One of the beauties of crafting with Melt and Pour Soap is how great it takes color. You can get every shade of the rainbow, in any level of opacity or clarity. But if you want to combine colors in one design, like in the monogram bar above, you need to use non-bleeding colorants.
There are many types of soap colorants but oxides and ultramarines are the most stable you will find. When I first started u
sing them, I was discouraged, thinking I could only get opaque shades. But as I kept experimenting I learned that they’re extremely versatile.
You will find them in liquid or powder form. Liquids are extremely easy to use – just add them drop by drop to your soap until you get the shade you like. There are many beautiful colors available. However, some colors are only available powdered. Before you add the powder to your soap base, you need to dilute it. This is my favorite way:
1. First, take a little cup and spray a few squirts of rubbing alcohol inside.
2. Then take a little scoop of pigment (a little goes a long way) and stir until all lumps are dissolved.
3. You can then add it to your soap base.
Many crafters will create their own liquid in squeeze bottles by combining 30% pigment and 70% liquid glycerin. I’ve heard this is a good, lump free method.
So once you have diluted pigment, you can use it many ways! With just a few drops you can create sheer colors like the purple soap above. Brown oxide looks great in white soap base for pastry shades and in clear soap base for rich chocolate shades.
Bramble Berry’s non-bleeding red colorant is a staple in my toolbox. I use it every time I need red or pink.
Check out all of the great options you have. It’s like a painter’s pallette!
Tune in on August 25 for a great new tutorial featuring oxides in gorgeous saturated tones paired with glassy bright Labcolors!
I have been trying to mix my own oxides with the glycerin but the colors don’t seem to come out as dark as when I use a bought liquid oxide. Any suggestions?
If your color isn’t turning out as dark as you would like it, you can always add a little more colorant until it gets to the hue that you’d like! 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
here's a list of the items I would use to make a soap like this: Clear Melt & Pour base, White Melt & Pour base, and then the sphere mold and glossy flexible brownie pan mold, for color I think the liquid Red Oxide would be pretty close and of course you can do anything you like for fragrance.
Anne-Marie..I am just starting to do melt and pour soap – have not made any as yet but being 70 yrs old I seem to have to learn things slower. The brown and white bar looks great in the picture above. How do I make that in a loaf using melt and pour? and what do I buy to make it? Anyone's help would be appreciated. Dusty Castle, [email protected]
Yay! So happy to hear that =)
Thanks so much for this tip! You've saved a project for me. I just couldn't figure out a good and quick way to resuspend the oxide. I never would have considered alcohol.
I’m sure I’m dating myself to no end, but isn’t that cutie monogram soap just like the “l” on “Laverne’s” sweaters? 🙂
appreciate the tip in diluting the powder pigment in alchol. I am looking forward to tutorial on 8/25
Oh, this is very helpful info. Thank you!
Lynn