Natural Colours

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dianne70

dianne70

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I seem to have a one track mind at the moment, and that is colours!! For those of you that use natural colours, do you find that the colour stays pretty good, or does it fade away after time? I can't seem to stop my mind form working sometimes, and now I am thinking that I would like to have all natural colours in my soaps that have essential oils in them. Most of them do, but there are a couple that have some mica lines, and such. Clays are good, which is what I use most for the EO soaps, but things like a purple for the Lavender.....annatto seed infusion? Anyway, my biggest question is.....do the colours stay true, or do they fade over time . Thank You :D
 
I love all natural colouring in my soaps and have experimented with quite a few. For lavender I use alkanet either infused in OO at a rate of no more than 20% or add a small amount to the batter. A little goes a long way with alkanet! I haven't found any fading with alkanet thus far.

The worst I think for fading is alfalfa powder which gives you a citrus to mossy green colour in brand new soap but quickly disappears as the soap cures. The only green colourant I've found to not fade thus far is green clay. Spirulina and nettle also fade but not as much as alfalfa.

Red sandalwood will give you a rosy pink colour. It does fade slightly, but the colour does remain.

Paprika will give you anywhere from a brick orange colour to a peach colour depending on how much you use. Paprika is scratchy though so I prefer an OO infusion unless I'm making a 'scrubby' bar.

For black I use activated charcoal. Depending on amount used you will end up with anywhere from a light grey to jet black. This one I don't infuse.

It's really fun to watch the colours change from the mixing stage until they're fully cured. What you start out with isn't always what you end up with!
 
I've found that Woad fades to more of a grey than blue, and that Yellwdock fades from a nice pink to a fleshy peach. Sometimes Madder root fades from maroon to brick red. The worst for me was Spirulina...almost neon green to tan in less than 6 weeks, stored in a box away from sunlight! Charcoal, Cocoa, Calendula and Annatto stay true...Alkanet may fade but only slightly.
 
Keeping your soap out of direct sunlight is crucial for keeping natural colors lasting! I have certain soaps that last forever but once that sun hits, bam - color gone! Annatto is gorgeous but fades instantly in the sun!
 
dianne70 said:
I seem to have a one track mind at the moment, and that is colours!! For those of you that use natural colours, do you find that the colour stays pretty good, or does it fade away after time? I can't seem to stop my mind form working sometimes, and now I am thinking that I would like to have all natural colours in my soaps that have essential oils in them. Most of them do, but there are a couple that have some mica lines, and such. Clays are good, which is what I use most for the EO soaps, but things like a purple for the Lavender.....annatto seed infusion? Anyway, my biggest question is.....do the colours stay true, or do they fade over time . Thank You :D
Click to expand...

Some do and some don't. I found madder root to fade very fast, same with paprika infusion. If you use a lot of paprika, you will keep a brick color for a while, if you adjust the infusion to get rose, the rose will turn to beige...ask how I know.

The other 'natural' colorants I use are indigo (crystals dissolved in water prior to lye), annatto, and alkanet. I mix indigo and annatto in different proportions to get different shades of green. These have all been pretty stable for me. However, I cure my soaps in the semi-dark.
 
I was thinking on this the other day. What spices or herbs would last color wise in soap.

Anyone tried Mustard for yellow? Either dried or plant. I will have to check my herb list for plant dies and do a way back when search here. I know we had a list at one time.
 
Has anyone found a natural colourant that is a citrus green that doesn't fade? I'm working on a citrus bar in memory of my brother and think it would look great with a lime green swirl in it.
 
AlchemyandAshes said:
I've found that Woad fades to more of a grey than blue, and that Yellwdock fades from a nice pink to a fleshy peach. Sometimes Madder root fades from maroon to brick red. The worst for me was Spirulina...almost neon green to tan in less than 6 weeks, stored in a box away from sunlight! Charcoal, Cocoa, Calendula and Annatto stay true...Alkanet may fade but only slightly.
Click to expand...

Great information! I have all of those colourants but haven't had a chance to give them all a whirl yet.

Have you found a citrus green with staying power by chance? I'm in the same line as you - All Natural. It's challenging, but so worth it!
 
100%Natural said:
Great information! I have all of those colourants but haven't had a chance to give them all a whirl yet.

Have you found a citrus green with staying power by chance? I'm in the same line as you - All Natural. It's challenging, but so worth it!
Click to expand...
Green can be just as hard as blue to get...and keep from fading! I use Nettle and Dandelion with a little French Green Clay - all powdered and added at trace and I get this color:

WinterSolstice_Soap.jpg
 
Thanks guys....will have to look for some of these herbs and plants! One more question......do you think you would be able to do a pencil line with clay? I've done them with micas and cocoa powder before, and charcoal, but never with clay, and was just wondering if you think it would work? :)
 
Oh, perfect post for me to ask this in! I got my natural colorants last week, powdered beet, alkanet, annato, and spiruella (I'm way to lazy to look up spellings, sorry folks, I'm on my lunch break taking in as much soaping goodness as I can right now!) Anyway, the package says to mix with water or water soluble liquids. But a lot of you folks talk about using it infused in your oils. Can I put it into a coffee filter, cover with oil for a few days to steep? Does that work, or do I just need to follow the directions, add it to water?
 
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