Natural Soap Colorants Gallery – Clays added at trace

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Natural Soap Colorants Gallery – Clays added at trace

Here are some results using cosmetic clay to color your soap naturally. From Nature with Love has an awesome clay sample pack (affliliate link).

Sea Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Rose Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Rhassoul Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Red Kaolin Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Red Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Pink Kaolin Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Multani Mitti Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Green Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

French Green Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

Yellow Illite Clay – 1/2 tsp per pound of oils added at trace

By Amanda Aaron|2017-02-01T15:33:43-06:00August 9, 2011|Natural Soap Colorants, Soapmaking Tutorials|24 Comments

About the Author: Amanda Aaron

I am a soapmaker, author and blogger! I started blogging in 2008, sharing soap recipes, design tutorials and publishing articles on various topics of soapmaking.

24 Comments

Cory Trusty September 4, 2011 at 9:27 am

Love that red kaolin clay result. I often use the pink Kaolin and love it.
Fluffy August 16, 2011 at 3:01 pm

Completely amazing !

Would be cool to have white kaolin aswell. Not only white is a colour, but it would be helpful for comparison.

I read somewhere that rose clay is red mixed with white. Which gave me the idea that you can mix two or three clays together to obtain even more nuances. Just a thought, that may be interesting to try in the future.

Something else: are these gelled or not gelled ? Not sure if that makes a difference or not.
trish August 15, 2011 at 4:33 am

I’m in total awe of these soaps, so natural…I love them, in fact I love everything I’ve seen on here so far, and of the ones I’ve tried no failures. Thank you Amanda
Sonya August 15, 2011 at 1:59 am

Wow, I love these colors! I see that the samples for sale are for 2 oz. bags. I don’t know how the weight for 1/2 t. works out, but could you estimate how many lb. of oil batches one could get out of a bag? It seems like these would go a LONG way, but am I right? Secondly, what characteristics aside from color do these clays add to the soap? Is it drying?
- Amanda August 15, 2011 at 11:19 am
  
  Hi Sonya – yes the sample bags go a long way. I think they would color 25+ pounds of soap. At the rate of 1/2 tsp added the characteristics aren’t changed much. I think you would really have to add more like a tablespoon PPO of clay to notice it being drying.
Crystal Bonin August 12, 2011 at 12:23 pm

Can you infuse clays as you did previously with the spices?
- Amanda August 13, 2011 at 9:58 pm
  
  Hi Crystal! I don’t think infusing clay in oil will work but you can “infuse” it in lye water. I have a tutorial coming up soon on that. You can add it to your lye water, the lye water draws the color out and you can strain away the gritty part.
  
  Amanda
Jennifer August 11, 2011 at 8:32 pm

What a wonderful series! Would you mind sharing your source for Rose Clay?
- Amanda August 11, 2011 at 8:51 pm
  
  I got the rose clay from From Nature with Love.
  
  http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=claysample1
  - Jennifer August 14, 2011 at 6:47 pm
    
    Thanks Amanda!
Anne-Marie Faiola August 11, 2011 at 10:36 am

Great natural colors! I’m always amazed by how vibrant rose clay is. Love it! =)
Laura@3113 Soap August 10, 2011 at 1:12 pm

Awesome pics and a great guide to what color they turn to!
Crystal Bonin August 10, 2011 at 10:33 am

Thank you so much for doing this post and the one on the natural colorants. I went out and purchased all my jars to do the infusing (24) and now I am just waiting for my order to arrive with the heat sealable tea bags. I can’t wait to do this and try the colors. I have a bunch of the clays already too but never used them so you have definitely inspired me. Keep up the great work, I love your blog.
Linda Bond August 10, 2011 at 9:53 am

Thank you so much for these beautiful pictures and the information! I have used clays for several years now but not all of the ones you showed. I found that the color never faded no matter how old the soap was. I cannot wait to order more colors.
Great job Amanda!
- Joanne O'Dea September 12, 2011 at 6:36 am
  
  Thankyou Linda Just Answer My Question On Color. Just Confused on What The Best For Soap Making That Never Faded Just Newb At Soap Making So Much To Learn.
Ifiyenia August 10, 2011 at 9:04 am

Thanks for the great info, I’m waiting for my order of clays to arrive, and now I have a solid study to help me out! 🙂

Just wanted to ask something though: Are the soaps displayed in your post, fresh or cured ones?
If it’s fresh cut soaps, does the color stay the same after the curing period, or changes in your experience?

Thanks a lot !
- Amanda August 10, 2011 at 9:23 am
  
  These were about 2 weeks old when I took pics. I plan to update all of my natural colorant posts in a couple of months on fading color changes. So far (5 weeks later) they are holding strong.
  - Ifiyenia August 10, 2011 at 5:30 pm
    
    Thanks so much for the prompt reply, Amanda!
    
    Greetings from Greece! You just got yourself another devoted reader 🙂
Donna OShaughnessy August 10, 2011 at 7:55 am

Just what I needed ! I started using clays a couple of weeks ago, was so amazed at how little needed. Still learning how best to dissove before adding but even if extra flecks they just seem to add to the texture. Thank you for going to all of this trouble!
claudia mold August 10, 2011 at 6:43 am

I like your pictures too! Wonderful work! Claudia
- Amanda August 10, 2011 at 9:22 am
  
  Thank you! (And I’m a very big fan of yours! You make beautiful soap!)
Louisa August 10, 2011 at 3:20 am

They all look great, amazing the different colours you can get from dirt,lol. Did you pre mix the clays in either oil or water?
- Amanda August 10, 2011 at 9:20 am
  
  Yes, and I’ll have a post coming up on how to specifically work with clays. I hydrate them in water before use. But you can also mix with your lye water if you are doing a solid colored soap.
Holly August 9, 2011 at 9:25 pm

Very cool! Great pics. Thanks for this post!