making natural food colourings

[jentlesoap]

Hi,
I apologise if this has already been discussed - I'm new to the forum and didn't come across it. I was wondering if anyone has experimented with using natural dyes, home made? I boiled some red onion skins tonight to use for a batch of soap tomorrow. Will I need a fixative so the colour sticks after adding the lye (I make CP soap), and if so what can I use? I'd love to hear any ideas for making natural dyes. I'm aware that the lovely red colour the red onion skin gives won't give that shade in the finished soap, but I'm keen to give it a try to see what colour it achieves.

 

[RockinRodeoChick]

Someone posted about this a couple weeks ago I think. You might find this site interesting:

http://www.thesoapdish.com/natural-soap-colorants.htm

Hope it helps!

 

[jentlesoap]

Hi,
Thanks for this, some interesting ideas here although didn't find onion skins. I know they can be used to dye wool but don't know how they fare with lye. Appreciate your help!

 

[ChrissyB]

Please let us know how you go.
I've never heard of anyone making their own food colourings.

 

[jentlesoap]

It's such a learning curve. I've made natural food colourings before but I'm learning quickly that lye (and the chemical reactions) changes colours dramatically. I made a batch of CP soap just last night with the red dye from my boiled red onion skins, and when I poured the batter it was a caramel colour...not what I had hoped for and no idea what it will be when I unmould the soap later this evening, but it's interesting to experiment. I hope it doesn't darken too much though as I added poppy seeds to make a scrub type bar...they could end up lost in there . I'll let you know what colour it all ends up.

 

[anita]

hi jentlesoap,
welcome to the forum. I came across this website a while back when doing some research on natural colourants http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html
It might have what you are looking for.
I haven't tried anything as adventurous as onions and I buy my natural colourants, madder, alkanet etc. from a soap suppliers so I would be interested to hear how you get on starting from scratch.

 

[jentlesoap]

Hi anita,
Thanks for the link. I've had a look at it and saved it to favourites for future reference.
The soap is just unmoulded and I'm happy with the actual soap, even if it isn't red. Ironically the colour is similar to that of a golden shade of onion (and I used a lovely deep red colour from boiled red onion skins :? ). Now I'll be keen to see what colour golden brown onions give. Does anyone know if/what fixatives that can be used?....all so different to dyeing wool.
I'm enjoying the forum - sat until the wee hours last night reading past threads- so much interesting info and so much to learn.

 

[patrice]

thank you for introducing this subject....i have worked extensively with natural dye years ago when i worked a lot with wool....i am new to soap making and just made my first batch with oxide...not too appealing......i was wondering when you added the onion water......did you use it for your lye mixture or later?......could be a different result.....just a guess...p

 

[jentlesoap]

I added the onion dye with the lye, and like you've mentioned could have had a different (or better) reaction, had I added it afterwards. I did think of this at the time and wasn't sure though if the dye was concentrated enough to make much effect had I added it later. I too had my first experience with my last batch of soap using oxides. The colours were much as I expected but to be honest I still like experimenting with simple dyes that can be used on wool. I've used wool for years and need to learn there's a huge difference applying dyeing techniques to soap......I enjoy learning though.

 

[MorpheusPA]

Hi anita,
Thanks for the link. I've had a look at it and saved it to favourites for future reference.
The soap is just unmoulded and I'm happy with the actual soap, even if it isn't red. Ironically the colour is similar to that of a golden shade of onion (and I used a lovely deep red colour from boiled red onion skins :? ). Now I'll be keen to see what colour golden brown onions give. Does anyone know if/what fixatives that can be used?....all so different to dyeing wool.
I'm enjoying the forum - sat until the wee hours last night reading past threads- so much interesting info and so much to learn.

I am not an expert, so let's just get that said up front. I tend to prefer my dyes straight from the factory...

It might be worth a try using salt as a mordant before you add the lye, although I suspect the pH of the mix is still going to tear the natural coloration apart. As you know, sometimes alcohol can be a fixative as well, so that might be worth a shot.

 

[orangetree71]

Has anyone boiled beets and used the dark red/purple water to color soap?

 

[penderfamily]

What about fruit extracts, has anyone used that in their soaps? Like for scent and some color? such as apple, etc...they say natural but are they? how do you know?

 

[patrice]

I was just wondering about beets myself this morning .I had just tried to use a lovely magenta color.. manganese oxide and got a putrid grey ....the natural colors are starting to call to me.....so......anyone use paprika...looking to color a floral, rosy soap ...p

 

[jentlesoap]

Has anyone boiled beets and used the dark red/purple water to color soap?

Yes, and for me it didn't turn out that lovely red/purple colour, although I had a feeling that it wouldn't. It was a murky brown colour that I wouldn't be keen on using again :cry:

 

[jentlesoap]

What about fruit extracts, has anyone used that in their soaps? Like for scent and some color? such as apple, etc...they say natural but are they? how do you know?

Have used lemon rind with some success. The lye didn't turn the citrus pieces a horrible brown and with lemon essential oil the soap smells good. It's almost ready to use, should be cured very soon so am keen to see what it's like all the way through as I made this batch in silicone cupcake type moulds.

 

[orangetree71]

Bummer about the beets.

 

[Hljod.Huskona]

Bummer about the beets.

I'm a little new to soap making, and even newer to this forum, so bear with me.

When we tried our first batch of soap, I wanted to try a red marble in our CP batch to see out that would turn out. I used a natural food coloring from black currant juice, which I obtained from our local natural grocer. I dripped it in and ran a knife through to create a marbled effect. Most of the color survived. Unfortunatley my technique must not have worked because the marble effect only resulted on the BACK of my soap, ROFL.

Literally, the only ingredient in the bottle is Black Currant Juice concentrate. The brand is from Seelect Herb Tea Co.,. I looked on the bottle to be sure, hehe. They have a website: www.seelectea.com. They make all sorts of colors...and they are indeed rich colors (deep blueberry, reds, etc.).

Cheers!
Rebecca

 

[jentlesoap]

Bummer about the beets.

I'm a little new to soap making, and even newer to this forum, so bear with me.

When we tried our first batch of soap, I wanted to try a red marble in our CP batch to see out that would turn out. I used a natural food coloring from black currant juice...

Literally, the only ingredient in the bottle is Black Currant Juice concentrate. The brand is from Seelect Herb Tea Co.,. I looked on the bottle to be sure, hehe. They have a website: www.seelectea.com. They make all sorts of colors...and they are indeed rich colors (deep blueberry, reds, etc.).

Thanks, Rebecca, would be keen to try this - the link didn't work for me and I've no idea what brand you used or if I can buy it in Ireland, but I'm guessing that any blackcurrant juice concentrate ( with no other ingredients) may do the same job. Will have a look next time I'm shopping, thanks again!

 

[jentlesoap]

I was just wondering about beets myself this morning .I had just tried to use a lovely magenta color.. manganese oxide and got a putrid grey ....the natural colors are starting to call to me.....so......anyone use paprika...looking to color a floral, rosy soap ...p

Plan on trying paprika soon, but have used turmeric and love the golden colour it gave...

 

[Hljod.Huskona]

Thanks, Rebecca, would be keen to try this - the link didn't work for me and I've no idea what brand you used or if I can buy it in Ireland, but I'm guessing that any blackcurrant juice concentrate ( with no other ingredients) may do the same job. Will have a look next time I'm shopping, thanks again!

Ooops! The link was http://seelecttea.com/, with 2-t's, hehe. That one should work. Though, I imagine that you could easily just use the juice...maybe reduce it to make it concentrated? I've not done that before...but I do know it worked for our CP recipe.

Cheers!
Rebecca