Teach Soap

I'd like to get a natural color into some of my mp soaps - green for the gardener's soap, lavender for the lavender EO soap - that sort of thing.

I've seen alfalfa powder and alkanet root powder (purple) at my local soap supply place... it would be nice to get color and stay natural if possible.

Anyone have any experience with this sort of coloring??

I've used alkanet in CP soap. It needs the pH of lye to change its color to purple. I don't think you would get the same results in MP soap. Any herbal material with chlorophyl in it (which makes it green) will eventually fade; most likely to brown.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Wow!!! I am so glad I asked first!!!

Thanks, soapbuddy!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've used both in mp before. Alkanet was at first a pinkish that eventually turned gray.
The alfalfa turned brown after a while.

For a light green you could use clay.

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There is pink and green clay that you can try in MP soap which won't fade.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Hi Kat,
In the e-zine Let's Get Soapy Spring 2010, there is a list of cosmetic clays that can be used to color soaps:
Moroccan Rhassoul (green), White Kaolin, and Red Kaolin, also some yellow and pinks.

This is a reference sited:
Naturally Derived Colors
Items: All colorants
From: www.newdirectionsaromatics.com

New Directions Aromatics, based in Canada, has four natural colors all derived from herbs and seeds.
They come in liquid form and are very bright, non-bleeding.
Here are the descriptions, taken from their website & taken from Let's Get Soapy:
• Strawberry Red is obtained through an extraction, separation and refining
process from high quality paprika oleoresin.
• Apple Green is extracted from Mulberry Leaves and contains about 5%
Copper Chlorophyllin which is derived from plant chlorophyll and is the
natural coloring agent.
• Orange/Annatto is extracted from the seeds of the Annatto tree.

BB has some clays and so does FNWL.

einnoc

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"Soap is to the body what laughter is to the soul!"

I like the idea of the natural colorants, but soapbuddy said anything with/from chlorophyl will fade to brown..

And I am completely unfamiliar with the clays -won't they negatively affect the lather and feel of the soap?

Paprika & Annato will work for a color in soaps. I've never tried Mulberry leaves specifically, but anything with chlorophyl I ever tried will turn brown over time.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.