The Smile of Nature

It is said that Nature always wears the color of the Spirit (Ralph Waldo Emmerson)

And Colors ..... as we all know are the Smile of Nature (Leigh Hunt)

Adding color to soap is the best part of Soap making for me, I love to try out different variants and hues of color especially if they are 100% natural!

So presenting today's topic: using Natural Pigments to color your Soap

 Soap looks very attractive in color, and often people buy soap only because it is aesthetically appealing and very pleasing to the eye. However many conscientious consumers are moving away from Synthetic dyes, not because they are harmful, in fact all synthetic dyes in soap are skin safe and used in making cosmetic, even then, people find going with nature more attractive.

So lets explore the many benefits of the natural colorants (this I speak from experience because the natural colors you saw in my Smiling Platter are all natural colors I have successfully worked with over time):

1. They offer gentle and natural exfoliation

2. Many come loaded with nourishing benefits like antioxidants, Vitamins, Iron Oxide and Zinc Oxide.

3. Some have medicinal / healing properties

4. They penetrate deep into the pours of the skin and draw out the extra oil, dirt and help your skin breathe freely

5. Use of Natural colorants helps in the cleansing process without stripping off the natural oils thus leaving the skin supple and hydrated.

My very first tryst with Nature was when I created my first bar of Herbal Soap ... a popular variant, 

1.Anti Bacterial and Anti Fungal Neem Tulsi Scrub bar with the nourishing benefits of Goat milk. This soap has established itself as a skin care Samurai! Its strongly recommended for people with Eczema, psoriasis, general skin irritability.

2. My Second popular herbal variant has been the Tan Removing Walnut Turmeric Scrub Bar with added benefits of Sandalwood Fragrance Oil.
Turmeric as we all know is the Golden Herb, and Walnut the wonder fruit. Turmeric not just removes tan, but it also nourishes the skin with its very therapeutic calming benefits and the walnut offers gentle exfoliation letting its oils seep into the pours of the skin, giving it the rich moisturizing nourishment.

3. For my third project I got a little bit ambitious and worked with one of my favorite flowers, Dried Chamomile flower! Popularly known for its anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties, Chamomile is a powerhouse of antioxidants and protects the skin from free-radical damage.The crushed flowers in the soap also offered a very gentle and natural exfoliation, opening the pores of the skin, deep cleaning and leaving behind the traces of nourishment. Since this was a tricky project, I wanted to play it safe, so I became as cool as a cucumber escorting my Chamomile concoction with Cucumber Powder!!
Cucumber powder has anti-inflammatory and skin tightening properties,is rich in vitamins, minerals and enzymes essential for strong cell growth and repair. In addition, Cucumber Peel offers a natural source for a powerful antioxidant. Cucumber Peel Extract can be used to keep the facial skin soft. It also acts as a skin toner and can be used in astringents to revitalize stressed and tired skin, leaving it refreshed and radiant.
I kept my fingers crossed, (if the Chamomile does not strike a cord with the customer, the cucumber surely will) and to my absolute satisfaction, both my herbs struck a cord with the consumer. And thus I offered my first batch of Flower Soap. 
Here is your Visual treat .... presenting Crushed Chamomile & Cucumber Scrub Bar your exotic bathing luxury!!

4. Once I got a good response with my Flower soap, I took the challenge one step further up. I looked around for Calendula Petals, since Calendula is a wonder herb for skin care and used in many remedy products like skin care ointments and oils. Unfortunately my regular Supplier did not stock Calendula and a tedious search across the several Soap making groups on Social media led me to my dream search.... My Calendula Range. I combined it again to play safe with a popular ingredient, The Orange Peel Powder!
On the one hand Calendula offers its medicinal value to my soap bar, on the other, the dark blemishes / acne spots removing, filled with natural anti-oxidant and Vitamin C enriched Orange Peel Powder would lighten and brighten up your skin, cleanse your pores, get a shield from the harmful UV rays, and leave you with an abundant dose of Vitamin C considering the orange peel has more Vitamin C than the orange itself. 
For my second batch of Calendula Range I switched gears and added my very popular Certified Organic Turmeric Powder, one batch in clear glycerin and the other in Multani Mitti and chocolate clay, results are for you to imagine.... for now you can enjoy the visual treat!

5. The third and the most recent flower project that I have created is in Safflower and Saffron, both offering similar value which is to color my Soap yellow, but with very different effect on the skin. Saffron is the Royal herb, it is responsible for giving your skin a very regal glow, it calms your skin down and nourishes it deeply. Safflower on the other hand helps fight scaly skin, as anti-inflammatory properties, improves skin complexion, reduces acne and protects skin from infections. I used a combination of both these petals because Saffron is an expensive flower, which would take the price of the soap up (considering I will not compromise on the quality of saffron), so a combination of saffron and safflower gave birth to my latest range of Honey Saffron and Milk Remedy bars using Saffron fragrance oil.

I call this Bar Saffron and Honey simply because Safflower is also known as the Common Man's Saffron and because I have used Saffron Fragrance.

6. Has been my favorite, I Captioned it "Remove - Fight - Reduce!!"

Anti-Acne and Blemishes removing Multani mitti and chocolate clay Spa Bar with Sulfate free activated Charcoal and green tea extracts. Infused with Tea Tree Essential oil containing no cosmetic colour!

This bar removes dead cells, makes skin glow, and improves texture giving the skin ore radiance by fighting acne and blemishes. With its gentle exfoliation, it prevents sun damage improving skin complexion. It penetrates into the skin and draws out the dirt and oils that are blocking the pores eventually reducing the instances of acne and other skin impurities.

Tea Tree Essential Oil, an anti-inflammatory agent, relieves a variety of skin irritations including eczema and psoriasis. 

I always like to conclude with Sweet Beginnings .... in the hope to serve you, to keep my quality standards so high that you are compelled to leave me your valuable feedback!

Disclaimer: My Smiling Platter is an original picture, some pictures of ingredients are either taken from my Raw Material Supplier website Soapy Twist, some ingredient benefit information has been inferred from Soapy Twist as well.

Occasional Google search has helped in pictures of Safflower / Calendula Petals/ Chemomile Flower

Otherwise all pictures of End Product are My Creations