Your Favorite Natural Colorant?

[El_Granado_Loco]

I love stevia, the green one. It 's a little harder to find but it gives a nice green. I mix it with a little olive oil and add it at trace with the EO 's. In reality, it 's a little greener than in the photo but not very vibrant either, I like it that way.

For those of you who use activated charcoal, don't you get black suds? I 'd love to make a black soap but am a little concerned about that...

 

[shunt2011]

I love activated charcoal for black and cocoa powder for brown and Red Palm oil too. I haven't noticed black suds from my charcoal soap but if you use too much you will certainly have them.

 

[CanaDawn]

ok, Stevia I have too. Would I just use a tea of these (they are all growing in my yard or greenhouse or garden, so I have 'em fresh)?
Eta: What other kind of stevia other than green IS there??

 

[CanaDawn]

I had plenty of brown suds from a cocoa powder coloured batch. Too much I guess, but also it's an additive vs a colourant (or at least that's how I think of it).

 

[dixiedragon]

I like easy ones - I dont' care for mixing my colorants befor adding them to soap. One more thing to wash! I love beta carotene capsules, French green clay, rose clay, and cocoa.

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

CanaDawn, how good to have your own stevia! The one I use is already a very thin powder, I get it at a herbs shop in that form. I suppose you could dry it and then make a powder of it. Lately, I can find stevia nearly everywhere (supermarkets, healthy food shops, etc) but it 's white and everybody looks at me strangely when I ask if they have the green one. (Their look gets worse when I tell them the reason I need it to be green ) Obviously, people who buy it like to know it comes from a plant but at the same time prefer having it whitened, God knows how...

 

[CanaDawn]

CanaDawn, how good to have your own stevia! The one I use is already a very thin powder, I get it at a herbs shop in that form. I suppose you could dry it and then make a powder of it. Lately, I can find stevia nearly everywhere (supermarkets, healthy food shops, etc) but it 's white and everybody looks at me strangely when I ask if they have the green one. (Their look gets worse when I tell them the reason I need it to be green ) Obviously, people who buy it like to know it comes from a plant but at the same time prefer having it whitened, God knows how...

I'm sure it's an extract that is white, vs the plant ground up, so I'm guessing mine can just be dried and used as is. It grows very easily, if you have any room for a medium sized pot.
You can probably find dried stevia leaves in the health food stores.

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

It grows very easily, if you have any room for a medium sized pot.

How good to know! :smile: