Soap Queen

Tutorials on soapmaking, bath fizzies, lotions and more

Tutorials by difficulty level:

Natural Colorants for Melt and Pour Soap

Filed Under: Melt & Pour Soap

For those of you who are going all-natural and are looking for some colorant options that aren’t dull gray, green or brown, try these! You’ll be surprised how vibrant some natural pigments can be!

Activated Charcoal: Creates a solid black without having to use much pigment. Mixes in easily like a mica. Works great in melt-and-pour and cold process.

Kaolin Clay: More typically used in mineral makeup than as a soap colorant, but I tried it anyway. Very clumpy unless you break it down in a liquid first. Notice it looks slightly pink in the image; that’s because I had a little rose clay left on my spoon! Oops. Titanium dioxide is another great whitening agent.

Rose Clay: Lovely pink in both cold process and melt-and-pour. Needs to be broken down in a liquid first or you will be fishing for clumps. Rose clay is a mild Kaolin Clay.

Safflower Powder: Makes a gorgeous yellow in cold process and melt-and-pour. Another pigment that should be broken down first in liquid because of its clumpy nature. I like the little flecks that are visible in this clear base!

Spirulina: Also known as Kelp and smells very fishy. I add a strong essential oil (like peppermint or lime) to this layer to mask the scent. Needs to be broken down in liquid and tends to leave flecks of pigment. Try pouring your colored melt-and-pour soap through a sifter or strainer to catch lumps of color.

For even more colorant options and infusing tips and tricks, make sure to read this book on infusing herbs.

 

 

Like it? Share it!

You may also like these

All About Exfoliants on Soap QueenAll About ExfoliantsSeaSponges1_700pxSea Sponge SpotlightAvocado Spearmint Cold Process Soap TutorialEssential Oil InspirationMassageOil_700pxHow to Make Essential Oil Massage Oil2017-01-16 10.04.04Interview with Jolene of Scent and Sensibility Inc

Become an email subscriber

Enter your email address below and you will receive all our new posts directly in your email inbox.

Previous Post:
Next Post:

20 Comments

  1. you write that some of these powdered colorants need to be mixed with a liquid first to prevent clumps, which liquid do you suggest and how much?

  2. Hi Becky,

    I’ve only been playing around with melt & pour soaps so far, but much prefer the opaque, natural/rustic coloring and textures that cold process soaps seem to achieve. I am trying to avoid a translucent look, but adding coloring to my m&p base yields pastel shades. Is there any way to mimic the look of cold process soap with m&p soaps?

    Thanks!

    Sarah

  3. I read this and got inspiration from the kitchen.. used Milo(malt for a drink) thru a sieve as brown colouring on a test batch. You have no idea how well this worked. Added preservative. 🙂

  4. After reading this post, I bought the Infusing e-book. I found it very informative… for cold process soap making.

    Because I have a very busy 2 year-old, I’m concentrating on Melt & Pour. This e-book offered no tips on how to work all those spices and herbs into Melt & Pour. So I have a few questions:

    Do I infuse and add the oil to the melted base? Can I add the spices & herbs (powdered) directly into the melted base without the need of infusing? What about quantity per pound of base?

    I would have loved if the book answered all those questions (and more) for Melt & Pour Soapers!

    Thank you!

    • Hi Zuleyka!

      We are excited to hear that you bought the Infusing e-book, it can be a great resource for both cold process and melt and pour soaping.

      If you are wanting to use infused oil for your melt and pour soaps, I’d suggest using it as natural colorants in your M&P creations. But, you can also add your spices and herbs directly into your melted soap base, at as little or as much as you’d like, it really is up to you how your soap looks! =)

      Because the melt and pour soap has already been made, adding a large amount of oil to it will change the consistency of the soap and it might not set up as well as you’d like it to. If you are going to add infused oils, I wouldn’t go any higher than 1 tablespoon per pound of soap base.

      I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

      ~Becky with Bramble Berry

      • Thank you, Becky!

        My other question would be if these herbs and spices add some scent to the melt & pour soap? Or if they alter the fragrances or essential oils used?

        Thank you so much!

        • Good afternoon Zuleyka!

          We’ve never noticed any problems with using herbs and spices along with fragrance and essential oils, but if you add too much it might change the fragrance.

          My best suggestion would be to experiment in small batches and see what you come up with. There are so many fun and exciting possibilities that you can mix and match with in melt and pour soaping!

          ~Becky with Bramble Berry

  5. Hi,

    I thought I read somewhere on the site about a color that you can use with clear m&p to make it look like clear water with a slight blue cast. Does this sound familiar or am I going crazy?

    • You aren’t going crazy Monique, we do have a video and a blog post that show you how to make your clear m&p soap have a blue-cast to it, it’s called Blueing. =)

      Soap Queen TV Episode 4: Embedding – http://vimeo.com/4637102

      I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. =)
      -Becky with Bramble Berry

  6. I love using natural colorants! For “manly soaps”, I do a layered green and black soap using spirulina and activated charcoal and my brother and bf happily use it!

  9. Very helpful! How do they stand up to time? Do they fade at all in sunlight or with time?

    • Hi Mellifera! While we haven’t tested this particular soap, any color can fade with the sunlight a bit, especially natural colorants. I’d do a sample batch to make sure it is exactly what you want! 🙂
      -Becky with Bramble Berry

Trackbacks