Where to find clays

[ackosel]

I've been looking for clays for a while now. A year ago when I first started soaping, I bought a sampler off Amazon that has been giving decent results. It contained Bentonite, Moroccan red, French pink and French green clays. I like how the clays behave in soap, and have been looking for more color options, such as Cambria blue and Rose Kaolin clay. I'm having a hard time finding Cambrian blue clay anywhere but Amazon, which I would like to avoid if possible.

Last evening I stumbled across a website called Veda Oils that offered both Cambrian blue and Rose kaolin, as well as a pretty Brazillian purple and Glacial marine (green) clay. The website also offered essential oils, so I started browsing those and came across "Vanilla essential oil" on sale, 3.3 oz for $19.00. I have only found vanilla essential oil once, and it was so expensive my brain exploded. I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on the integrity of Veda Oils, if anyone has ever ordered from there, and/or whether or not it would be worth trying the clays from there, and maybe even trying the "vanilla essential oil" to see what it does.

Otherwise, does anyone have a reliable source for a nice variety of clay powders?

 

[AliOop]

I would be concerned about buying from this company, because:

1. There is no such thing as "vanilla essential oil," so this is definitely false advertising. The correct labeling would say "vanilla oleoresin."

2. The Cambrian blue clays that I have tried were grey in soap, not blue. If this one turns blue in soap, it probably has mica added (many colored clays do - even many from BB, although at least their labels says so).

3. True Glacial Marine clay is very expensive, and is more of a dull, greenish-mud color, not a true green.

Sorry to disappoint...

 

[ackosel]

I would be concerned about buying from this company, because:

1. There is no such thing as "vanilla essential oil," so this is definitely false advertising. The correct labeling would say "vanilla oleoresin."

2. The Cambrian blue clays that I have tried were grey in soap, not blue. If this one turns blue in soap, it probably has mica added (many colored clays do - even many from BB, although at least their labels says so).

3. True Glacial Marine clay is very expensive, and is more of a dull, greenish-mud color, not a true green.

Sorry to disappoint...

Thank you, I'm not disappointed - just needed confirmation that my gut feeling was correct.

Any recommendations for a "one-stop shop" for clays?

My hope for Blue clay is to use it in conjunction with indigo powder to get a lasting color. I used a couple teaspoons of olive oil mixed with indigo powder (following Holly's directions) for a swirl soap and it turned a beautiful green. But it faded completely before the 6-week cure was over. I have since made a proper indigo infusion, but don't want to put a lot of time and work into making pretty designs with it if it's going to fade to plain before I have a chance to use the soap. I don't mind if it fades over 6 months or a year, but three weeks isn't worth the effort. If I mix it with clay, at least some color will stick in the soap so the design is visible after cure, even if the color isn't what I envisioned.

 

[AliOop]

Most of mine are from Nurture, BB, and WSP. Maybe do some comparison shopping at each of those, along with TKB, Windy Point, and From Nature With Love.