• Formulating

  Help! Help! How to Use Color Cosmetics

  Posted by natasha.acendra on March 14, 2025 at 1:03 pm

  Lately, I’ve been formulating a shampoo for a client, and I’ve finished the base part. The thing is, she wants the shampoo to be available in six different colors using FDA-approved colorants. I investigated and checked the FDA list of approved colorants for cosmetics (making sure they are safe for use around the eyes), and I found that only these colors are allowed:

  • Blue 1
  • Red 40
  • Yellow 5
  • Green 5

  On previous products I have worked on, I haven’t had to use FDA-approved colorants specifically, but this time I do, as per my client’s request.

  Here are my problems/questions:

  The first thing is that, since I have never worked with primary colors before, do you have any tips or formulas you can share to achieve these colors?

  • Pink
  • Blue
  • Green
  • Orange
  • Yellow
  • Purple

  The second thing is that my shampoo base is quite yellow, so I need to neutralize it with a purple color first (I know you can make purple by mixing blue and red) to create a more ‘white base’ for the final product. However, when adding the colors, should I add the blue first and then the red? Or should I mix them together first and then add them as one? Does the order of addition affect the final result? These questions also apply to all the other color combinations i need after neutralizing the shampoo base.

  I’m asking these questions based on previous experience where I needed to neutralize yellow with purple. Adding the purple first successfully neutralized the color rather than mixing it with the actual color of the product. Since I’ll be making the color mixtures myself this time, I was wondering if the same thing would happen or not.

  say for example:

  1. Purple first (= successfully neutralized yellow)
  2. Then the actual color of the product (let’s say green)

  or

  1. Purple + green (does it successfully neutralized yellow ?)

  The thing is that i need to take into the account that the green is gonna be a blend of the primary colors. Wich method should i follow?

  I’m begging for help! I’ve never done this before, and I would really appreciate any advice/material/links/books you can recommend/give me!

  Thank you in advance !

  • This discussion was modified 7 hours, 23 minutes ago by  natasha.acendra.

  natasha.acendra replied 7 hours, 24 minutes ago 1 Member · 0 Replies
• 0 Replies

Log In to Reply