Colouring soaps naturally

by Zene Kaye
(South Africa)

I want to colour my soaps naturally. what type of clays can i use and what amount must i add to my soap batch. e.g. if the soap batch is 2 pounds, how much teaspoons must i add?
I want to colour my soaps light pink, dark pink, yellow, purple, green and dark beige.

Hi Zene,

Below you will find a few links with information about some of the types of clays that are used for colouring in handmade soap products.

Generally the recommended amount to use is 1 Tablespoon per pound of soap. From there you can use less or more to obtain a lighter or darker colour.

From Nature With Love
Saffire Blue
New Directions Aromatics
Mountain Rose Herbs

Don't forget about other natural ingredients to colour your soaps. Finely ground calendula petals make a wonderful yellow shade. Cocoa powder is great for brown...as is finely ground coffee. Carrot powder is good for an orange shade and dill and/or parsley can be used for green.

These are just a few natural ingredients that can be used to colour your soaps. Try experimenting with some local plants, especially ones that have traditionaly been used as dyes and are skin friendly.

Here is a link to more suggestions for colouring your soaps naturally - Herbal Natural Soap Ingredients

Happy experimenting!
Cathy

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Colouring soaps naturally

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Lots of Great Stuff!
by: Barbara

•Alfalfa – medium green
•Alkanet – steep in oil first - deep purple to muted blue
•Annatto Seed – steep in oil first - yellow orange
•Beet Root – muted pink to red
•Ground Calendula Petals - yellow
•Carrots, shredded or ground - yellow to orange
•Ground Chamomile – yellow-beige
•Chlorophyll - medium greens
•Cinnamon - tan to brown – can be an irritant
•Cloves, ground – brown
•Cochineal powder– deep red
•Cocoa powder– brown
•Coffee/coffee grounds - brown to black
•Comfrey Root – light milky brown
•Cucumber – bright green
•Curry powder - yellow
•Elderberries – steep in lye solution – light brown
•Henna, ground - olive to deep drab green - brown
•Indigo root - deep blues - caution, can stain
•Jojoba beads - come in many colors, and add exfoliation too
•Kaolin Clay - white
•Kelp/seaweed - green
•Madder root - rosy red - purple
•Milk (goats or cow's) - tan to brown, depending upon sugar & fat content
•Morrocan Red Clay - Brick Red
•Paprika – light peach to salmon - can be an irritant
•Poppy Seeds - Blue-grey to light black specks
•Pumice, ground - grey
•Pumpkin, pureed - lovely deep orange Example
•Rattanjot – lavender to purple
•Rose Pink Clay - Brick red
•Rosehip seeds, ground - light tan to deep brown
•Safflower Petals- yellow to deep orange
•Saffron - yellows
•Sage - green
•Spinach – light green
•Spirulina/Blue-Green Algae – blue-green
•Titanium Dioxide- bright white
•Tumeric – gold to amber

Hope this helps!

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