How to Use Natural Colorants in Soap Making

Now that you know how to make your own soap, the next step would be learning how to add certain designs on the soaps you make. When it comes to coloring your soap, there are plenty of options you can choose from with natural ingredients. Although natural colorants in soap will not be as vibrant as synthetic colors, you will find that it will be just as lovely. All you need is to let out the creativity in you.

Most of the ingredients for coloring your soap with natural colorants can be found in your kitchen, your grocery store, or from your local soap making supplier or even health food stores and hobby shops. Most of the natural colorants are already being used to color certain food and drugs. For example, Annatto is now used to give macaroni and cheese its distinctively orange color and cochineal is used to color the Hawaiian punch.

There are simply so many natural colorants that you will be able to use to decorate your soap. Aside from having a unique soap with a unique scent, it will also have a unique color that is very attractive, which you can eventually be proud to give away to your family or friends or even sell it.

For example, if you use alfalfa on your soap, then you will get medium green coloring. Annatto seed will produce yellow orange. If you want tan colored soap or brown soap, you can use cinnamon, ground cloves, and cocoa powder.

Coffee and coffee grounds can also produce brown to black colored soap as well as comfrey root, which gives off a light milky brown color on the soap. For deep blues, you may want to use indigo roots but you need to be cautious as this can stain. For that lovely deep orange color, you can use pumpkin. Rose pink clay can produce brick red color on your soap. For that blue-green color, you can use spirulina or blue-green algae.

You can use natural dyes in melt and pour soaps but you need to remember that if you will be extracting dye material from the plant for melt and pour soaps, make sure that the mixture be as concentrated as possible and use as little liquid possible. Always keep in mind that melt and pour soaps are notorious for degrading if you use more than + ounce excess liquid.

Keep in mind that lye water as a dilutant should never be used to extract plant dye material for melt and pour soaps.

If you are going to use carrot juice to color your soap, you can substitute some of the water in the recipe with carrot juice. For example, if you are going to use 1 cup of water in your soap making recipe, you can substitute + cup of it with carrot juice.

Brewed coffee can also be added at trace along with coffee grounds. This will produce a great aroma and the grounded coffee you add will also prove to be an excellent exfoliant.

Adding natural colorants in soaps is quite easy. Whether you use melt and pour method or the cold process of soap making, you will see that adding natural colorants is rather simple. Some colorants may require more work than other colorants but you will it very easy to do.

If you are a beginner, you may want to use a starter kit, which can be found in your local hobby shop. This will not only help you or guide you with the step by step process of adding colorants in your soaps but it will make sure that you will not have any difficulty in doing the process.

The starter kits will make sure that you will not be confused when it comes to adding natural colorants on your soap.

Remember these tips and you can be sure that you will not only have a great smelling soap that is gentle on your skin as well as provide a lot of benefits to it but also a soap that is great to look at.

By knowing how to add natural colorants on your soap, you will be able to start giving it as gifts or even sell it.