Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating Color and makeup How many pigments?

  • How many pigments?

    Posted by CC7 on February 4, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    Hi,

     

    How many pigments would I need to create any cosmetic color that is in a color wheel?  Thanks.

    bobzchemist replied 9 years, 1 month ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
  • 3 Replies
  • bobzchemist

    Member
    February 4, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    Sadly, it doesn’t work that way, at least not in the US.

    The pigments that are allowed for the eye area are not the same as the pigments allowed for lips, or for face.
    And to further complicate matters, there are no legal pigments that could be considered a pure primary color, on top of the fact that the base the pigment is in can change the color, as can the fineness of grind.
    Trying to establish a color wheel for cosmetic pigments is an enormous project. It hasn’t been done before because the cost/benefit ratio is really bad - it’s much cheaper and more efficient to hire trained color matchers.

  • CC7

    Member
    February 4, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    Bob,

     

    Thank you so much.  You are always so helpful.

     

    If I send a private message to your inbox here, will you have time to answer it? 

  • bobzchemist

    Member
    February 4, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    yes

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