NATURAL COLORANTS
Natural herbal colorant powders.
NATURAL HERBAL COLORANTS
May 6th 2020 – Christina Underwood
Originally I had purchased a mica powder sample pack online. I needed to color my soaps and I thought I would give it a try. Mica powder comes from naturally mined ingredients (for the most part). I figured they were all vegan. But after doing more research I found out that some natural dyes come from… wait for it… bugs… thats right… BUGS!
According to this article by MadMicas… “Many red, pink, purple and brown mica contain carmine, which is a red pigment that originates from crushed female insects, specifically Dactylopius coccus.“
In light of this discovery, I tried to find a more humanely sourced natural pigment list. I always knew that Turmeric was a great pigment (it stains my blender frequently) if you want to get those gold colors. I decided to use it in my Cathedral soap (coming soon). And while reading “The Natural Soapmaking Book for Beginners” by Kelly Cable I found a ton of info on the subject matter!
I decided to go ahead and try some of these.
Starting with Spirulina powder…
I was familiar with this dark green powder from back when I worked at the local health food store in my teens. Ah, the days when everyone thought Harry Potter books where evil… anyway, I remember it tasting weird. But it was a really nice green color. So, I replaced the green mica powder in my Tea Treat soap with Spirulina powder, and boy what a difference! At first I was worried “It wont be vibrant enough,” I thought. But there is just something so beautiful about the natural colors and textures. It makes me feel like I am in a hobbit hole or a forest witch’s cabin.
So, you can expect to see some differences in the look and color of my soaps after switching to the natural & herbal pigments.
Remember natural is good, vegan is good, and soap… soap saves! #soapsaves #StandWithSmall