Brown and Other Colored Soaps and Creams

I saw this posted as a thread on another blog and I thought I would share it with the members of DFS.  If however, it has been discussed in the past I apologize in advance.  In no way am I attempting to plagiarize someone else’s material.  The issue here are brown soaps and other colored soaps.  The individual who wrote the thread was given a brown soap by another member.  After using it he was completely against brown soaps.  
Brown soaps were frowned upon for two reasons.  Some of them, actually a very small population of them create brown lather which stains towels and natural hair brushes.  The second issue appears that there is a dislike of soaps that are not white.

I reviewed the thread several times and finally decided to post the following reply.  

“There are several replies discussing a few things all alluding to non-white soaps.  I agree, that there are two or three to my knowledge brown soaps that create brown lather that stains towels and brushes.  However, let me make the following comments.  There are currently 86 soaps and creams in my rotation.  Out of the 86, 11 or 13% are dark brown, 10 or 12% are light brown and 18 or 21% are various colors consisting of green, blue, yellow, etc.  These three categories represent 46% of my total rotation.  So, almost 50% of all my soaps are non white.  All of my soaps are well known brands.  Every one of my soaps or 100% regardless of the color produce white lather and none stain anything.  Out of all my soaps there are only 3 that I wish I had not purchased.  I can only assume that the color of the soap is due to some sort of dye or other ingredient; but, none of them are irritating to my face”. 

“Not saying which soaps I know of are dark brown and stain; the manufacture includes a cautionary note in the soap’s description.  So (name of the thread author), it is possible that you were given that soap because  the giver experienced that problem unless they never used it.  If I decide to purchase a soap from a mail order house I always go to the manufacturer’s website and read the description of the soap.  Should there be a chance it will stain I do not purchase it.  If it is a soap I have not used before I may end up not liking it.  But I then know it will not stain.  The manufacture indicated that an ingredient by the name of vanillin can and will stain”.

A lot of soaps do have colours added to them to make them the pretty colour that they are.

But I can't imagine anyone adding brown colouring to a soap unless it was a bath soap and meant be be that colour for several reasons.

But I have never ever experienced it coming off onto the brush or the skin. Unless a brown colorant is added it won't transfer into the lather. It's just the colour of the soap with regular white lather.

The brown can come from many different places in a soap. The two top reasons that I am familiar with are because of

1) the ingredients that are used caused it to turn brown such as added milk that can "caramelize" during the soap making process. This isn't always the case depending on the process used to make the soap as well as the type of milk used. But the process itself can cause it to darken slightly to a more tan than brown colour.

2) this is very common but if the scent that is added to the soap has any vanilla content it will turn brown to some shade. The less vanilla the lighter the brown or tan. The more vanilla the darker the colour. There are vanilla stabilizers that can be added to help prevent this or at least from it becoming very dark if it has a lot of vanilla. But some stabilizers that are used do not prevent this from changing over the long term application and it may eventually change slightly.

So don't fear soaps that are not white or cream coloured. It's just an aesthetic thing and has nothing to do with how it performs. I haven't ever experienced it staining.

Should there be a chance it will stain I do not purchase it.  If it is a soap I have not used before I may end up not liking it.  But I then know it will not stain.  The manufacture indicated that an ingredient by the name of vanillin can and will stain”.[/size]

Whether or not a soap containing vanillin (vanilla fragrance) stains or not depends entirely on how much vanillin is in the formula - anywhere from .1% to 20% - brown lather is only a problem in the soaps with a higher percentage of vanillin.  Many popular scents like Barbershop and Sandalwood contain a small percentage of vanillin but lather white.  Other factors like sugars in the recipe from milk, beer, or honey will caramelize and darken the soap as well but not come through in the lather.

I have one soap (Barrister and Mann’s Night Music) in my rotation that is a dark-colored soap, and can stain brushes, towels, and just about anything else. I knew this when I got the soap. When I plan to shave with it, I know to plan accordingly.

It’s a soap I wouldn’t want to shave with every day, because some extra precautions need to be taken. However, when I use it, I enjoy it, because I know what to expect, and appreciate the many positive qualities of the soap.

I have one soap (Barrister and Mann’s Night Music) in my rotation that is a dark-colored soap, and can stain brushes, towels, and just about anything else. I knew this when I got the soap. When I plan to shave with it, I know to plan accordingly.

It’s a soap I wouldn’t want to shave with every day, because some extra precautions need to be taken. However, when I use it, I enjoy it, because I know what to expect, and appreciate the many positive qualities of the soap.

does the ingredient list include anything that would suggest an added colourant?

Should there be a chance it will stain I do not purchase it.  If it is a soap I have not used before I may end up not liking it.  But I then know it will not stain.  The manufacture indicated that an ingredient by the name of vanillin can and will stain”.[/size]

Whether or not a soap containing vanillin (vanilla fragrance) stains or not depends entirely on how much vanillin is in the formula - anywhere from .1% to 20% - brown lather is only a problem in the soaps with a higher percentage of vanillin.  Many popular scents like Barbershop and Sandalwood contain a small percentage of vanillin but lather white.  Other factors like sugars in the recipe from milk, beer, or honey will caramelize and darken the soap as well but not come through in the lather.

That is exactly what I am saying. Vanillin as used in other soaps however, the more used in a particular soap the more chance of a stain problem. Read the the manufactures description.

I have one soap (Barrister and Mann’s Night Music) in my rotation that is a dark-colored soap, and can stain brushes, towels, and just about anything else. I knew this when I got the soap. When I plan to shave with it, I know to plan accordingly.

It’s a soap I wouldn’t want to shave with every day, because some extra precautions need to be taken. However, when I use it, I enjoy it, because I know what to expect, and appreciate the many positive qualities of the soap.

does the ingredient list include anything that would suggest an added colourant?

I believe Night Music has been discontinued so there is no description on the website any longer. Look Lavanille and read the cautionary note.

the packaging is required by law to include a full and complete ingredient list. Just like what is required on food labels, listing the ingredients from greatest to smallest.

So it shouldn't matter if it's been discontinued or not. But sadly many do not follow the laws set for selling handmade products because they don't know or don't care. This isn't a brand I am familiar with so my thoughts when posting was to look at the actual packaging for information.

Barrister & Mann Night Music ingredients:

Please be aware that the high levels of vanillin in Night Music soap may discolor bleached badger and boar brushes. We suggest using either unbleached brushes or synthetic fibers when using the soap.

Ingredients: Potassium Stearate, Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Stearate, Potassium Tallowate, Sodium Tallowate, Potassium Ricinoleate, Potassium Shea Butterate, Sodium Ricinoleate, Coconut Milk, Sodium Shea Butterate, Fragrance, Carthamus tinctorius hybrid (Hybrid Safflower) Seed Oil, Potassium Palm Kernelate, Allantoin, Lanolin, Sodium Palm Kernelate, Sodium Citrate, Tocopherol Acetate, Hydrolyzed Silk Protein

Here's where I got it from. I believe it's the only place that still has some for sale.

https://www.groomatorium.com/product/bar...ving-soap/

Coconut milk can also be an issue because of the natural sugars in the "milk", even though it's not a dairy milk it still contains some. But it also depends on the type of coconut milk used as in how it's presented when used. Canned, powdered or fresh.

But fragrance is pretty high up on the list and it must have a pretty high vanilla content. I find some curiosities in the choices of a few of the ingredients beyond the fragrance.

My knowledge in this area includes being able to pick apart an ingredient list and figure out an estimated amount of the various ingredients used. It's not a perfect science but there are general guidelines and usage rates for various ingredients used.