Soap Making and Cosmetic Making Colors
Color is a big part of our lives, it attracts us to objects and it makes us feel good. There is no reason why we can’t use color in our soap making techniques and natural skin care, but it’s important to know what color sources are safe to use.
There is no use making a beautiful all natural soap where you have taken the time to find the right ingredients then turn around and add a color that is unsafe.
There is a lot to be said about a nice natural colored bar of soap, but there are times when a pop of color is most welcome.
I personally like to explore natural colors because there is much less risk of adding harmful ingredients to my natural soap.
In the 19th century, synthetic colors were discovered. These colors were called Tar Colors and were starting to show up in food and cosmetics. These synthetics were harmful to humans and finally many of them were banned when the US Congress introduced the Food & Drug Act in 1906.
In 1939, the colors were put into 3 categories, and to this day, the 3 categories remain with very few changes.
These 3 categories are:
FD&C Colorants – These colorants can be used in food, drugs and cosmetics.
D&C Colorants – Dyes and pigments that are considered safe in drugs and cosmetics.
Ext. D&C Colorants – Not used in food, because they are toxic, but allowed to be used on skin and in cosmetics.
According to this act, the council mistakenly believes that the skin is a good enough barrier to block out toxins that are used in toxic colors.
Many experiments and studies show that significant amounts of toxins and chemicals can be absorbed by the skin and make their way into the body.
I personally stay away from all colors that are not listed for FD&C. In fact I avoid using synthetic colors as much as possible.
By focusing on nature based colors, you can avoid adding toxins to your products too.
The most common natural colors are Chromium Compounds, ferrocyanides, iron oxides, manganese compounds, titanium dioxide, ultramarines, and micas. These are mostly from mineral sources.
I also use plant sources for color in soap making and cosmetics.
Here are some plant colors I use:
Cocoa powder, powdered beets, herbs, flowers, leaves (mainly lime) , sandalwood powder, spirulina, and clays.
You can make amazing colors using these minerals and plant source colors in many different combinations.
If you are considering all natural skin care and natural soap making, you should add natural colors to your soap making ingredients to be sure you are keeping your products as natural as possible.
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