Search Results for: colorants
Wedding Soap: Romantic Lavender
Clear Melt and Pour
White Melt and Pour
Light Gold Mica
Ultramarine Violet Oxide
Lavender Buds
Lavender 40/42 Essential Oil
Brownie Pan or Loaf Mold (that can hold 4 lbs)
Microwave Save Bowl (pyrex)
Step 1: Melt about 16 oz of clear melt and pour soap base. Stir in 1/2 oz of Lavender 40/42 essential oil and about 1/2 tablespoon of light gold mica. Pour soap into your brownie pan or loaf mold. Spritz with rubbing alcohol to eliminate any bubbles.
Tip: To avoid spots and speckles, mix your oxide with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to the soap base. SoapQueenTV Episode #2 covers mixing oxides (minute 4:00) & using lavender herbs in soap (4:30).
Step 3: For the second layer, melt another 16 oz of clear melt and pour soap base. Mix in 1/2 oz of Lavender 40/42 essential oil and 1/2 tablespoon of ultramarine violet oxide. Spritz the first soap layer with rubbing alcohol to help the two layers adhere. Pour the second layer and spritz again with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let second layer cool.
Step 4: For the third layer, melt 16 oz of white melt and pour soap base. Mix in 1/2 oz Lavender 40/42 essential oil and 1/2 tablespoon of light gold mica. Spritz the second soap layer with rubbing alcohol to help the two layers adhere. Pour the third layer and spritz again with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles.
Step 5: For the fourth and final layer, melt 8 oz of clear melt and pour soap base (we want this layer to be a little thinner than the other layers to really showcase the lavender buds). Mix in 1/4 oz Lavender 40/42 essential oil and between 1/4 – 1/2 cup of lavender buds. Again, spritz the third soap layer with rubbing alcohol to help the two layers adhere. Pour your fourth layer and spritz again with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let cool completely before cutting.
Step 5: Cut these lavender beauties in any shape or size you want. We cut ours with a crinkle cutter and finished them off by putting them in lavender organza bags. Make these as fresh as possible, right before the wedding, because Lavender buds do go brown in soap (eventually). Episode #2 of SoapQueenTV has a shot of an aged Lavender soap around minute 4:47.
Interested in making these favors in a larger quantity? No problem! Just keep in mind that the brownie pan can hold up to 3 pounds of soap. This will make anywhere between 18 and 30 bars of soap depending on how small or large you cut the favors. This project is the most cost effective of the three from the last few days because it’s poured into one big slab and cut (rather than individually poured into smaller molds). We recommend 1/2 oz of fragrance oil per pound of soap base. And for the colorants? It’s really up to you. Add as much or as little as you want to create the perfect shade.
Wedding Soap: Festive Wedding Cakes
White Melt and Pour
Clear Melt and Pour
White Tea & Ginger Fragrance Oil
Light Gold Mica
Wedding Cake Mold
Injector (syringe or droppers)
Rubbing Alcohol Spritzer
Microwave Safe Bowl (Pyrex)
Step 1: Melt 4 oz of clear melt and pour soap base. Add a pinch of light gold mica (or whatever colorant you’re using) and mix together. With your injector tool (droppers will work), fill each little flower on the wedding cake mold with your colored soap. Let the flowers cool.
Tip: When using oxides, to avoid spots and speckles, mix your powdered colorant with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to the soap base.
Step 2: Melt approximately 8-10 oz of white melt and pour soap base. Mix in ¼ oz White Tea and Ginger fragrance oil and 1/2 tablespoon oflight gold mica (adding the mica is optional, it will give the wedding cake a slight shimmer).
Step 3: Let your soap cool to 120 degrees before pouring your second layer. Spritz the flowers with rubbing alcohol before pouring the second layer to make sure the layers will adhere. Pour your second layer and spritz again with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let the soaps cool for 4-6 hours before popping out of the molds.
Note: If the soap does not cool to 120 degrees, it will melt your flowers in the mold. This would be a shame since getting the flowers perfect takes a bit of effort. So make sure to control the temperature of your soap by heating in 30 second intervals in the microwave.
Hint: For the Pink Wedding Cake Soaps, use the liquid non-bleeding red in the clear soap base for the flowers and the non-bleeding red in the white soap base for the cake. You will only need 1 drop. A little goes a long way when using the non-bleeding red!
