Ylang Ylang-Lavender w/Bentonite Clay & Madder Root

As promised, here is a photograph of my first colored soap at 48 hours.  It seems to be holding the shade that it had at 24 hours.  I suppose that's normal? It has really been fun experimenting with the color.  This color has really grown on me and I must admit that the soap has quite a bit more eye appeal than my plain cream colored version!

I really need to make some of my Citrus Grove soap, but I think I'm going to wait for my carrot tissue oil to arrive, as I am very impressed with Jen at Jenora Soaps  lovely yellow "Lemon Poppyseed" soap.  If you haven't seen it, you really must check it out!  I never realized what lovely colors could be obtained while still using only all natural ingredients.  I may try to find a nice orange colorant to layer in that particular soap, as it is a lemon-orange-grapefruit mix.  Also plan to try the cornstarch to see if it helps hold the citrus a bit more. Very exciting!

 My head is spinning right now with all the ideas, but I love that!  Thanks again to all you natural colorant soapers out there whose lovely work has inspired me to step out of my little "cream colored comfort zone." : )

Well, that which was a lovely mauve in the pot has deteriorated into what I would call a rather un-remarkable "dusty rose" at best. : (
I really didn't expect it to stay as pretty as it looked last evening, but I was hoping it would stay a bit better than it has so far. Still, it is more interesting to look at than my un-colored ylang ylang soap, so I do see it as an improvement. I'm just hoping that the most drastic change has already happened!

I did get to work on my soap flailing technique! (It just doesn't make it into the "swirling" category yet.) ; ) That was fun, and felt artsy, which I love.

Has anyone had any experience with Yellow Dock? Ellen's Essentials sent me a sample along with my madder root powder. The note on the package says that it turns pink, but it looks the color of baby food peas to me. Any hints would be appreciated!

My First Attempt at Color

I'm so excited! After being inspired by Jen at Jenora Soaps and Ambra at NaKIN I have finally taken the plunge and tried my first batch of naturally colored soap. I used a whopping 2Tbsp. of madder root powder in this batch, and I really like the color that it was in the picture. It will be interesting to see how it makes it through the curing process. I'll post pics of the color as the soap ages.
I'm committed to using only natural ingredients in my soap, but I want them to look as good as they smell and as good as they are. Plus, it's something new and fun to try...(I guess it's just another form of "tweaking", but it's productive tweaking, right?)
Thanks again to all of you natural colorers out there who are so inspiring to me!