A Guide to Coloring Handmade Soap

Handmade soap is one of the most popular DIY trends of the past decade. Many people create handmade soaps as a hobby; others have converted their skill into a home-based business and sell their creations.

Whether you just want to experiment with handmade soaps or are looking for ways to expand your range of products (and skills), you can’t go without colorants. You don’t want your labor of love to look bland and boring, do you? Adding unique colorants to your soaps gives them an enhanced look and adds to their aesthetic appeal. You can also use colorants to create unique patterns and designs on your soap bars.

So, how can you color your handmade soaps? Here’s a look at three of the most popular ways to go about this.

Using Natural colorants

If you want to add natural colorants to your soaps, such as tomato powder and rose clay, there are two ways to do so. In the cold process, a spoonful of colorant powder is added to a carrier oil. Alternately, a distilled clay paste is created. The mixture is then added to the soap. In the melt and pour technique, mix the powder with alcohol or distilled water. Once the desired color is achieved, it’s added to the melted soap.

Using Pigments

You can also use the cold and hot processes for adding pigments to your handmade soap. In the cold process, add a teaspoon of pigment to a tablespoon of carrier oil. 1 dispersed teaspoon of the mix should be added to the soap mix until you achieve your desired color.

For melt and pour, combine the pigment with glycerin or 99% isopropyl alcohol. Then add the dispersed color to the melted soap to create the desired effect. You can also add color block shavings in this process to incorporate the color more easily.

Using Mica Powder

Mix a teaspoon of mica with a tablespoon of lightweight oil to create a vibrant solution. Add a teaspoon of this mixture into your soap, or as required.

For the melt and pour technique, add the mica powder directly to the melted soap and stir the mixture well. If any bubbles appear, you can spritz the mixture with some alcohol.

Woode’s Goodies provides affordable art supplies online. We have a range of paint pigments and powders available, including mica powder, photochromic pigments, metallic pigments, paste pigments, acrylic inks, alcohol inks, and more.

Shop online today!