Interested in making these favors in a larger quantity? No problem! Just keep in mind that 16 oz of soap base makes roughly 8 bars of soap (with thisspecific wedding cake mold). We recommend 1/2 oz of fragrance oil per pound of soap base. And for the colorants? It’s really up to you. Add as much or as little as you want to create your perfect shade.
Customized Wedding Soaps for Everyone
Clear Melt and Pour
White Melt and Pour
Champagne Fragrance Oil
Sparkle Gold Mica
Light Gold Mica
Basic Shape Soap Mold
Silicone Brownie Pan
Microwave Safe Bowl (pyrex)
Rubbing Alcohol Spritzer
Exacto Knife or Cookies Cutters
Step 1: Melt 8 oz of white melt and pour soap base. Mix in about 1 teaspoon of sparkle gold mica (feel free to use more). Pour between 1/4 inch and 1/2 inch of soap into your brownie pan. Spritz with rubbing alcohol to eliminate bubbles. Let cool completely. This layer will be used for the embedding cut outs pieces.
Tip: To avoid spots and speckles when using powdered oxide colorants, mix your oxides with a little rubbing alcohol before adding it to the soap base.
Step 2: Pop the cooled soap out of the mold and prepare to get creative. Cut out initials or hearts using cooking cutters or cut them out free hand (we used an exacto knife). Do whatever your heart desires and put your cut outs aside, they will be needed shortly.
Step 3: Melt 4 oz of clear melt and pour soap base and add 1/4 oz Champagne Fragrance Oil (or fragrance of your bride’s choice).
Step 4: Let the clear soap cool to 120 degrees and pour about 1/8 inch of the clear soap into one cavity of your basic soap mold. Immediately spritz the clear layer with rubbing alcohol and spritz your cut out piece (generously). Place your cut out piece into the liquid clear soap and give it a final spritz to eliminate bubbles. Repeat process in each cavity of your basic soap molds and let the layers cool.
Note: If the soap does not cool to 120 degrees, it will melt your cut-out pieces. So make sure to control the temperature of your soap by heating in 30 second intervals in the microwave and stirring in between heat bursts.
Step 5: It’s time for the second layer. Melt about 16 -20 oz of clear melt and pour soap base. Add 1/2 oz of Champagne fragrance oil and approximately 1/4 teaspoon of light gold mica. Spritz your first layer with rubbing alcohol before pouring your second layer to help the layers adhere. You can choose to fill your mold all the way up or only half way up if you want to create a third layer. The sky is the limit! Let the soaps cool for 4-6 hours before popping out of the molds.
Interested in making these favors in a larger quantity? No problem! Just keep in mind that 16 oz of soap base makes roughly 4 bars of soap (with your standard 4 oz soap mold). We recommend 1/2 oz of fragrance oil per pound of soap base. And for the colorants? It’s really up to you. Add as much or as little as you want to create the perfect shade. Yes, that perfect eggplant color that your cousin Edna adores really can be matched in soap. And, don’t worry, you’ll be able to reuse the dress.
Soap Queen TV – Clam Shell Soaps
Our most ambitious project of the Soap Queen series to date is a project developed by Paula of PJ Soaps. She taught this project at last year’s Soap Weekend Intensive and everyones’ soap came out beautifully – even those that had never made soap before.
Soap Queen TV Episode 5: Clam Shell Soap from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
We did a blog post on the project and got feedback that photos may be worth a 1000 words but a video would be better. Given the complexity of the project, I agree.
Pre-heat 4 quart pan of water on simmer (for rinsing your tools)
Gardenia Fragrance Oil
Sensuous Sandalwood
Sea Moss Fragrance Oil
shea melt and pour
clear shaving soap
Brown Oxide
Green Oxide
Black Oxide
4 heat safe containers
1 Clamshell Mold
1 double sided cleaning tool (in the tool kit)
1 strong metal dinner fork (with straight tines)
1PJ Scraper tool (in the tool kit)
1 Misting sprayer filled with rubbing alcohol
Soap Queen TV Episode 2
Soap Queen TV Episode 2: Herbs and Colorants from Soap Queen on Vimeo.
