Sunteți pe pagina 1din 11

Start Here

SHOP
Natural Beauty
Natural Health
Homemade Soap
Home and Garden
Cleaning
Real Food
Simple Life Mom

Simple Life Mom

Start Here
SHOP
Natural Beauty
Natural Health
Homemade Soap
Home and Garden
Cleaning
Real Food

Adding Color to Homemade Soap


May 28, 2014 | Posted by Kelly | Handmade Soap, Soap Instructions and Ideas | 20 comments |
So now youve made the basic soap recipes and you want to add some color and fun to your soap.
Adding Color to homemade soap is not dicult. Its a matter of nding out what to put in. There are
a lot of ideas on the internet that I would not recommend simply because of toxicitya big thing! In
my mind, it ruins the whole purpose when people add fragrance oils and dyes to their soaps. When
you make your own soap, you have a great opportunity to make something nourishing for your
family. Ive added hints below for adding color to homemade soap, as well as all kinds of wonderful
natural colors to try.

For soap making tips see Homemade Soap 101

Adding Color to homemade Soap - natural,


healthy, and non-toxic alternatives for
adding color to your beautiful soap creations

To Add:
Most can be added by mixing directly into batch at trace
by spooning out a bit of soap at trace to mix with color and then swirl in to soap after it is
poured into a mold
or by mixing and steeping in an oil before use (I will mention if this is the best method below)

Natural Colors
Black
Activated Charcoal adds black to grey or bluish color, depending on concentration. Some
coarse brands add an element of exfoliation as well. Great for acne. Get Some Here. (aliate
link here and below)

Brown
Cinnamon while cinnamon oil burns the skin, cinnamon powder adds a nice light brown
color. Some people are sensitive to it though.
Beet Root Powder grey to brown color. It does not keep its beautiful pink color. A lot of
colors are changed in coming in contact with lye. Get Some Here or try My Spice Sage (great
products there).
Cocoa powder light to dark brown, depending on concentration
Cloves dark brown
Coee use instant coee to produce dark brown specs. It is exfoliating, but will not smell
like coee.

Green
Spirulina This is a blue-green algae used as a supplement by people. You can buy the
capsules and break them open to add to your soap. It makes a pretty green color. Get Some
Here
Chlorophyll- also adds a green color. Get Some Here
Alfalfa dried and ground. Get Some Here
Burdock Leaf infuse in oil. Get Some Here
Comfrey Leaf can be infused in oil or added at trace. Get Some Here
Dandelion Leaf Yes, right out of your yard! Dry, grind to powder and add at trace. You can
also Get Some Here

Purple
Alkanet Powder Some, including myself, believe alkanet powder to do wonders for acne and
other skin issues. So its denitely a good option. It will make everything from a deep purple
to a bluish purple. It needs to be steeped in oil before adding at trace. Get Some Here
Black Walnut Hull This is good to mix with the entire batch, giving it dark purple specs that
are good at exfoliating as well. Get Some Here
Red Sandalwood Powder make a purple red color, depending on the ph level of the soap. Get
Some Here
Red Hibiscus Powder Get Some Here

Yellow
Calendula Powder calendula has a lot of great medicinal purposes, makes a pretty yellow,
and can also be added as a ower instead of powder. The ower will give your soap yellow
spots and streaks. Get Some Here
Saron Powder Get Some Here
Tumeric
Annato infuse in oil
Ginger muted yellow

Blue
Indigo Powder creates a deep blue. Get Some Here
Woad Powder creates a lighter blue Get Some Here

Red
Moroccan Red Clay This makes a beautiful red color and also draws out impurities of the
skin. Get Some Here
Madder Root Powder add at trace, can be vibrant red or more muted pink depending on how
much you add. Get Some Here

Orange
Paprika I like this best infused in oil and then the excess strained out. Makes a pretty orange
color.
Annato infuse in oil
Tumeric
Fresh Tomato Puree

Adding Color to Homemade Soap - natural, healthy, and


non-toxic alternatives for adding color to your beautiful
soap creations

As you can see, these colors are vibrant! Many change when you add them to soap, but make a new
beautiful color so double check the chart before you think pretty beet root will make pink or
something.
Arrow root powder is in the picture because this is also a picture I use for making
Homemade Eye Shadow and Blush. Arrow root powder is used in soap making to help enhance a
silky feel and slippery texture.

