Natural dyes for soap from scratch. Natural dyes for soaps
Dyes are one of the main tools of the soapmaker. White soap is pretty boring and monotonous. And with the help of dyes, you can make soap more joyful. You can mix the colors and get new ones, it all depends on your imagination!
BASE SOAP DYES
Dyes are one of the main tools of the soapmaker. White soap is pretty boring and monotonous. And with the help of dyes, you can make soap more joyful. You can mix colors and get new ones, it all depends on your imagination! Exist different types dyes, so let's look at all types of dyes and the features of their use.
Dyes are different - water- and fat-soluble, natural, pigments, mother-of-pearl, etc.
NATURAL DYES (you can read in more detail)
If you want the soap to be as natural and useful as possible, then dry herbs, leaves, flowers, spices, oils, cocoa and more can be used for staining.
Attention: ADDING DRY INGREDIENTS (herbs, leaves, flowers, coffee, cocoa, spices, etc.) is necessary only in the GRIND FORM, THE SMALLER, THE MORE UNIFORM COLOR WILL BE !!! Added herbs and flowers, over time, give yellow-cinnamon blotches in the soap !!!
WATER-SOLUBLE SOAP DYES (in more detail)
These are common food dyes, absolutely harmless to the skin, economical and very easy to use. There are dry, liquid and gel.
Before use, dry dyes must first be diluted in water, and then dripped a little into soap basestirring constantly until the desired hue and color saturation is obtained. Liquid and gel dyes are ready to use.
Ideal for coloring transparent substrates. give homogeneous, clean and delicate shades in the finished soap, while maintaining its full transparency.
The MINUS of these dyes is that if you want to make a multicolor soap with their help, then over time (after 1-2 weeks) the boundaries of the layers will gradually start MIXING, SPREADING (migrating). To avoid this, use pigments for multi-colored soaps.
Titanium dioxide is used to give the transparent soap base a whiteness and opacity. Depending on the amount of titanium dioxide added, the soap is completely matte or slightly "hazy", which allows you to create different visual effects. Before using titanium dioxide for staining a transparent base, it is necessary to DILUTE first, if this is not done, then there will be white dots in the soap. But if you don't want to mess around with self-staining the soap base, then it is much easier to buy a white soap base that has already been dyed with titanium dioxide in a production environment.
FAT-SOLUBLE DYES
These dyes are used primarily for coloring fat-based products, where they give a clean, bright, matte color (lip balms, oil tiles, etc.).
These dyes are insoluble in water, but they dissolve well in base oils and glycerin.
Like water-soluble dyes, fat-soluble dyes are recommended to be used by first preparing an oil solution from a small amount of powder, thoroughly rubbing it, and then dripping a little into the base with constant stirring until the desired color is obtained.
These dyes behave great in a soap base (but MIGERATE in multi-layered soaps!), Lipsticks, lip gloss, various balms. In this case, the color will turn out to be bright, saturated, resistant to light, and will not spread.
It can be used when dyeing soap from "scratch", but it must be taken into account that in an alkaline environment the color may change and eventually differ from the original.
PIGMENT DYES (in more detail)
Of course, it's not even worth mentioning that you need to choose cosmetic pigments for coloring your soap. The quality and purification of pigments is very different - after all, in addition to cosmetics and soaps, pigments are used in industrial paints, for painting cars, etc. Pigments DO NOT MIGRATE in soap over time, retain the brightness and purity of color.
Pigments are dry, liquid and pigment pastes.
Liquid pigments are ready to use. They do not need to be bred first. If the colors are very saturated for you, then you can dilute a small amount of pigment in water, and then add to the base drop by drop, until the desired shade is obtained. Makes the clear soap base more cloudy.
Dry Pigments - The transparent soap base is cloudy. Due to the fact that it is an opaque pigment, soap with it acquires a special texture. Do not migrate. They have a high concentration and color well. To avoid the appearance of lumps in the base, we recommend pre-mixing the dry dye with a small amount of glycerin or base oil and rub thoroughly.
Pigment pastes are a masterbatch. In terms of cost, pigment paste is much more expensive than liquid pigments, but if used correctly, it can significantly save ( bargain!). True, before adding to the soap base, they must be diluted with water, otherwise the base will not be colored evenly, and the pigment paste will turn into small colored particles in the soap. Before use, you must first dilute / rub thoroughly so that there are no lumps in soap / water or glycerin 1: 3, 1: 4.
NEON PIGMENTS (more)
These pigments for soap appeared quite recently, in memory of the disco 80s, but are already popular with soap makers and have become a mainstream trend. Neon pigments produce vibrant, long-lasting colors and are very economical to use. You can also paint on soap with neon pigments.
