Early in my soaping career, I was awestruck by all the beautiful colors I saw in handmade soaps sold at farmers markets and local boutique shops. After diving deeper, however, I learned that many of these hues were the result of mica-based additives. Although some soapmakers might claim that their mica-colored soaps are natural, that's not the path I chose to take with Aroma Alchemist LLC. I was pleased, however, to find a rainbow of possibilities through the addition of plants and clays.
One of the key takeaways when integrating plant materials into cold-processed soap is that what you see at first is not always what you get! Sometimes the results are pleasantly surprising, sometimes not so much.
A couple of plant additives that do retain their color through saponification [check out our blog: What is soap?] include turmeric ("the gold spice") and paprika. You will find turmeric in our Golden Frankincense & Myrrh variety and paprika in our Orange & Lavender blend. Parsley and spirulina also retain their natural color and both impart a greenish hue to cold-processed soaps, such as our Peppermint & Lavender.
In general, clays are true-to-color. You will find pink French clay in our Peace, Love, & Patchouli (JUMBO), yellow French clay in our Orange, Frankincense, & Lavender (JUMBO), and green Australian clay in our Deep Woods.
Although many colorful plant materials (think of the vibrant magenta of powdered beet root) end up as some sort of brown (wah, wah), the multiple transformations of powdered alkanet root are truly something to behold! If it is infused in olive oil, the resulting liquid is a magnificent purple-red or burgundy (like the wine). In fact, alkanet root has been used traditionally in both winemaking and fabric dying. However, once lye-solution is added, the mixture turns a muted blue-gray. This amazing change is almost hard to believe! Finally, after the batter fully saponifies, the color darkens to a deep almost eggplant purple, which you can see for yourself in our Nothin' Bud Lavender soap.
If this topic interests you, check out these recommended resources. Note that I do not receive any compensation for the items listed below. I am sharing materials that I personally found useful and would gladly suggest to a friend.
Recommended Resources:
- Cable, K. (2017). The natural soapmaking book for beginners. Althea Press.
- Haslauer, J. (n.d.) Natural soap color. (n.p.).
- Haslauer, J. (n.d.) Natural soap color: Plant magic. (n.p.).
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