What's your favourite way to colour?

[Cuckoo Bananas]

I'm still getting a grasp on colours, been using powdered oxides so far and my batch tonight didnt colour so well, i've ended up with a pukey colour (which is probably karma for laughing at another post here of puke looking soap). I really want to get rich vibrant looking colours so what do you all recommend as the best products to get that?

 

[TessC]

Lots of people like micas, ultramarines, and oxides, but I like my Select Shades liquid colors. There are a few colors that I just can't get out of them, so I keep some of the powdered colorants on hand for those.

 

[honor435]

i like my powder oxides, i also use some cheap michaels color that works well for hp, not vibrant color though, red- hot pink, green and blue work well.

 

[Stinkydancer]

I too like my powdered oxides and ultramarines! Mica in melt and pour...

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I'm using clays most of the time. :wink:

 

[whisks]

what types of clays are you using, jenny?

 

[reallyrita]

What is YOUR FAVORITE way to color?

I seem to turn to oxides most often for my CP soaps. I like some of the clays as well....but most of them make a soap that is too drying for only but the younger skin types. French Rose clay is my favorite though...you get a lovely dusty rose color and it is not drying in small amounts. I swirl with micas but these are less successful for me as an all over colorant. I have played with a few soap dyes, but I like the clays and oxides better....they give a softer color to the soaps which I find to be more inviting than the brighter, harsher dye colors. Just my own preferences though. Actually, I like best of all to just let the soap come out the color it wants to be on its own...brown, tan, creamy yellow or off white!

 

[Alexandra]

Spinach "dust", smashed carrot, smashed pumpkin, beetroot, cooked onion shell ... are my choice of natural colorants.

For more vibrant color I use food color for kids (light orange, vibrant red, yellow, blue)...

They are all untoxic and water based.

I would be very careful with oxides as a colorants in body-care products.

 

[Overthemoon]

So far I've only used oxides, micas and herbes. I mix them all the same way and have had pretty good luck. I always, and only want a swirl effect, solid colour is not something I have attempted, and am so far not in any hurry. But I do hp so if I don't like how the colour is going, I have a chance to fix it.

 

[chris21908]

a few minutes ago i tried using yerba mate tea grounded up into a powder. its a dark greenish color with a little abrasiveness to it such as using grounded up oatmeal in soap. its $3.99 for 2.2lbs of it so why not try it?? its definitely worth a try! we will see how it turns out!

 

[esehr]

color

We use rose, and red clays for color, also ground parsley (green), tumeric (orange), annatto seeds (yellow/orange) and alkanet root (purple). We try to stay all natural.

 

[honor435]

i thought oxides were for soap making, they are body safe correct?

 

[chickenjane]

Spinach "dust", smashed carrot, smashed pumpkin, beetroot, cooked onion shell ... are my choice of natural colorants.

For more vibrant color I use food color for kids (light orange, vibrant red, yellow, blue)...

They are all untoxic and water based.

I would be very careful with oxides as a colorants in body-care products.

This post has really got me excited.
I had thought of using beetroot carrot etc as colourants but feared they'd bleed onto your hands in use.
Does this happen?
also I own a food dehydrator . If I dry the sliced veg then put them through a coffee grinder I can use the powder & store the rest in sealed bags?

Please can you give a little more information on your colouring techniques,
Janr

 

[Bubbles Galore]

what types of clays are you using, jenny?

Just about all of them Whisks. :wink: