Adding black or white to your colorants is a great way to expand your color choices for soap designs. It is something I do quite often to create more dynamic and intricate soap designs by adding varied (but similar) colors.

So, what is a tint or shade?

Tint – A tint is created by adding white to your original color. For example, pink is a tint of red.

Shade – A shade is created by adding black to your original color. For example, maroon is a shade of red.

I love working with micas and creating tints and shades.

When it comes to adding white to a colored mica, I usually go with white mica. You can certainly use titanium dioxide; I just find it easier to work with white mica and to mix it in using a mini-mixer. Titanium dioxide mixes in easier using a stick blender and I usually don’t want to mix using a stick blender after I’ve divided my soap to swirl.

For black, I usually always go with charcoal. Charcoal is my #1 choice when it comes to black. You can create super-saturated black color using charcoal and it won’t usually suds black or stain a washcloth. You can also use black mica or even black oxide, but in my experience, those tend to suds black or stain a wash cloth when used in concentrated amounts. It is simply a matter of preference.

Here are three sample soaps where I created tints and/or shades.

In these examples, O = Original Color, T = Tint (white added), S = Shade (black added).

Don’t be afraid to create tints and shades of your colorants to expand your color possibilities! You don’t need 100’s of micas! Add white or black and see what you get.

I hope this quick tip was helpful!

Happy Soaping!

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