One Beautiful Botched Batch of Soap

Isn't this a beautiful soap!  This soap is actually a mishap that couldn't have been planned.  The soap has a Rose fragrance and was supposed to be pink/rose colored.  However, the soap seized in the pot and it turned out orange.  The result.....a beautiful mistake.  This soap now sports the name of an orange colored rose, Tuscan Sun and the seizing of the soap has resulted in a very interesting texture in the soap.  This is proof that even when our best plans don't turn out exactly as we would like, the results can still be stunning.

Soap making is certainly creative and always an adventure!

Thanks Shelly for sharing your beautiful photo and good work in creating unique handcrafted soap!

Disappointment Turns to Profit

I thought I'd post a picture of a soap I created that I initially believed turned out disappointingly. This soap is a seasonal soap I make for Christmas. It uses the Sweetcakes fragrance oil called Christmas Spice. Not reading the description very well I didn't notice it had vanilla in the fragrance. Vanilla will always turn your soap brown. SO what I had envisioned:

a creamy white soap with a green and red swirl (beautiful for Christmas!)

What I got:

brown soap with a green and red swirl.

Well, I took the soap to market anyway and sold out. In fact it sold so fast that I have never changed the way I make this soap. The green and red are made from pigments that I had originally bought from the pigment lady on-line. She is no longer in business, but I do recommend getting pigments from Brambleberry now. I'm not sure they have the crimson pigment or the jade pigment I used for this soap, but if they get enough requests perhaps they will carry it. Also they may have colors that will get similar results.

To make this soap I took a couple of cups of soap out of the main pot at light trace and mixed the pigment into them (each color needs its own little container to mix in). Then I poured the main soap into the mold. After pouring the soap into the mold I then poured each green and red into the soap and swirled a little with a stainless steel knife. I emphasize a little because if you swirl too much the color gets blended in and I really wanted a more chunky swirl (which is why I didn't pour the color into the pot before pouring into the mold).

This soap sells well in the fall where I live. I live in the north where Christmas time is coooold and people do lots of holiday baking and this soap is reminiscent of delicious baked goods.

Soap Color Dyes

I was recently asked where to find good soap color dyes. I had always bought my dyes from the Pigment Lady, but she has closed her doors. It took some investigating, but I am very pleased with my results. I would recommend buying pigments from Brambleberry. They carry the same products that I used to be able to buy from the Pigment Lady.

First let me say that there are a lot of spices that dye cold-processed soap very naturally and beautifully and I would highly recommend using spices. But if you want a color you cannot achieve with a spice look at Brambleberry's Mica powders. You need to read the fine print (just like with the fragrances) to be sure the item works properly with cold-process soap. If it says it doesn't work, then don't waste your money....it won't work! I like micas because like spices they are natural. Nothing artificial.

Your next choice may be an oxide. Oxides are not my favorite because I don't really care for the artificial look of many of the colors, but some color blends are very pretty. I prefer colors that are softer versus colors that are neon brite!

Brambleberry does have an instruction page linked to the Micas and Pigments page so be sure to read that, but you will have to learn how much dye you like according to some experimenting. I usually use very little for one batch of soap (maybe only 1/4 or 1/2 tsp.) so error on too little if you are experimenting. Just make sure you WRITE everything down. I guarantee you won't remember the next time unless you do (ask me how I know).

I hope this helps get you pointed in a good direction for soap color dyes.

How to Make Soap

Using Color in Cold Process Soap

I have been very happy with my results in using color in cold process soap. There are many ways in which I use colour. I will list a few that I am very happy with.
Spices - Spices are natural and can give some lovely soap colors. I have used curry for yellow soap and paprika for peach coloured soap.
Pigments - Pigments are also natural. I have used many of these colours, but you must know which ones are good for cold process soap. Some colours (like the blue) do not work in cold process soap, so be sure you ask before purchasing. I especially like gold mica, green mica, and crimson mica.
Food - Cocoa powder is an ingredient I have used for marbling or swirling a small portion of the soap into the rest of the soap - very pretty. Milk is an ingredient in soap making which turns the soap a lovely brown colour. Vanilla fragrance is an ingredient in many different Fragrance Oils which will turn your soap brown. Be sure to read FO descriptions carefully. I have been surprised several times when my soap turned brown from the FO and I wasn't expecting it to. The results were very nice, but not what I had expected.
Synthetic colors - There is a whole array of color here. These personally are not my favorites, but sometimes I will use one to get a special effect. I really dislike hand crafted soaps that are flourescent - like fuschia and bright blue. They just look fake to me. But using these colours sparingly in a few bars may give you a wider variety in your soap booth. I would have to say, however, that my top twelve soaps are made without using these kinds of colours.
Using colour in cold process soap doesn't have to be a daunting task. Just be sure to inquire if they work well in cold process soap before you try them.

For more information on making soap you can check out my website at How to Make Soap.