Purple Select Shades disappeared...

[donna4909]

I just got done with a batch of CP, which was supposed to be swirled purple. I used the Purple Velvet select shades, but the color never came through. The soap stayed white...

I've got it in the mold now, and I'm just wondering if the color will come back.

[CareBear]

the problem I have with most colors is I just won't know till I try.

Should come back, but who knows - and at what color....

[swamp_deb]

I don't have a clue, Select Shades has never disappeared on me. How much did you use?

[donna4909]

I used 1/8 of a teaspoon (per pound), and got no color change, so I added 1/2 a teaspoon, and there was still no color.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Although I've never used that particular brand of colorant, I've had some liquid colorants look different in the mold than they do in the finished bar. Definite learning curve when it comes to working with colors in CP! Keep good notes so you can change on the next batch if necessary.

[swamp_deb]

I used 1/8 of a teaspoon (per pound), and got no color change, so I added 1/2 a teaspoon, and there was still no color.

Ok, let me tell you my method for SS Colorants. It is called "squirt & stir" I usually just shake the bottle real good, put a couple of drops in my soap at the time, stir, add more as needed. I mainly only swirl with colors, so it doesn't take much.

Sorry you had a problem with yours, does it look any better today?

[CaliZona]

I read this on their website. HTH

NOTE: You always want to BLEND the color in a separate container FIRST! Never put the parts into your product and then mix in! IT WON'T WORK CORRECTLY!

NOTE: You also always want to blend a little more color than you will need. It is always advisable to make more in case you want to tweak the color of your product.

[Carrie]

I use Lavender Fields from MMS for my purple. The last time it just turned gray and ugly. The next day when I unmolded the soap it was super dark purple.

[Scent Cellar]

Donna, did you cut your soap yet and if so, did it have color?

[CareBear]

yea, I'm dyeing to know!

[Crafty1_AJ]

Working with some colorants in CP is a bit of a leap of faith, because the color you see when you pour is NOT the color you will always get when you cut the bars 12-24 hours later.

Here is an example of what I mean. This is a soap I did using Dragon Lily Polar Bear Purple. I wanted to achieve a purple swirl. The first photo shows the soap when it was freshly poured into the mold. (Sorry for the lousy photography -- can't take a decent pic to save my butt.) Notice how the swirl does NOT look purple yet. It looks like a reddish dark plum color.

This next photo shows the SAME SLAB OF SOAP about 12 hours later. Presto! We have purple. You just have to count the number of drops you use per pound of oils (or in this case, per cup of soap batter pulled out for the swirl) and TRUST that the color will eventually get right for you! That's why keeping good notes is so important with colorants. You can repeat or correct as needed.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Here's the same illustration using Dragon Lily's red liquid colorant. I wanted to achieve a green soap base with a bright berry pink swirl here. Note that the first photo, which shows the freshly-poured soap, does not look at all like a pink swirl! It was more of a rusty reddish brown color. Again, please be so kind as to overlook the crummy quality of my photography. heh heh

Now note the SAME SLAB OF SOAP about 12 hours later. Exactly the look I was going for. I just knew from my experience in working with these colors that eventually the wonky color will turn out right, just like the color the bottle said it would be. LOL

[maryann]

Below comes from their tips/tricks section:

Purple Velvet

Oh that picky Purple Velvet.

SPOTS! - If you get specks in your soap it may mean you are soaping somewhat cold by the time you add your color (At Trace or before) it is the nature of the color

There are a couple things you can do.

1. Strain the color through Cheesecloth before using. This will take care of the most stubborn undissolved color

2. Use a blended color and not plain Purple Velvet.

3. To your color to be used.. (NOT THE ENTIRE BOTTLE) add a pinch of Sodium Hydroxide, stir well and let it sit and cool. This will help the color dissolve better. (We can not do this in production because of the pH levels needed)

Purple Velvet is a stubborn color additive. It likes HOT temperatures, and is not easily dissolved. It is however a great tool for blending and getting vibrant colors!

Alone, PV will be quite bland, so it is always suggested to use PV in blends. Such as Easter Egg for vibrant purples!"

ALSO (see purple hightlighted sentence below)

To find matching or complimentary colors for other products

Look under the Color Family or similar color families (such as for Red also look under Purple and Pink), and choose the product you wish to color. Many times a color for CP Soap will actually have a matching or complimentary color for Bath and Body but may not be the same color name or color family. Example: CP soap using False Blue makes a Rich Lavender color at 1 tsp For Bath and Body a Matching color you would use Cranberry at 1/4 tsp for Opaque which is under the Purple color family, and Spring Iris at 1/8 tsp for Clear Bath and Body which is under the Pink Family.

On a seperate note re: RED, I was sooooo disappointed I put a TON of the two shades of red in a small amount of soap for swirling and it came out bright pink ! It don't change either it mixed pink and stayed pink!

[swamp_deb]

My false blue stays true blue in hp,go figure.

[Grumpy Girl]

I made a batch of soap scented with NG's Lick Me All Over a few months ago, and I colored it all pink with Select Shades. No swirl, just a nice soft pink. When I uncovered it and took it out of the mold the next day, all the color had risen to the top and only colored the top part of the soap. It like a frosting that was about 1/8th of an inch thick. Underneath it was white soap, previously colored pink.

Damn soap fairies. Gotta love 'em.

[maryann]

I made a batch of soap scented with NG's Lick Me All Over a few months ago, and I colored it all pink with Select Shades. No swirl, just a nice soft pink. When I uncovered it and took it out of the mold the next day, all the color had risen to the top and only colored the top part of the soap. It like a frosting that was about 1/8th of an inch thick. Underneath it was white soap, previously colored pink.

Damn soap fairies. Gotta love 'em.

OH yeah !!! I remember that.... it looked neat though.

Sharon I don't think I'm ever going to find a red !

[donna4909]

NOTE: You always want to BLEND the color in a separate container FIRST! Never put the parts into your product and then mix in! IT WON'T WORK CORRECTLY!

NOTE: You also always want to blend a little more color than you will need. It is always advisable to make more in case you want to tweak the color of your product.

That's the thing though, I wasn't blending. I was just using the base color of purple velvet. The "purple" part of the soap looks very slightly grey now, kinda off-white I guess. It's not speckled at all, just the lack of color. It's been a couple days, I would have thought the color would return by now if it was due to the lye.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Yes, if it's been a couple days, you're right -- the color probably isn't going to change. If the part that was supposed to be purple is gray, you need to use more color next time. Gray often happens when you don't get enough purple added, in my experience. Bump up the level significantly and see if that helps.

[donna4909]

I wonder about adding more color though, because they say you shouldn't use over 1 tsp. per pound.

[Bunny]

It totally depends on the colorant and how strong it is as to the max useage. For my labcolors, I have to use 2 ounces of diluted color to get a pink, but only a few drops of undiluted labcolors in a 6 lb batch. Too much water isn't a good thing, as it'll make a batch seperate.