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Natural Coloring Hacks - No Artificial Dyes

Disclaimer; All colorants used in cosmetics must be FDA approved, including natural and synthetic. The methods I present to you are natural ways to help achieve a desired end color result for your product. These are not FDA approved colorants and their intended purpose is not to color your product, but to add beautifying effects to the skin, but as an end result of having a natural hue, these ingredients end up resulting in a natural color change for your cosmetic. 


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Orange (oil soluble)

  1. CoEnzyme Q10 Pure Powder (INCI: Ubiquinone) - Coenzyme Q10 is a vitamin that is found in every sell of the human body and is a powerful antioxidant. It is a bright orange powder that dissolves in oils leaving your product with a gorgeous bright orange color. Your oil may need to be heated to help dissolve the Coenzyme Q10 powder. Use between 0.2 - 3%


  2. Coenzyme Q10, Q-MAX (INCI: C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate (and) Tocopheryl Acetate (and) Ubiquinone) - This is the same thing as #1, but the Coenzyme powder has already been dissolved in C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate (an emollient ester Learn about emollient esters HERE. Which makes it much easier to formulate with because you do not need to heat your oil to dissolve it. Just a few drops of this will turn your oil bright orange. Use between 1 - 3%


  3. Sea Buckthorn Berry/Fruit Oil - This is a Reddish/Orange oil - In this video HERE at timestamp 2:42 you can see me working with sea buckthorn berry oil from lotioncrafter.com. I show how orange this oil will make your product and I mention that the oil can even stain you skin. Experiment to see how much your product will need for desired color.


  4. Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil - This is a much darker Orange/red color. I haven’t used this oil myself, but I recommend purchasing some. Experiment to see how much your product will need for desired color.


Yellow (oil soluble)

  1. Turmeric Infused Oil - I show exactly how to make my Turmeric Infused oil HERE. If you infuse a lighter colored oil like apricot kernel oil your turmeric oil will look more bright yellow. If you infuse a darker yellow oil like Jojoba Oil your oil may have a darker yellow orangish tint. If you infuse a green oil like avocado oil, according to color theory, you would end up with a blue oil? Either way, keep in mind that the oil you infuse with turmeric will effect the final color. In my Natural Coloring Hacks video I used an Apricot Kernel infused Turmeric Oil. In this video I used Jojoba Oil. 


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Green (oil soluble)

  1. Turmeric Infused Oil mixed with Blue Tansy Essential Oil - It’s just simple color theory here. I mix together a yellow oil and a blue oil and of course it makes Green! It’s as simple as that. You can have fun making different shades by combining different amounts of Turmeric Infused Oil and Blue Tansy Essential Oil. When used in a lotion, add the turmeric oil in the heated oil phase and the blue tansy in the cool down phase until you get desired color.


  2. Campo Blue, Lipophilic mixed with the Turmeric Infused Oil - Campo Blue, Lipophilic (INCI: Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract,  Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract). Is essentially a combination of botanical extracts that give your product a natural blue tint. This ingredient is oil soluble, so it would work great to mix with the Turmeric Oil. It is also heat sensitive, so add during the cool down phase for lotions. I’ve never tired this myself, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.


Blue (oil soluble)

  1. Blue Tansy Essential Oil can easily turn any product a vibrant blue. It is oil soluble, so make sure you use appropriate solubilizes if needed. Add during the cool down phase if formulation is heated. This is an essential oil, so it has a scent. 


  2. Campo Blue, Lipophilic - I have never used it myself, but I don’t see why it world’t work. It is a combination of botanical extracts that give your product a natural blue tint. It is oil soluble, so use appropriate solubilizes if needed. Add during the cool down phase if formulation is heated. (INCI: Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Corallina Officinalis Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Solanum Melongena (Eggplant) Fruit Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Flower Extract,  Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Ocimum Sanctum Leaf Extract, Ocimum Basilicum (Basil) Flower/Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract)


  3. Blue Spirulina - Phycocyanins INCI; Spirulina Platensis Extract - I have never used it myself, but it is water soluble, usage rate is 0.05%–2 it works best in a pH between 4-7 and color can change overtime just like all these other natural colorants. Rich in phycocyanin, a potent antioxidant. Plant based, Vegan, and protects skin agains free radicals.  


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Purple (water soluble)

  1. Campo Violet, Hydrophilic (INCI: Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract, Aqua) - This is a combination of botanical extracts that give your product a natural violet tone. It can be used at 0.2 - 2% and it is water soluble. Add during the cool down phase if formulation is heated. Color may vary by pH of product. Stabilize formula with a chelating agent like Sodium Phytate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate (TSGD), Gluconolactone. 


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Pink (water soluble)


  1. Campo Pink, Hydrophilic (INCI: Melia Azadirachta Leaf Extract, 

Melia Azadirachta Flower Extract, Aqua, Corallina Officinalis Extract, 

Betaine, Coccinia Indica Fruit Extract) - This is a combination of botanical extracts that give your product a natural pink tone. It can be used at 0.2 - 2% and it is water soluble. Add during the cool down phase if formulation is heated. Color may vary by pH of product. Stabilize formula with a chelating agent like Sodium Phytate, Tetrasodium Glutamate Diacetate (TSGD), or Gluconolactone.


Red (oil soluble)

  1. Cromwell Root, (Natural Red), Lipophilic (INCI: INCI: Lithospermum erythrorhizon root extract, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate) - According to DauphineOrganics.com “Cromwell Root Extract, is an active plant extract that adds skin enhancing benefits to your products while also adding a pink to red hue (depending on the concentration used)” DauphineOrganics.com goes on to say “It contains 19-21% naphthoquinones (what gives it its red color) which are soluble in oil and in alkaline environment blue-magenta color. The naphthoquinones have skin caring, wound healing, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, fungicidal and anti-oxidative properties.”

    I haven’t tried this ingredient myself. I found it after I had finished making this video, but I wanted to add it in last minute as a red option for you since I didn’t have one. Just like the Campo Violet and pink, it is pH sensitive, the color may vary depending on the pH, the color may not last forever or stay the same since it is natural. This is also oil soluble, so add into appropriate formulations or use a solubilizer or emulsifier to keep mixed into water based formulas. Unlike the Campo Pink and Violet, this ingredient is not heat sensitive, so you can add it into the heated phases. Use rate: 0.03% to 2.0%






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