Pearl (miki) (more details can be read)
Most often, mother-of-pearl is used to decorate soap. Delicate pearlescent color gives the soap a luxury and presentable look. The best effect is achieved when added to a transparent soap base; in a white base, their shine is almost invisible. Mother-of-pearl is not subject to migration, which means that the color obtained with their help will not creep over the multilayer soap, and you will get a very elegant, sparkling. With the help of a brush, you can go over the top of the soap with mother-of-pearl and you will get a spectacular texture.
GLITTERS
Glitter (from the English glitter, in translation "shine") - this term is called small reflective particles used in fashion, cosmetics, handicrafts. In common parlance, these are "sparkles", most often of a round shape, similar to confetti, but there are also polygonal outlines (square, pentagonal, hexagonal).
Multi-colored, bright glitters very much decorate decorative soap, especially transparent, giving it a festive look. In addition, glitter can be used to create homemade cosmetics such as eyeshadow, lip gloss, or lipstick. Glitters are also widely used in body and nail art. And how good are the sparkling Christmas decorations - balls, Christmas trees, snowflakes and stars made by yourself!
One of the essential ingredients to add to homemade soaps is a variety of colors: natural or artificial. There are several types of dyes, so any novice soap maker needs to know which dyes for soap handmade choose one way or another.
Natural dyes for soaps
If you want the soap made to be as useful and natural as possible, you can take various herbs, flowers, spices, oils and many other natural products for coloring.
Of course, when using them, you cannot always get beautiful saturated colors. Most often, the soap will acquire only a light, delicate shade. But soap dyed with such a dye will be even more useful.
Attention! The added herbs can often form brownish blotches in the soap over time.
Brown color soap will add cocoa powder, cinnamon, coffee, grated chocolate, black or green tea brew.
Yellow obtained by adding calendula or chamomile flowers (very light shades), turmeric, saffron.
Orange color imparts rosehip or sea buckthorn oil.
Grey colour and its shades can be obtained by adding a little blue clay or activated carbon. It is necessary to grind these additives very carefully to obtain a uniform color.
Green color soap will be obtained if you take a little dried dill, parsley or seaweed.
Soap food coloring
If you want truly beautiful, uniform and varied colors, try liquid food coloring. There are reds, blues, yellows, greens and browns available for food colorings and can be mixed with each other to produce almost all the colors of the rainbow. They do not harm the skin at all and are very easy to use.
For one bar of soap weighing about 100 grams, it is enough to drop only 1-7 drops of dye, depending on the brightness of the color you want to get.
Food colors are ideal for dyeing single colored soaps. If you want to make a colored soap, it is better not to use these dyes. Over time, they can migrate in the soap and blend ugly at flower borders.
Cosmetic pigments for soap
Cosmetic pigments are great for creating multi-colored soaps to keep colors crisp and vibrant. Soap pigments do not migrate.
If you purchased the pigment in powder, you must dilute it in a small amount of any or glycerin before using it. The amount of pigment per 10 ml of liquid is 1 gram (this is about 1 teaspoon without a slide). Rub all the lumps and grains especially carefully! The mixture can be prepared in advance and stored, but remember to shake the diluted pigment bottle well before adding to the soap.
Choose the right dyes for your handmade soap and the result will please you!
Everyone knows the phrase "it is better to see once ..." and this is not accidental, because even when choosing handmade soaps a person first of all pays attention to colour, and only then on the shape, smell and beneficial features... One of the main helpers and tools for soapmakers are various dyes... It is the dyes that make it possible to give the handmade soap an original, finished look.
In addition to basic dyes, natural and synthetic additives are actively used in soap making to decorate homemade soaps, for example, beads, dried flowers, sparkles or glitters.
There are several types of dyes: liquid dyes, gel dyes, cosmetic pigments. Each of them has certain characteristics that can be used in the manufacture of soap. Using dyes homemade soap you can betray almost any color, emphasize the curves of the form, make the soap more original.
Natural dyes for soaps. Most soap makers try to make handmade soap as natural as possible and use natural dyes. Natural and completely harmless dyes are components that can be found in nature. For example, sea buckthorn oil will give your soap a yellow-orange hue, chocolate will color the soap coffee, henna will turn green, and Curry powder will turn yellow. A good natural dye is cosmetic clay, it can be red, pink, white, blue, green, black. In addition to clay, you can use chamomile essential oil, it will color the soap in bluish shades, and activated carbon will help to color the soap black.
