Natural Colorants
First off, this is not intended to be a comprehensive assembly of all natural colorants that exist – its is merely the short list of those which are used regularly at Apothecary Muse in soap making. Whenever we source a new material, we research the safety of use during manufacturing as well as topically in skin care products on the Environmental Working Group website. If we change distributors, we ask questions about their sources, maintain records of the material safety data sheets for our batches and perform testing in product samples before releasing to the public.
What is different about soap colorants?
Because our methods include cold process which require extensive weeks of curing, many herbal extracts will fade and/or provide minimal herbal benefits after this time, especially if they are stored in direct sunlight. However, these can be used in combination with some essential oil and/or clay combinations that do not fade quite as readily:
Alkanet Root
Annato Seed
Calendula Flowers
Chamomile Flowers
Lemon Balm Leaves
Nettle Leaves
Powdered herbs or clays can be used at about 1 tsp per pound of soap.
Chlorella Powder
Hawaiian Salt
Indigo Powder
Kale Powder
Kudzu Root Powder
Pink Himilayan Salt
Spirulina Powder
Tomato Powder
Natural, mineral ingredients used on average 1/4 tsp per pound of soap.
Activated Charcoal
Bentonite Clay
Morrocan Clay
Mica (natural, not synthetic)
Titanium Dioxide (we practice safe handling during manufacturing)
Chromium Oxides (we practice safe handling during manufacturing)
Ultra Marine (from Lapis Lazuli)
