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Soapmaking colours/colors from herbs and spices
Back in the early days of the Internet, when knowledge was freely and generously shared with no strings attached, lists of natural colours for soap used to be available from a couple of Websites, which used to be referred to in the soap making resources section on Soap Naturally.
With the Internet being progressively transformed into a worldwide storefront for purely commercial activities, those sites are no longer active. To make up for this disappearance of free reference sources, and of the old natural color charts in particular, we have collected in this page a list of herbs and spices that can be used in soap to confer some shade of colour, or colored "speckles".
If you know of any herbs or spices that could be added to the following list, and would like to share your findings publicly, please send us an email so we can update this page.
Herbs and spices for coloring CP (Cold Process) and HP (Hot Process) soap
Please note: Most of these natural colours tend to fade over time. Soapers are often tempted to add larger amounts of spices and herbs in order to obtain stronger or longer lasting colours. This practice is however not recommended, both because high amounts of some types of botanicals can give unwanted side reactions (e.g. skin irritation), and because they often produce "tinted suds", which are rarely (if ever) welcomed.
Our usage ratio recommendations are specified below for each herb and spice. Usage ratios in the following chart are the maximum suggested amount based on total weight of the oils/fats in your soap batch.
Abbreviations:
- g = grams
- kg = kilo
- lb = pound
- ml = milliliters
- oz = ounces (weight)
- ts = teaspoons (1 ts = approximately 5 ml)
| Herb/spice common name Botanical name |
Part/form used | Colour | Usage ratio (metric) |
Usage ratio (US) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alkanet root Alcanna tintoria |
Dried root (infused in oil) | Mauve/lavender, fading to grey | see note | see note |
| Annatto seeds Bixa orellana |
Dried seeds (infused in oil) | Yellow to orange | see note | see note |
| Calendula Calendula officinalis |
Petals only | Yellow or orange | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Chlorophyll n/a |
Industrially made liquid | Green, fading to grey | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Cinnamon, cassia Cinnamomum zeylanicum, C. cassia |
Powdered bark | Pale to medium brown | 10 ml per kg | 1 ts per lb |
| Cocoa Theobroma cacao |
Powder | Brown | 30 ml per kg | 3 ts per lb |
| Comfrey root Symphytum officinale |
Powdered root | Light brown | 20 ml per kg | 2 ts per lb |
| Dark (bitter) chocolate n/a |
Blocks | Brown | 60 g per kg | 1 oz per lb |
| Henna Lawsonia alba |
Powdered leaves | Murky green | 10 ml per kg | 1 ts per lb |
| Honey n/a |
n/a | Pale ivory to medium brown | 60 g per kg | 1 oz per lb |
| Kelp (sea weed) Fucus vesciculosus |
Dried plant | Murky green | 20 ml per kg | 2 ts per lb |
| Madder root Rubia tintorum |
Powdered root | Pink | 10 ml per kg | 1 ts per lb |
| Mints Mentha piperita, M. spicata, M. arvensis |
Crushed or powdered leaves | Green, fading to grey | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Paprika (sweet) Capsicum annuum |
Powdered fruit (seedless pod) | Pale to medium pink/orange | 10 ml per kg | 1 ts per lb |
| Parsley Petroselinum, Carum petroselinum |
Crushed or powdered leaves | Green, fading to grey | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Poppy seeds Papaver spp. |
Seeds | Black "dots" | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Rose hips Rosa rubiginosa, Rosa spp. |
Powdered hips | Reddish tan | 15 ml per kg | 1 1/2 ts per lb |
| Saffron Crocus sativus |
Dried stamina or stigma | Yellow | 2 ml per kg | 1/10 ts per lb |
| Spirulina (fresh water algae) Spirulina |
Industrially made powder or tablets | Murky green | 20 ml per kg | 2 ts per lb |
| Stinging nettle Urtica dioica |
Crushed or powdered leaves | Green, fading to grey | 40 ml per kg | 4 ts per lb |
| Turmeric Curcuma longa |
Powdered rhizome | Ochre yellow | 20 ml per kg | 2 ts per lb |
Note: The dried plant material is infused in warm oil, and then the colored oil is added to the soap mix at trace. Remember to take this coloured oil into account when calculating the amount of caustic soda (NaOH) required for your soap batch!
Soapmaking Books: |
Editors & maintainers:
Ersilia Vitale
[ ccdream --at-- iprimus.com.au - Cosmetic grade colours: oxides and ultramarines ],
Marina Tadiello
[ Soap book co-author, Soap Naturally - Ingredients, methods and recipes for natural handmade soap ]
[ AquaSapone - natural soap, essential oils, soap making supplies & kits ]
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