Chemistry Class: Pigments, Mica and Colours for Soap and Cosmetic Making

Hi All,
today ill be talking about the colours that we carry in Soap Lab.
Many have enquired about colours and don't really know how to differentiate them and how to use it therefore I've decided to write the information here for future reference.



What type of Colour do Soap Lab Malaysia carry?
In Soap Lab we have Pigments, Micas, Oxides, and Rainbow by Soap Lab (an in house production colour).

Does Soap Lab carry natural colours?
Pigments and oxides are considered as natural identical colour where it has the exact same composition as the ones found in the earth. However they are created in lab to ensure high purity and less chemically destructible. These colours are usually labelled as natural in the cosmetic industry as they look and have the same chemical structure as the ones found in the earth. The reason why they are manufactured in lab is because there are lead and arsenic found in earth which can be harmful if used in makeup therefore these pigments and oxides are lab produced to ensure those items are not in these colours. These colours also don't contain synthetic dyes like other colorant does. Oxides and pigments are mostly used in mineral make up as they have gorgeous array of colours as compared to micas.

Mica on the other hand can be natural and can also be not natural. The ones we have in Soap Lab Malaysia are all natural source. We do not carry any colorant that contains carmine. Carmine although natural, is derived from crushed cells of beetle and since Soap Lab is a vegan store, we do not have any product with carmine red in store.

What is the INCI for each colour in Soaplab?
INCI stands for International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, usually needed for labelling. Attached is the INCI for each colorant in Soap Lab:

Can i use Vegetable Natural Colourant in my Soap?
If you want a 100% natural colorant and don't want to use any of these additives, you can always get it from your natural vege colourant at home. For red: Beetroot Powder, Yellow: turmeric, Purple: Purple cabbage (powdered). Although it is doable, i suggest you do not use these natural vege colorant if you want to sell your soaps as they fade easily and are not pH stable so you might get spots where the colour would fade making it aesthetically horrible looking:(

Rainbow by Soap Lab? What is that and why is it different from the powder colorant.?
The colours from Rainbow are actually also pigments and oxides that are diluted for you. therefore its ready made liquid pigment and you do not need to dilute it when you get them.

How to Dilute Powder Colourant?
If you are not sure on how to dilute the colours, check out this tutorial on how to do it.

Which to choose? Liquid or Powder?
If you are not sure which to choose, click here to find out whats the difference.

Example of colorant Soap Lab carries:

Black Oxide

Bronze Brown

Brown Oxide

Chromium Green Oxide

Khaki Green

Ocean Blue

Red Rose

Red Iron Oxide

Saffron

Sky Blue

Titanium Dioxide

Ultramarine Pink

Ultramarine Purple

Yellow Iron Oxide

Yellow

Ultramarine Blue