Color additives are concentrated so go slow. Add just a little at a time and mix it in carefully. You can always add more for a deeper color, but remember you can’t take it out.

Always use color additives that are made especially for soap, bath body and spa products. Food coloring is not a good choice for coloring your soaps, as it doesn’t mix well with the soap base and the color isn’t very rich, it fades fast, and it can stain your skin. It is also not oil soluble so it will just sit on top of your oil based products in floating beads of concentrated color. You can however use food coloring in small amounts to color your bath salts, bombs and bubble bath.

Be sure to use cosmetic grade color additives to avoid skin irritation. If you are going to use natural powders or herbs make sure that your natural ingredients are considered safe, clean and free from insecticides and chemicals. Also make sure that the herbs or botanicals that you are going to use are not irritants or potentially dangerous.

Soaps colored with natural colorants have a wholesome, country look to them with attractive warm brown and tan hues.

Cocoa Powder (theobroma cacao): Cocoa Powder can be added to all your natural soap, bath body and spa products. It will add a light warm brown to your products. Mix in a small amount of oil before mixing into your bath body and spa products or natural soap bases. If you add too much it will alter the overall aroma and will turn your lather a dirty brown.

Dried Herbs: Dried herbs and botanicals such as parsley flakes, lavender buds and other herbs will add little bits of color to your soaps.

Ground spices: cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, clove and star anise can be added for color as well as for their fragrance. They will give your natural handmade soaps a warm brown color with speckles. Turmeric will give them a golden orange hue and a very little bit pf paprika will give it a peachy tone with red speckles. You can use purchased powdered spices, but for maximum strength and freshness grind your own whole spices in a spice mill or coffee grinder and sift through a fine sieve before adding to your bath body and spa products or handmade soap. Be sure not to add too much or your soap will be scratchy on the skin.

Mica Pigment powders: Non toxic mica pigments can be added to soaps to create sparkles or a metallic luster. These come in a wide selection of metallic colors, the USA FDA does not restrict the use of mica flakes or powders in soap. You will need only a very small amount. It’s a good idea to mix ½ teaspoon of powdered pigment with 2oz of glycerin and dispense into your liquid, melted soap by the drop from the plastic squeeze bottles. Also use a mask when working with the powders.

These are available in solid, liquid, and powder forms; Colorants can be found in craft stores and soap suppliers in your area or on the internet. You can also get cosmetic grade glitters for a sparkly effect.

Solid colorants: these are especially easy to use, just shave off a piece or two and melt with the soap base. Color disks have been recommended for beginners and when working with children due to their ease of use. Although pre-mixed liquid colors are just as easy for beginners, I would stick to the disks for children as they tend to over color when using liquid. Color disks are available in six different colors – red, blue, yellow, green, orange, and black; they are easy to blend to create more colors.

High quality, liquid cosmetic grade colorants: these create true clean colors; they are also excellent for blending and creating many different hues. Liquid cosmetic colorants can be used for coloring your handmade natural soap or your natural bath body and spa products. Liquid colorants come in the same colors as the solid colorants and unlike food coloring these will blend in nicely with your oil based products and they will not stain your skin like food coloring does, even when rubbed on full strength.

Powdered Cosmetic grade colorants: These are what the liquid colorants are made out of. You can mix your own with oil, water, or glycerin. When mixing with water you need to ad a liquid preservative. To mix use .15cc powder to 1 oz of warm water, or room temperature oil or glycerin in a squeeze bottle cap and shake vigorously until thoroughly mixed.

The best way to understand and learn about color mixing and theory is through experience and experimentation, however with these few basic principles you will be well on your way. Also purchasing a color wheel will help show you the relationship between colors.

Primary colors: these are the base colors from which all other colors are derived; they are red, blue and yellow.
Secondary colors: these are mixes of the primary colors, such as green (yellow + Blue) and purple (Blue + Red) and lastly orange (Red + Yellow)
Intermediate colors: these are sometimes caller tertiary colors, they are obtained by mixing a primary color with it’s neighboring secondary color such as orange red is a mixture of the primary color red and the secondary color orange.
Complementary colors: these are colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel for example red is the opposite of green, purple is the opposite of yellow, and blue is the opposite of orange. When you mix a color with its complement you dull or mute the color making the color less intense. Such as dusty plum which is purple with a touch of its complement yellow or golden ocher which is yellow with a touch of its complement purple?
Shades: these are darkened colors which are created by the addition of black
Tints: these are lightened colors which are created by the addition of white

Colors like scents can trigger either a positive or a negative response in our emotions and affect our moods. Here is a list of some of the recognized positive sensations associated with its corresponding color.

Aquamarine: Stimulating and cheerful.
Black: Luxurious, powerful, elegant, dignified, and mysterious.
Blue, sapphire: Calming, relaxing, restful, trusting, comfortable, cool and said to lower blood pressure.
Brown: Earthy, Natural, Comforting, stable, refined, soothing.
Celadon: Restful.
Coral: Mellow, glowing and balancing.
Cream, parchment, ecru: Warm, simple, harmonious.
Deep Plum: Spiritual.
Gold, Ochre: Warming, enriching, enhancing, and creative.
Gray: Neutral, quiet, and calm.
Green, Emerald: relaxing, restful, freshness, health, wealth, balance, tranquil, refreshing, and sensitive.
Light blue: Cooling and misty.
Lime green: Refreshing and natural.
Orange, Amber: Exciting, invigorating, jovial, exuberant, bright, stimulating, cheering, comforting, and secure.
Pink, Rose: Soft, delicate, feminine and sweet.
Red, Crimson: Stimulating, passionate, arousing, intense, powerful and hot, said to raise blood pressure.
Violet: Subduing, imaginative, romantic, enchanting, rich, royal and charming.
White: Light, celestial, innocent, pure, clean, good.
Yellow: Sunny, electric, enlightened, bright, energizing, cheerful, joyous and life giving.

Knowing how color affects moods you can appropriately add the matching mood altering Fragrance Oil or Essentail Oil to your bath body and spa products. Thus creating a stimulating bath bar, or realxing bath salts.

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