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
Love that red kaolin clay result. I often use the pink Kaolin and love it.
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.
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
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?
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.
Can you infuse clays as you did previously with the spices?
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
What a wonderful series! Would you mind sharing your source for Rose Clay?
I got the rose clay from From Nature with Love.
http://www.fromnaturewithlove.com/soap/product.asp?product_id=claysample1
Thanks Amanda!
Great natural colors! I’m always amazed by how vibrant rose clay is. Love it! =)
Awesome pics and a great guide to what color they turn to!
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.
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!
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.
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 !
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.
Thanks so much for the prompt reply, Amanda!
Greetings from Greece! You just got yourself another devoted reader 🙂
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!
I like your pictures too! Wonderful work! Claudia
Thank you! (And I’m a very big fan of yours! You make beautiful soap!)
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?
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.
Very cool! Great pics. Thanks for this post!