Question re creating colorants using organics

[gigisiguenza]

Purees and juices are tricky - they can burn and smell yucky. Also, most of them are going to turn brown in your soap.

While I do think you should save your infusions and purees for when you are more experienced, there are some easy natural colorants you can try.

From the grocery store:
Beta carotene capsules. 1 capsule in 20 oz of soap gives a lemony yellow color. More will start to move towards orange. I love beta carotene - it's well behaved and it lasts. But be aware - the soap won't dissolve the capsule! Snip and squeeze!

Cocoa - Try it at 1 tsp per pound of oils (PPO). This one tends to clump, so be prepared to do extra mixing.

Parsley is great too. It will fade with time, but it stays green for several months.

Dixiedragon - I will look for the beta carotene capsules, thank you! It will be a while before I work with these colorants, but it's nice to know the options

 

[karenbeth]

I love using different coloured clays in soap. Some of the pinks are great

 

[gigisiguenza]

So much good info here! You guys rock

 

[dixiedragon]

TOMH, I don't think beta carotene (even the concentrated stuff) will give you a reliable, lasting color. It oxidizes very quickly in light. I did my undergrad research with it and you had to keep everything foil wrapped to prevent oxidation. I would think 1) the lye would destroy it or 2) it would not last long unless it is kept in the dark and dry.

I have been using it for years. So from my experience, it does. I will include some pics when I get home.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Dixie, experience trumps theory. If it works, it works! Glad it does too. Very pretty color that stuff is.

 

[Seawolfe]

The orange I made with carrot-infused oils and strained carrot puree never faded either. I saw a lovely orange bar and the creator said they used carrot juice and a pinch of paprika.

 

[snappyllama]

Pumpkin puree makes a nice light orange too.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Dixie, experience trumps theory. If it works, it works! Glad it does too. Very pretty color that stuff is.

Mysterious, huh? I'll get some and maybe we'll see if these seeming contradictions can reconcile.

 

[doriettefarm]

I'll add to the mystery. I've never had annatto morph on me but indigo continues to give me fits. Made an orange-patch soap months ago that used annatto infused OO and that batch is still flaming cheeto orange!

 

[not_ally]

At least it was orange, doriette, so the color worked!

 

[doriettefarm]

It worked so well I thought the lather might be orange and feared my shower would look like a pumpkin massacre

 

[green soap]

The only faders I observed were madder root and paprika at low concentrations, the amount you would use for a peach color. Paprika used at higher concentration gives me a brick color that does not fade, but it causes the soap to accelerates.

Annatto, alkanet, and indigo have given me great results and not any noticeable fading, even after several months.

I have had really nice results with rose clay too. For brown I use cocoa powder, and some charcoal for black or gray.

All minus the clays and the indigo were used as infusions in olive, almond, and/or avocado oils.

Another experience with fading, or morphing rather, happens when I use goat milk as the liquid. Indigo looks green rather than blue, and alkanet takes more of a grey hue rather than purple.

 

[gigisiguenza]

You guys are awesome, so much info in one place. Thanks for sharing it, I'm taking notes like crazy LOL

 

[Susie]

I use paprika and annato infused into olive oil for yellow to orange coloring, depending on amount used. Annato gives more of a "true" orange, where paprika gives more of a "rusty" sort of shading.

Beta carotene works wonderfully and is long lasting. I will probably use that for my orange as it is just easier to use. I am thinking of squeezing a capsule into a bottle of OO, so I can use only as much or as little as I like on that one also.

I like using cold coffee in place of water to give a lovely "latte" shade. That combined with a cocoa line is pretty nice, and my hubby thinks it looks like a "guy" soap.

 

[gigisiguenza]

I use paprika and annato infused into olive oil for yellow to orange coloring, depending on amount used. Annato gives more of a "true" orange, where paprika gives more of a "rusty" sort of shading.

Beta carotene works wonderfully and is long lasting. I will probably use that for my orange as it is just easier to use. I am thinking of squeezing a capsule into a bottle of OO, so I can use only as much or as little as I like on that one also.

I like using cold coffee in place of water to give a lovely "latte" shade. That combined with a cocoa line is pretty nice, and my hubby thinks it looks like a "guy" soap.

Love these suggestions!

 

[topofmurrayhill]

I have my doubts about indigo as a soap colorant. There is a chemistry to using it for things like denim, but it's impossible to do that chemistry with soap. As purchased, it is insoluble in both water and oil. If you do want to try it, dispersing it in the lye is the way to go. But in my experience you will have indigo dots unless maybe you filter your lye. Adding processing steps like that to the caustic is not the safest or most convenient thing.

 

[nsmar4211]

Does using coffee as a liquid affect any scenting?

 

[not_ally]

I've only tried it a few times, but found that while the color stuck, the fragrance did not (assume the lye killed it?) That lye is a terrible murdering thing.

 

[green soap]

I have had pretty good results using indigo for blues and greens. All blue and greens in these pictures are from indigo. Chemical reaction somewhat similar to what happens when dying jeans - lye reduces it - indigo molecules appear blue upon contact with oxygen - dying fabric still on my bucket list.

All colors here are from annatto, alkanet, indigo, calendula, rose clay, charcoal, coffee, and a little sea kelp at time.

 

[green soap]

These two have more of the indigo, in different concentrations -