Colours can be very complicated and confusing so we've tried to make it a bit more straightforward so you can make a decision on which colour is suitable for you.

Dyes

These are the easiest colours to use and we offer these in a pre mixed water solution.

They are suitable for melt and pour soaps, bath bombs and the majority of wash off products.  A small amount will go a long way and it is worth testing on a small amount first to ensure you get the colour you desire.  It is easy to mix dyes to get different variations of colours so you can get your own unique combinations.

The downside with a dye is that it will bleed.  This is not a problem for single colour products, but if you are looking to make layers or patterns then the colours will merge into each other.  For example with a melt and pour soap with a red layer and white layer, over time the red dye will merge into the white.

Dyes can be used in cold process soap making but do not always give the expected results so again, check first on the product description and try in a small amount of product first.

Pigments

Pigments are non bleeding colours that are ideal for layering soaps.

The disadvantages are

• they are not suitable for clear melt and pour soap bases as they will provide a speckle/hazy look
  
• they can stain the bath if used in bath bombs
  
• they can be 'heavy' so they can settle to the bottom of a product - eg titanium dioxide is very heavy and if overused will settle to the bottom of a soap.
  

We offer these in a powder and water dispersed form. 

Lakes

Lakes are dyes that have been treated to act as a pigment. They are generally used in the food industry but can also be used in cosmetics.

They are oil dispersible and so can be mixed with oil based products or dispersed in glycerine.  

However, they are insoluble in water but they can be soluble in oil.  Therefore the fragrance oil you add to your soap can cause limited bleeding.  We must stress to test first before large scale production.