For easy reference, here is the ingredient list for this week’s project:
White Soap base
Ultramarine Violet (violet oxide)
Lavender herb buds
Lavender fragrance oil
Royal Purple Labcolor
Amethyst MicaTools:
Heat safe container (like a Pyrex measuring cup)
Droppers
Spoon
Spray bottle with Rubbing alcohol
Soap mold
NOTE: You can subscribe to us on our YouTube channel or on our Vimeo channel. Please note you do need to sign-up (which is free) to subscribe to either channel and receive automatic notifications of our latest posts.
Crafty Pod Rocks!
“I just had to drop you a note and say WELL DONE! I loved the first installment of Soap Queen TV. Seriously, there’s not much really good instructional video on the web these days, and yours is well-lit, briskly-paced, with excellent sound quality and excellent instruction. I learned a lot, and enjoyed watching.”
Thanks for the positive feedback, Diane!
Visit SoapQueen.TV for this Thursday’s episode on colorants and herbs.
SoapQueen TV Debut & Schedule
Contact: Amber
Email: info(at)brambleberry(dot)com
CEO of Bramble Berry to Star in Soapmaking Series
Soap Queen TV Schedule
May 7th Episode 2: Melt and Pour Colorants, Herbs, Molds
May 14th Episode 3: Melt and Pour- Advanced Swirling Technique
May 21st Episode 4: Melt and Pour- Embedding Objects and Soap
May 28th Episode 5: Melt and Pour- Advanced Clam Shell Soaps
June 4th Episode 6: Melt and Pour- Intermediate Double Pour Method
June 11th Episode 7: Melt and Pour- UV Inhibitor and Vanilla Stabilizer
June 18th Episode 8: Melt and Pour- Intermediate Candy Soaps
July 2nd Episode 9: Melt and Pour- Embedding Water Soluble Paper
July 9th Episode 10: Melt and Pour Wedding Favor Soaps
July 16th Episode 11: Secrets to Packaging Your Soaps
July 23rd Episode 12: Melt and Pour- Basic Layered Soaps
July 30th Episode: 13: Melt and Pour- Intermediate Geometric Soaps
August 6th Episode 14: Melt and Pour- Advanced Layered Soaps
August 13th Episode 15: Melt and Pour- More Advanced Layering
August 27th Back to School
September 3rd — Hiatus for filming Season II
We Love Our Commenters!
Thank for all the outpouring of comments and support over the last few months. It’s been a while since I did a “We Love Our Commenters” surprise prize. I’ve put together 3 prize packs (partially shown) with fragrance blends (using Bramble Berry products, of course), one Milky Way Candle Mold and some assorted Labcolor colorants.
I did a random drawing of all the people that commented in the last week and came up with (drum roll please!)
Soapy Plaid (Inspired By Soapy Love)
Here’s What You’ll Need
White and Clear Melt and Pour Soap Bases
Brownie Pan Tray Mold
Shamrock Mold
Colorants (mica)
Fragrance Oil
Rubbing Alcohol
Microwave Safe Bowl (pyrex)
Knife, Paper and Pen
Step 2: Once the layer has cooled, remove this layer and cut into strips of random thicknesses. We found that cutting with a large butcher knife works the best. Cut them diagonally or straight across. Set the strips aside, we’ll use them later.
Step 3: Repeat steps 1 and 2 for all four colors you want in the plaid design. We used Gold Sparkle Mica, Opalescent Green Mica, Shamrock Green Mica and Blue-Green Mica.
Step 5: Grab your brownie pan mold and trace the outside edges of the mold onto a piece of paper. This will allow you to make a blueprint of your plaid design on “dry land” before embedding them into the soap.Step 6: It’s time to start layering! The first layer will be the background layer. Pour just enough soap to completely cover the bottom of the mold (we chose a white background). Let cool completely.
Hint: Most soaps are built from top to bottom (upside down). When you flip them out of the mold then they are right side up. These soaps are just the opposite, the layers go from bottom to top. So the last layer you pour will be the top layer of your soap.Step 7: While the bottom layer cools, we can set up the plaid design before the embedding step. Set up your strips of soap on the piece of paper with the traced mold on it.Hint: The plaid design usually consists of two colors each. The colors are semi-random. The top layer should have some gaps so you can see though it to the bottom colors. (You will be left with quite a bit of scraps. Don’t worry, we have another soapy project coming up that will put these scraps to good use).
Step 8: Once you have a plaid layout that you like, and the background layer has cooled, you can finally start to piece your plaid design together layer by layer.
