Teach Soap

I know you can infuse them into your oil and use in your main batch however if you want to use more than one color what is the best way to do this? I made a soap today using alkanet, nettle, and activated charcoal and tried to do a tilted stripe with it. I added all to 3 separate containers to soap at a thin trace but by the time I got them stick blended in they were to thick to pour. Can you disperse them in a little oil like oxides? Whenever I color with oxides I never have to use the stick blender to mix them in I always just hand stir and usually don't have a problem pouring.

That is a really good question... and I want to know the answer, so I'll be watching! The natural colorants I've used haven't accelerated trace at all, and the soap I've made has all traced slowly (which I like, I want it to stay that way). I'm too new to soap to know if it's because I soap relatively cool (80's) or because of the oils I use. Maybe you'd have more time if you soaped cooler? IDK. But I like the idea of a natural swirl... I did a layered bar a while ago where one layer was colored with red palm oil, it turned out really pretty, but I'm thinking the color is bleeding, so I don't know if that would be so good for a swirl.

The natural colorants themselves aren't accelerating trace its all the stick blending I am doing to get them totally mixed up. Just wondering if they would blend in a little easier if mixed in a little oil first.

I've found it's the colorants dispersed in glycerin that must be stick blended. You can always stir/whisk your infused oils into the soap batter so it won't thicken up as much.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

You want to mix your color with a whisk, not a stick blender.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

The best way to blend a powdered (natural) color, imho, is to take a small amount of batter and mix the powder by hand and then use a frother or mini whisk deal (I got one from BB for around 5$). Then add in the rest of the batter you want to color and only stir it with a whisk or spoon. Since you pre-colored a small part of the batter, it will blend more smoothly in the larger portion and will not trace as quickly, plus you are not using the stick blender. I use this method whenever I have a lot of colors I am trying to do, or when I am working with a faster moving recipe.

If you are using oils that are infused to make your color, then just using a spoon or whisk will be sufficient to disburse the color.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

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Haven