Methods I choose not to use:


Carmine or Cochineal for pink this dye is considered natural, but has to go through a heavy
processing to derive the nished product from the South American insect.
Melted Crayons crayons are made from wax no they are made from paran (the sludge left
over from making petroleum), and mystery pigmentsnot going on our skin!
Mica mica is often colored with who knows what to make it that pretty bright color. Unless you
know what that mystery colorant is, dont use it.

Linked to some of these great blogs.

Unable to connect
20 Comments
19
Share
You also might be interested in

DIY Door Draft Stopper


Dec 3, 2014
Got any old pillowcases around? This DIY Door Draft Stopper[...]

Crushed Ice Candles

Oct 17, 2012


I visited my parents this week and had a blast. [...]

3 Natural Oven Cleaning Recipes


Feb 22, 2015
With the dozens of ideas and variations for natural oven[...]
20 Comments
Leave your reply.

Reply

apronstringsotherthings

May 28, 2014 at 9:34 AM


I make our familys soaps and have been wanting to add a little color to some to dierentiate
easier between the dierent types. Thanks for this post its very helpful.
visiting from A Little R & R link up this week have a great day!

Reply

Coretta

May 28, 2014 at 1:54 PM


I had just started trying to look into this.. there is so much information online! Reading about
dierent methods, then cross referencing to nd out what the drawbacks and benets are,
discarding one idea and looking for another my head was spinning! O.o Thank you for
posting this list, SO much easier than reading through page after page after page of info! I had
already purchased some supplies for infusing oils (pods to put spices into for easier straining)

Reply

Simple Life Mom

Author
May 28, 2014 at 4:10 PM
Great! Perfect timing then -Youre right, sifting through all the info out there can take
forever! If you have any questions, please ask. If I cant answer it, someone out there can

Reply

Dawn @OhSweetMercy

June 5, 2014 at 9:05 AM

Thanks for sharing this! Your post was chosen as one of this weeks favorites on From the Farm

Reply

Kelly

Author
June 5, 2014 at 9:10 AM
Awesome Dawn, thanks!

Reply

Best natural antibacterial bar soap

June 20, 2014 at 2:37 AM


Thanks for sharing These colors looks beautiful these days unnatural ingredients in many
commercial skincare products, have become so common This idea of adding color in soap
looks healthy as well.

Reply

Homemade soap

July 29, 2014 at 3:47 AM


Few years ago I started making homemade soap for personal use but now Im doing it for a
living and what you have posted here is an additional knowledge on part to improve my
business. Glad you have shared this.

Reply

Kelly

Author
July 29, 2014 at 8:25 AM
Thats wonderful. Good luck in your business ventures

Reply

Kelly

November 22, 2014 at 8:02 PM


Hi there!! I am new to all of this and just starting out. For the Alkanet Powder, how do you
steep in oil?

Reply

Kelly

Author
November 24, 2014 at 7:30 AM
Take some of the oil that you would use in your batch of soap (like some of the olive oil)
and put the alkanet in it. Stir until combined and let it set for 30min or until youre ready
to make the soap. Then add it with your oils. Some colors do better once there are in oils,
while others need to be added at trace

Reply

Pam

November 23, 2014 at 2:53 PM


Thanks for Sharing. I have been searching the internet for colors and so many sites make
it confusing! They show that tbey afe pigment colors then when you start reading the infor on
the color they are really mica colors. I have nally found some of the pigment colors that I have
purchased and look forward to using them.
Thanks again

Reply

Kelly

Author
November 24, 2014 at 7:28 AM
Glad to be of help Pam

Reply

Kaycie

December 13, 2014 at 11:51 PM


I cant help but wonder if this makes the soap smell like the spices and some of these spices
seem like they might burn your skin or something. Is there not enough for this or do people not
care about the smell?

Reply

Kelly

Author
December 14, 2014 at 9:27 AM
No. I wondered the same thing when I rst started making soap. I actually wish it
retained some of the scent, but alas it mostly gets killed o on the specication process.
Cocoa is the only one Ive used that does seem to keep a little scent, but towards cocoa
butter for a cocoa scent to soaps, lotions, etc.
As for skin sensitivity, theres not enough to do so, though you can still reap the benets
of some herbs such as turmeric, cloves, etc. Cinnamon is one that you need to be careful
of in essential oil form, but Ive used a lot of powder in my oats and honey soap and its
actually one of my most mild soaps.
So not fear, have fun with the colors, and use essential oils for scents.