Step 9: Spray the background layer of soap with rubbing alcohol to ensure your layers stick together, then pour a thin layer of clear soap base. Generously spray your cut out pieces with alcohol and place them directly into the clear soap. Finish this layer off with another spritz of alcohol to eliminate any bubbles.
Hint: This layer should consist of two alternating colors. Make sure you have enough clear melt and pour to completely cover the plaid layers. And temperature matters! Keep the overpour temperature below 130 degrees as to not melt the layers.
Step 10: Once the layer has completely cooled, repeat step 9 with your other plaid pieces.
Hint: Again, consisting of two colors. But this time, laying them in the opposite direction of the first plaid layer.
Step 11: It’s time to add the shamrocks to the final layer. Pour a thin layer of Clear Melt and Pour, generously spritz your shamrocks with rubbing alcohol and place them in the clear soap. Give it a final spritz to eliminate bubbles. Let harden and cut into bars.
Hint: Remember to put the shamrocks in right side up!
Have a question about this blog post? Come join us at Bramble Berry’s Facebook page and we can help you out with any of your soapy questions!
Rebatch soap – Plastic Baggie Technique
Rebatching Soap – What is it and why would I do it? – Rebatching is another form of cold process soapmaking. You can either make cold process soap from scratch or buy a premade base, grate it up, place it over a heat source, either in a double boiler or in a freezer baggie as shown below, with a little liquid (water, beer, milk, teas all work well). This mixture “melts” down into a mushy mess that you add colorant and fragrance too. The reason people normally rebatch is to preserve the delicate scent or the healing properties of some essential oils.
Rebatching Soap (make it yourself or buy a premade base)
Fragrance or Essential Oil
Mold (the less detail, the better)
Optional: Herbs
Colorant (liquid works best)
Freezer Bags (must must must be heat safe)
Grater
Large Bowl
Spoon
Step One: Grate the soap. I’ve tried a variety of things (food processor, meat grinder, deli meat slicer) and all of the cutters have gummed up on me and not worked after a few ounces worth of soap grinding. If you have any great tips, please post them here and save us some time and arm soreage.
Step Two: Bring a large pot of water to boil. Fill a freezer bag (heat safe) with the grated soap and approximately 1/2 to 1 ounce of liquid. Submerge the freezer bag of soap in the boiling water. Be sure to use a large enough pot that the freezer baggie will not be squished up against the side of the pot. You don’t want to accidentally melt the plastic baggie.
Step Three: Once the soap has boiled in the large pan for approximately 20 minutes, the soap should be gelatinous and gloppy, sort of like mashed potatoes or thick soupy oatmeal. It will never “melt” and become water like.
Step Four: Using heat safe gloves (that soap is hot! wear gloves!), pull the soap out of the water. Knead it around to make sure the liquid is fully mixed into the soapy gloppy glory. Is it too thick? Add another 1 Tablespoon of liquid if needed and knead this into the soap. The key is to not use very much liquid. The more liquid you add to this process, the thinner the soap gets (true) but the longer it will take to dry and harden.
Step Five: The photo above shows the soap midway through the softening process. It’s not perfect yet. Put that soap back into the boiling water.
Step Six: The photo above is perfect texture. It looks like thick Vaseline. It is now ready for the color and fragrance.
Step Seven: Add fragrance and color. Liquid color is ideal (mixing pigments into the gloppy soap is difficult). I use approximately .5 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of soap. The colorant usage varies based on the color but start sparingly. You can always put more color in but taking it out is difficult. If the soap starts to harden up at any point because it is cooling, reseal the bag and toss it all back into the hot water. Make sure you wear heat safe gloves through this entire process. The soap is hot.
Step Eight: You can either spoon the soap into the molds or pour/push/squeeze the soap out of the baggie. Unless you are an experienced rebatch soaper, I would not recommend cutting off a corner of the bag to squeeze the soap out like frosting. It’s tempting but if the soap starts to cool too quickly, the open hole will not allow you to remelt the soap in the boiling water.
Step Nine: Take the mold you are using, close your eyes and give it a good wack on the counter to settle the soap and get all the air bubbles to the surface of the bar. When the soap starts to cool, feel free to use your hands and fingers to smooth out any bumps on the surface.
