Colour Blocks are little cubes of concentrated powdered colourants in a Melt and Pour Soap Base (ours are free from Palm Oil and suitable for Vegans) which are designed for Melt and Pour Soap crafting.
Using Colour Blocks means that you avoid experiencing pockets of dry pigment or mica in your Melt and Pour Soap. The colours incorporate very easily into your soap and you have less leaky colour bottles in your soap store – win! They are also an economical way of purchasing a range of colours for smaller or one off projects. We first stocked Colour Blocks (cubes) back in 2005, (when they were quite new!). Then they slowly went out of fashion – however, due to demand, they are back again with a vengeance!
All the Colours of the Rainbow
Our current Colour Block range includes both micas and neons – they are made by us in manageable batches so that we can ensure that they are palm oil free and meet our quality control.
When using powdered colourants in Melt and Pour Soap you need to hydrate powder with either alcohol, glycerine or sodium lactate. It’s not always easy to know which to use, however alcohol works for all our cosmetic colourants. Colour blocks are much easier, you simply shave off some small pieces and add to the soap base. The smaller the shavings, the more quickly they melt. If the colours aren’t fully melted after 1 – 2 minutes (depending on the batch size), just pop the soap back in the microwave for 5 second bursts and stir. You can also add pieces of the block to the jug of un-melted soap.
As we said, they are concentrated – so be cautious – it’s always better to under colour than over colour! Check the individual listings on the website where you can see how dark the soap colours are when using 1/10th of a block per 100g of soap base. If you are colouring 1kg of clear soap base, you would use one whole cube for a medium shade. You can make much lighter shades too, just use less! Our Colour Blocks are all made using pigments and are not prone to fading or bleeding in your soap.
Using Colour Blocks is a mess free way of colouring fine detail in Melt and Pour Soaps, using either a Soap Injector Tool or a Pipette (with the tip cut off). Very fine detail can be made using a high concentration of colour. However, we recommend using at least half strength to lessen any chance of staining.
How? Here’s how:
- Set up your equipment first.
- Spritz the mould with Isopropyl Alcohol – this allows the soap to flow quickly through the design before it sets up (and it sets up quite fast as there is so little of it).
- Use a very small microwave safe vessel to melt the soap – it’s TINY – so use 5 second bursts at medium heat to melt the soap.
- Then proceed with the main portion of the soap. Spray the set up soap detailing in the mould with isopropyl alcohol, then pour the rest of the soap base into the mould. Ensure the soap is between 54°C and 60°C and avoid pouring the soap onto the set detailing directly (pouring over the back of a spoon can help with this). This will help to prevent any colour bleeding from occurring into the contrasting coloured soap.
Two methods used to colour our soap base using Colour Blocks
Melt the Soap Base and Colour Together
This is my preferred method! Simply dice the soap base and place in the jug as usual. Either cut small pieces from the colour block (or shave them) and then add the small pieces of colour block to the jug. Remember, if in doubt, use a little less. Once melted, add another small piece or two to darken the shade. Place into the microwave (or double boiler), cover, and melt as usual. Remove and stir – quick, easy and no mess!
Melt the Soap Base First and then add the Colour
Dice the soap base and place into the jug and melt as usual. Remove from the heat source, and then add small pieces of the colour block. Stir through the hot melted soap base. The heat of the soap quickly melts the pieces as you stir. Add more small pieces of colour block to darken the shade if desired.
You’ll find our colour blocks listed HERE – they come in single blocks and packs of 6.
We also have a mixed six pack of Neon Blocks.
PLUS there are loads of Melt and Pour Soap Tutorials HERE in our Free Formulary
Happy Soaping!
