Spinning Red Gold -
There are some people who quietly do their work behind the scenes. We reap those rewards when these highly creative and dedicated people choose to share. Thank the gods for these amazing people!
Carrie from Nurture Soap Supply is one of these people.
A few years ago I dug into making the perfect red soap dough. It was either too pink, too brick or something other, but not that true red I sought. That exact red that tickles the cones and rods and screams "THIS IS RED".
It was my own personal nemesis. I created a mica recipe that came dead close.
These are examples of the truest red my eye can see:
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During this time Carrie from Nurture Soap was hot on the red trail. She was playing her cards close. We had a few conversations about the perfect red.
Unlike most people I was less concerned with bleeding (color spreading from one color into the adjacent color) in soap. This is topic for another day.
I understood Carrie was researching and experimenting, but didn't have a full grasp of the situation until most recently.
I bought every red mica Nurture Soap Supply offered.
I tried them all. Okay, to be fair, I tried most. I did not venture into liquids or oxides as I already knew what oxides would produce and don't generally like them to bleed onto my wash cloth. All the reds I used fell a tick short of my ideal red. Not entirely, but a bit... As I was after that ultimate holy grail red. I was seeking a true red, under any light will appear red. I relied on my mica recipe, which is solid, however, as in all recipes, when we adjust one thing and don't adjust all things in a recipe the results are not alway consistent.
A few months ago Carrie brought her secret to the foreground - Trial By Fire red mica.
I tested it and was stunned. Absolutely stunned at the results. Not only is this mica premixed to Carrie's exacting standards, but the results are dead on every time. I am so pleased that Carrie continued to pursue her love of color and utilized knowledge of her products to bring us something extraordinary. This red - Trial By Fire - mica is extraordinary and produces really red results.
Thank you, Carrie, for all your hard and dedicated work; for continuing the daily grind; for leveraging your insights and wisdom and most of all for sharing your unique self with us.
3 comments
Every time I’ve used Trial by Fire, I end up with brick red, not true red. I CPOP. Could forcing gel be the reason?
Annette, try not to worry about the morphing, strive to be creative first and see what happens, then you can adjust your creation. Next, to add or mix micas with oils prior to adding lye/water mixes the mica thoroughly. When making soap dough I add mica into the oils before adding lye/water, to eliminate the step of mixing micas with a little bit of the oils to incorporate into the large amount, as in making a more complex soap design. Thank you for your commnet. :)
Hey! This red looks amazing! Curious. At what point in your recipe for the soap dough, at what point do you add this red mica? I always worry about colors morphing. What is the best part of a recipe to add it, so that the color remains true? It is just beautiful, too beautiful, for words!