Getting a true red or “Santa red” in cold process can be hard to do! You normally end up with pink or maroon soap.
I’ve heard of soap makers blending different colorants to get a true red in their soap. So I got to experimenting. 🙂
I got the idea for this blend from the delightful Ariane on YouTube. Check out her video Making A True Red Soap Color.
I mixed Voodoo Mica from Mad Oils with Red Oxide. I mixed it until it looked bright red in the container.
This type of red soap is best for swirled soap because it does lather pink. I don’t know of red soap that doesn’t lather pink. 🙂
Here it is poured into a mold as a test swatch.
Here it is in a swirled cake soap that I did for Valentines. This soap is in my newest eBook, Valentine Soap Making Guide!
So far the swirl is still nice and crisp! I know there are some true red colorants in our industry that contain dyes, but they bleed. I wanted something that would stay nice and crisp and not bleed into the other parts of the soap.
I hope this helps you mix up your own true red soap colorant!
Do you get the perfect red in cold process soap? Post in the comments and if you want, email me a picture to add to this blog post.
Happy Soaping!
-Amanda Gail
Nurture’s really red did amazingly for me, I used it in both hot process and cold process soaps.
I have been making soap with (mainly) beef tallow and canola oil. Using the tallow because 1. It’s free and 2. Otherwise it ends up in the dumpster. And it seems to make good soap.
To add to the saving the oil from the dumpster and the landfill, I want to make use of used commercial fryer oil. But it stinks. Do you know of a way to clean it up?
Awesome…..love your tips! Love the purple roses and the swirl cake! Beautiful for Valentines! What fragrance did you choose?
This had a blend of lemongrass, ylang ylang, bergamot and lavender EO’s.
Yum- can I buy a bar or 2 of that? Amazing.
I have good luck mixing Nurture Soap’s Really Red with WSP’s American Red Oxide. I do not gel. Turns out a lovely red!
PS where did you find those fab purple petite roses?? Love them!
These are from Phoenix Herb in Kansas City. They are beautiful buds.
Ann Marie (Brambleberry) did a Christmas soap with a wonderful blend that turned out a very pretty red. Check it out on Soap Queen under Holiday Butterfly Swirl–very beautiful. It may lean a bit towards fuscia but still very red and pretty. It sold out for me right away:-). I’ll be anxious to try your blend.
Thanks,
Becky Hostetter
Soap Diaries