Wait for 2 to 7 days before popping the soap out. The key is to wait for all the liquid to evaporate. Yes, you can become impatient and freeze the soap but make sure the soap is entirely frozen (overnight at least) before trying to pop the soap out and remember that plastic is more brittle after it is frozen so be gentle on your molds.
Check back in the next few days for a tutorial on how to do rebatching soap via the double boiler method. This is my favorite way to do rebatch and you can do larger batches with the double boiler method.
Color Testing 1 2 3
Day 2: Interview with KBShimmer
Christy Rose: Right now, it is just me and my husband (when needed). We work well together. He is always there to label, package and help however I need him.
Anne-Marie: What are some of the things you outsource?
Christy Rose:Right now, nothing. We make everything down to the labels. It was important for me to have control over the look and feel of KBShimmer. So, for now, we do it all.
Anne-Marie: What’s your favorite ingredient to work with and why?
Christy Rose:Mica! Micas give my soaps such a shine and sparkle. The wide range of colors available, and the ability to mix easily, makes it a great choice to color my soaps.
Anne-Marie: How much practice do you think it took you to get the swirl that is so appealing in your soaps? Your multi-colored swirl is a serious piece of art.
Christy Rose: Thank you! I love color and I guess it shows in my work- LOL. When thinking about how I wanted my soaps to look, I knew that I loved the look of swirled soaps. There is something about delicate wisps of color throughout a bar that makes me happy. I tried layering using spoons to “swirl” the color. I tried pouring colors into my mold and mixing them. Neither attempt was what I was looking for. I then discovered “In-The-Pot Swirling”. I do this by pouring my colors into my pot with the base color soap before pouring the soap into my mold. This technique has helped me create the look I wanted. After dozens of batches, practicing with 1, 2 and 3 color swirls, I knew I could push myself and try for 6 colors. It was a nail bitter! I had to make sure that I used a fragrance that gave me time to work. I had to mix quickly to get everything thing into the mold, but I am very happy with the results.
Anne-Marie: Favorite Bramble Berry product?
Christy Rose: After your fragrance oils, hands down, LaBomb Colorants for my bomb bombs. They provide bold color, are easy to work with, and allow me to blend colors to my liking. I have tried other products, but now, will not make bath bombs without them!
Anne-Marie: Thanks for spending the time to fill us in on your fabulous and growing company. Your swirl soaps are out of this world and your Champagne Lip Balm is divine! Don’t forget to check out the KBShimmer Etsy store. This is Anne-Marie and KBShimmer signing off!
Congressman Larsen Makes Soap
We were so lucky to have Congressman Rick Larsen (Democrat, Washington State) visit Otion – The Soap Bar yesterday. Congressman Larsen was at Otion to make soap (of course) and learn more about the FDA Globalization Act and other issues facing small business. Since Congressman Larsen was most recently on the House Small Business Committee before being moved to the Budget Committee for the House, he is well aware of the complexities and challenges facing small business today.
Congressman Larsen did a great job making soap but more impressively, displayed a nuanced grasp of the economic situation that small businesses are facing right now. He was not surprised to hear that Bramble Berry and Otion serve many small business customers who are making a comfortable part-time or full-time living selling soap and toiletries. While he is busy on the HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as soon as a stimulus package passes the House and Senate and is signed into law, he will turn his attention to other matters, such as the FDA Globalization Act. I was quick to praise lawmakers and Government in general for modifying the FDA Globalization Act of 2008 to the current iteraction which is something we, as an industry, can work with. It was gratifying to have our work recognized and taken seriously and I shared this with the Congressman.
During his time at Otion, Congressman Larsen learned about fragrance oils, colorants and of course, melt and pour soapmaking. He exclaimed one point, “I can’t believe how easy this is!” I was quick to jump in, “Yes, it is easy! And soapmakers have been safely making soap like this for a long time. The handmade beauty industry has an excellent safety record.” Congressman Larsen was well aware of the CPSIA laws (blogged about here) and the stay from testing that was just enacted, partially due to small businesses being adversely affected by the law. He expressed interest in continuing to monitor and learn more about the FDA Globalization Act of 2009 to ensure that another small industry (the very small business beauty industry) would not be too negatively affected.
Here are Congressman Larsen’s soaps, all popped out. He did a great job for his first try! Rick Larsen serves on the U.S.-China Working Group and travels to Asia frequently to help educates Members of Congress on U.S.-China issues. The soap he made perfectly encompasses his interest in China and small business.