Wednesday 26 October 2011

Natural colorants

One thing I really like experimenting with is color. There are hundreds of man-made colors out there - bright, pastel, anything ... But as you know - here at 7 Elements we just love working with all-natural ingredients instead. So here is what we use:

1. Clays. Clays have wonderful properties and are great for the skin, body and health! And what's not to like about the idea of having the coloring element that actually helps taking care of various skin conditions.


Pictures: Blue and Red Argiletz clays. 
















Here is our Lavender soap with blue clay















2. Natural pigments and micas. Very shiny, bright and come in various colors! In cosmetics they are used mainly in mineral make-up to add shimmer and color


 Pictures: Emerald and Copper micas 






















3. Kitchen drawer colors. Yes, there is lots of of hidden "spice" in 7 Elemets soaps - like Turmeric powder in Grand Bazaar; cocoa powder in Caramel soap. I always knew there was lots in common between cooking and soap-making! 

This is a very exciting area - studying properties of various spices and plants including them in products formulas in actual form (dried herbs, powdered spices) and as essential oils of course!


 Pictures: Paprika, Turmeric and Cocoa powders

4. Surprising ingredients. 

These are new comers in 7 Elements colors basket. But they are definitely not new in the world of natural skin care! How about some Spirulina - this superfood is as good in soaps as it is in your green smothies! And another dramatically_looking ingredient yet to be tested is Charcoal! 



To be honest, many times I just opt for plain - let the oils, butters and other pretty things decide how the final product is going to look like! 

This is by no means a complete list of natural colorants, just a brief overview, attempt to show that there is always an alternative. "Alternative to what?" You may ask. Well... actually in non-sustainable world it can take lots of chemicals to get a flawless white color or pleasantly looking caramel... I am not even talking about reds and blues... 

So why again should we use something that was created by man to compete with "products" that Mother Nature has been making for thousands of years?! 

Love,
Anya

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