progress and experiments- in another post you had mentioned that too much clay made the bar brittle. Is this one brittle too but that’s ok? Thank you
Nah; I just waited the standard 4 weeks and called it done.
Yes, it was brittle, but lasted a good long while and only broke when it was basically uncomfortably small so all good