Reply

Jason

March 15, 2015 at 8:40 PM


Using Indigo, I processed some ber materials. I have previously used a liquid form but found
the power to much more aordable. Woad is very expensive at $26 US dollars an oz.
The Indigo does have an odd smell, one that is not pleasing, and I just added it to water, let it
sit for a day. Do you have a suggestion on how to prep this produce for coloring soap?
Looking at your palm oil soap photo, made with the charcoal and Spirulina, I wanted to say
how nice that looked. I was wondering if you blogged just how you did that? Thanks so much,
we just love your site and your work

Reply

Kelly

Author
March 15, 2015 at 10:37 PM
Thank you so much.
For the indigo, I add it like I do my charcoal, by scooping out a few large spoonfuls of
soap into a small bowl when it is reaching light trace and mixing it with a whisk. I have
also heard people say that they get a prettier blue by letting it steep in their liquid, warm
oils. This makes a lot of sense. If it is already reconstituted in water, use this as some of
your lye water. As you can see, there are a number of acceptable methods. Im guessing
the oil method would give you the brightest color, but I havent tried all of them as of yet.
For the charcoal and spirulina that I use in my patchouli soap, I scoop out soap at light
trace into two bowls (just about a cup each for a 8-9lb batch). Whisk in some charcoal in
one, spirulina in the other. After I pour the soap into my mold I swirl in the charcoal and
spirulina soap, swirling just a little with a spatula. Thats it. I hope I helped a little.

Reply

Helena

June 15, 2015 at 8:29 AM


Hi.
Thanks for posting this. But I was thinking, hat about oxides? Are those not considered
natural? Are they bad for the skin?
Thank you for your help.
Helena

Reply

Kelly

Author
June 15, 2015 at 10:42 AM
Yes, most oxides can be toxic to the body if they are nano sized (which many companies
do for blending into cosmetics smoothly). So denitely look into the product before
buying.

Reply

LB

August 25, 2015 at 10:12 PM


Hello! I am new to the soap making world and hope to use natural herbs I can grow to add
color and depth to my soaps. I tried to grind lavender and basil into a powder using a nice
coee grinder- but found it only gave me very ne pieces of herbs- not smooth or powdery
really. Any suggestions for achieving a smooth powder when using natural herbs from my
garden in soap coloring/fragrances?
Thanks! Love your website!

Reply

Kelly

Author
August 26, 2015 at 12:49 PM
Im so glad you found us!
Dierent herbs will grind dierently. Basil can grind to a powder easier than lavender.
Lavender owers are beautiful kept whole though. Try a mortar and pestle. I use
homemade herbs in infused oils used in the soaps, sprinkled on top while still soft, or
mixed in. The small pieces are ne that way. If you want to go for coloring, buying it
already in a ne powder may be the best bet if you cant get the texture you want. Try
steeping them in the oil on low heat for a while to infuse the oil.

Leave a Reply
We'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Submit Comment

Subscribe and get my FREE Beauty and Body E-Book and the latest DIY Articles:

Get My FREE E Book

Server not found


Firefox can't nd the server at
rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com.
Check the address for typing errors
such as ww.example.com instead of
www.example.com

Popular Posts Today

Follow Simple Life Mom's board Homemade Makeup on Pinterest.


Follow us on Google+

Protected by
Copyscape
DMCA

Contact Us

Send Message

Content Disclaimer:
All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. While every caution
has been taken to provide readers with the most accurate information and honest opinions, please
use your discretion before making any decisions based on the information in this blog.
SimpleLifeMom.com and authors make no representations as to accuracy, completeness,

currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site, or on any site that
SimpleLifeMom.com links to, & will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this
information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is
provided on an as-is basis.
Aliate Disclosure:
Some posts or sidebars on this blog contain aliate links. I receive a small commission whenever a
product is purchased through these links with no additional cost to the buyer.

Visit Visit Visit Visit Visit Check


Newsletter
Subscribe and get my FREE Beauty and Body E-Book and the latest DIY Articles:

Get My FREE E Book

2015 Simple Life Mom - All Rights Reserved Theme by HB-Themes.


Disclaimers/Policies
Prev

Next

Type and press Enter to search

S-ar putea să vă placă și