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Soap Queen Short: How to Use Neon Pigments

Filed Under: Tips & Tricks

Here is the first in our new video series! These videos will supplement our Soap Queen.TV videos, so that we can share more techniques and ideas. In Soap Queen Shorts, I am demonstrating how to use a particular product or do a specific technique. We are keeping the videos short and sweet (hence the name) and saving the more complex projects for Soap Queen.TV.

Is there a product or technique you would like to see? Tell me in the comments below!

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45 Comments

  1. Great video!

    I tried this with the Ultramarine Violet Oxide and it didn’t quite work. I used 1/3 cup of glycerin with 1/2 tsp of Ultramarine Violet Oxide and it didn’t mix smoothly. I used the color mixture in melt and pour soap and I could see tiny specks of the powder. Did I use the wrong ratio?

    Thanks!

  2. Hi, Anne-Marie,

    When I attempt to wrap soap with the shrink wrap soap bands and a heat gun, I always manage to tear the band along the perforation. I would love to see a short on the proper technique of using these soap bands.

    Thanks!!
    Sarah

  3. Hi,

    I placed an order then watched this so I did not get the mini mixer.

    Is there any house hold item I can use to mix the neon and glycerin?
    Thanks
    Debra

    • You can try a mini whisk. A fork can limp along but not great. Your best bet is a $2 mini whisk from a kitchen store until you get the mini mixer =)

  4. hey Ann Marie! Thx for the video, i have just bought neons and your advice is right on time.

    What I’m curious about is is there any way to keep herbals/rose petals beautiful in the soap? or anything will just fade away?
    I have seen so many examples of soap with still good looking dry herbals inside or on top soap that weren’t faded away i’m just confused!

    • Hi Lora,

      The only herb I know that stays nice and colorful is dried calendula petals. All the other ones I’ve seen brown up wherever they touch the soap.

      If you could figure out a way to make that not happen, there’s a market in it for you! =)

  5. Thanks for the tutorial!

    Without seeing this, I would probably have to tried to mix the neon colors with water…that would have been a mess;)

    So far, I’ve made two soaps with them, they work great, I’m only a bit disappointed in the yellow one…it seems I “underdosed” it which is unusual for me…
    I’ll try a higher concentration next time to get the bright neon yellow instead of the tame yellow color I got now.

    Thanks again,

    Dana

  6. new subject I’d like:
    proper clean up techniques( I am afraid that I will clog the pipes if I pour left over soap down the drain,even just what clings to the cup I am using and rinsing with hot watrt). Thanks, Lynn

  7. LOVE THIS! Thanks for this short tutorial. I made all of mine and used baby food jars for storing!

  8. I just received all my products, but right before I ordered, I asked the rep who called me, about mixing pigments. Right now I have the Brights and Pastel Sampler pack and a container of 1982 Blue. I was originally going to mix with glycerine but she said i could also use alcohol. So to save myself some money, I got the alcohol at the drug store. Now reading all of this, I’m wondering if she was right, or is there an exception with the colors I have? I plan on making liquid soap.

    • The Brights and Pastels Sampler is a mica sampler – so there are no pigments in there. Micas are much easier to work with and great for new soapers like you. Mixing them with a little rubbing alcohol is the easiest way to use them. You can just mix up what you need for the soap you are making, no storage containers needed! But you can certainly mix them with glycerin if you like.
      However, I wouldn’t recommend using micas in liquid soap becasue they can settle to the bottom of the bottle. Liquid dyes like our Lab Colors or just regular food coloring would work best!
      Happy Soaping!
      Amber

      • Wow thanks. The representative I talked to said these would work just fine with what I’m trying to achieve. I wanted colorants that were universal…could be used for any of the projects I have in store: bath fizzies, liquid soap and bath salts, to cut my initial cost She said the colors I’d had in my shopping cart were fine. So regular store bought food coloring is ok for the liquid soap? It won’t stain skin or the tub?

          • If you pre mix the micas, you just need a very small amount of glycerin or alcohol. I would estimate that you need 1/4 tsp mica to 1 tsp alcohol or glycerin. =)

        • Regular food coloring is okay for liquid soap. Micas will work but they tend to sink to the bottom of the liquid soap because of their heavier consistency. Most liquid soaps aren’t thick enough to suspend micas but never say never, some will definitely get thick enough to suspend but the typical one won’t. =) Food coloring is great for liquid soap. It won’t stain skin or the tub unless you use too much. =)

          • Oh wow!! Thanks. I really wish I’d known that. i love how you always respond to our questions. This really helps.

          • Oh, and are the micas good for bath salts? I used them with bath fizzies so far and that seemed to work out a little… I had trouble with consistency and used a mortar and pestal to grind it all into a uniform color. I go into detail about that in the bath fizzies section.

          • Yes, micas are fine for bath salts but a very small percentage of micas are oil soluble (small – like 5%) and if you use those, they tend to stick to any rings around the tub that people may have. Love you using the mortar and pestle – talk about going the extra mile =) Labcolors are better for bath salts: https://www.brambleberry.com/LabColors-C171.aspx

          • You got the Brights and Pastel sample pack:

            Of that, the Red Mica and Yellow mica are oil soluble. They will still work with bath fizzies and bath salts but might be more prone to sticking to the ring on the tub.

    • You’re going to love them! And they’re fabulous in cold process soap too. What you see is what you get. No morphing or fading- double bonus!

      Courtney from Bramble Berry

  11. I would love to see a short video of using the foaming bath whip, like maybe how to make a shaving soap with it? I’m still too chicken to try mine because I don’t want to ruin it! Loved this video, thanks!

  12. Great short…fantastic idea. While I love the longer SQ videos this is a great quickie which answers a question I am sure we have all had. And I really like the idea if premixing my colorants-what a great idea!

    I do have a question though, could you use olive oil or castor oil, or would the addition mess up a CP recipe and the ratio of lye/water?

    Thanks!
    Mariah

    • That is a FANTASTIC question! The short answer is yes, it will make your soap slightly more superfatted. The long answer is that it’s such a small amount that it probably doesn’t matter too much in the long run but if you’re at all concerned or just don’t want that extra superfat, be sure to do your oils in the lye calculator at 1/4 to 1/2 ounce less of that particular mixing oil to take into account that it will be mixed back in with the colorant.

      Does that make sense? Let me know if it doesn’t and I’ll work on explaining a different way =)

    • Yes, though with many micas you can just add them directly into the soap or the fragrance oil without having to pre-mix. The ones that you do need to premix will easily mix with Glycerin though =)

  14. Thank you for this short!

    I couldn’t figure out WHY I kept getting clumps in my colorant when using the neons. My mistake was to mix it with rubbing alcohol. Will make sure I use glycerin or oil from now on.

  15. Would these same instructions/amounts apply to pigments/ultramarines as well? I have a mini mixer in my cart right now!

    • That’s a good place to start but with the pigments/ultramarines, they have several different hues (pink versus blue for example) so I would start to 1/8 tsp of the mixture and THEN go up because you can add more but never take it out =)

    • Thanks. It’s just something we’re trying out to get more material out there without the full production (which is labor intensive and time intensive to do – but we think the payoff is worth it, of course!). We’re hoping to put out a couple more this year + the regular Soap Queen videos that we’ve already shot and are in post-production now. =)