Coloring Soap

Colorants, fragrances and essences are integral parts of soap making. Imagine a piece of soap cake without color or fragrances. You bet, even your puppy will detest it. It’s almost like a soap getting its own persona and appeal when it is colored or perfumed. Coloring soap, therefore, is an important aspect of the soap manufacturing process.

Do you know that the secrets of soap colorant fall into four categories? They are pigments, dyes, Mica and natural colorants. Let us discuss about these four buddies which literally add color to the life of a useful soap.

• Pigments: Among the pigments are ultramarines and oxides. Ultramarines are blue pigments derived by heating clay, sodium carbonate and sulphur. Pigments are stable and hold on to their colors even when exposed to direct sunlight continuously.
  
• Dyes: You should be cautious while using dyes. They are unstable and are liable to change color. If you’re cautious enough, dyes provide color to the soap by reacting with other ingredients.
  
• Mica: Mica provides natural decoration for soaps. They are generally in the form of silvery white flakes and can be dyed easily. It provides that sparkling effect for soaps that women and kids love so much. It is commonly used nowadays in a wide range of soaps of different shades, shapes and sizes.
  
• Natural colorants: They are as natural as they come, and they are the best things that can touch your skin. Having said that, natural herbs and colors should be the only thing you should use for a glowing skin. Look at the esteemed list of these magnificent natural colorants and herbs: Turmeric, Saffron and Sassafras color for soap among others lend a yellow tinge to the soap. At the same time, they are beneficial for your skin.
  
• Other natural soap coloring ingredients like Annatto, Carthamin are also used. While Chlorophyll, fermented tea and Alkanet root are used to produce green, brown and purple colors, respectively. Black soap color is obtained by using plantain skin, cocoa pods, ash, bark, etc.
  
• Herb and spice colors for soaps are used to provide a distinct fragrance to the soap. They can be derived from ground ginger, peppermint, spearmint and sandalwood. Sandalwood is rare and expensive but very beneficial for the skin, and it has many medicinal properties.
  

The coloring homemade soap making process follows the same methods as described above. Just like there are secret recipes for cooking delicacies, there are secret recipes for soap making and soap coloring, too. Coloring soap is an art in itself and you will learn with trial, error and experiments. Experiment to grow.