Dry cosmetic pigments
Cosmetic pigments, as well as natural dyes, are safe, they are widely used in industry in the production cosmetics - creams, lipsticks, eye shadows. Cosmetic pigments give very stable and beautiful color that does not migrate... It is very good to use pigments for making soap in soap and soap with inclusions, as well as for sharpening the borders of the picture. To avoid the appearance of unnecessary lumps in the soap, it is recommended to pre-dissolve dry pigments in a small amount of glycerin or base oil before use.
Liquid cosmetic pigments
Food dyes are absolutely harmless to the skin, it is very pleasant to work with them, because they mix easily and do not leave stains or marks.
Another advantage of food colors is their cost effectiveness. For 100 g of soap base, it is enough to add 2-7 drops of food coloring, depending on the intensity of the shade that you want to get. One of main differences food coloring is ability to migrate... It will not be possible to obtain clear boundaries of the pattern in the manufacture of multicolor soap with their help - over time, the dye will begin to migrate and the boundaries of the colors will gradually blur, but you can use this property to make beautiful smooth color transitions and to create soap with swirls. In addition, food coloring is the only way to make clear, colored soaps. other types of dyes cloud the transparent base and make it matte.
Titanium dioxide is also widely used in industry, in particular in the manufacture of food and medicine. With the help of titanium dioxide, you can make a white base from a transparent base, because it gives whiteness and dullness to the transparent base. Titanium dioxide in soap does not migrate. With it, you can create a variety of visual effects.
As with other dry dyes, it is advisable to dilute titanium dioxide in glycerin or base oil before use, if this is not done, white lumps may form in the base. If too much titanium dioxide is added to the soap base, a precipitate may form. The proportions of adding titanium dioxide to a transparent base can be found. Titanium dioxide is very economical: a small jar is enough to paint several kilograms of a transparent soap base.
For a spectacular decoration transparent soap base you can use glitters. They are made from a special shiny, finely cut film.
With the help of glitters, you can give the soap the effect of shine, glow, shimmer.
Mother of pearl
Mother-of-pearl is a special type of cosmetic pigments with a shine and gloss effect. Mother-of-pearl can be beautifully combined with other dyes to add sophistication and appeal to handmade soaps.
Tip: come up with first, and then select the appropriate dyes. Indeed, matte is more suitable for natural soap natural colors, and for soaps with fashionable patterns, you can use brighter colors with different effects.
Safe and harmless, do not "cloud" the soap base, easy to use, just add 1-2 drops of liquid or gel dye per 100 grams of base, and pre-dilute the powder in water. Food-grade water-soluble dyes are economical and ideal for dyeing solid soaps. It is important to know that these dyes migrate and are therefore not suitable for dyeing multicolored soaps with clear boundaries.
Pigment Pastes - resistant to temperature, pH changes, lightfast, non-migratory, leaving clear boundaries in multicolor soaps. Suitable for soap base soaps and soaps from scratch . Produces natural natural colors. Can "cloud" soap base. It is necessary to shake the bottle of paste well before use until uniformity is achieved. Undiluted pigment pastes must be diluted with water or glycerin in a 1: 3 or 1: 4 ratio before use.
Natural pigments are composed of natural natural minerals and cosmetic emulsifiers - these are natural inorganic dyes. They are resistant to temperature, pH changes, lightfast, do not migrate, leaving clear boundaries in multicolor soaps. Suitable for both base soap and soaps from scratch. Produces natural natural colors. Can "cloud" soap base.
Mother of pearl powder , consisting of inorganic substances, give the finished soap exquisite pearlescent tints. Do not migrate. It is most convenient to add mother-of-pearl to a molten soap base on the tip of a stick or teaspoon.
Glitters (sparkles) - these are small particles of an iridescent film, they can be classified as dyes conditionally, because they do not change the color of the base. By adding a pinch of glitter to the slightly cooled molten base and stirring it, you will get a glitter soap inside.
That's all, according to the properties of dyes. Now, armed with the knowledge gained, you can safely go to the store and buy exactly the dye you need.
But what to do if you have already started creating soap, and you did not have the dye you need or several at once? Don't worry, you can always get the color you want by mixing other colors! To make it easier and more convenient for you to navigate, I made a color mixing table.
I wish you good luck experimenting with color!
¹ Migrant dyes mix ("migrate") in one multicolor soap, penetrating each other across the base border even in the finished (cured) soap. It is advisable to use migratory dyes only in one-color soap.
² Non-migrating dyes do not mix (do not "migrate") in one soap. These dyes are used in multicolor soaps.