Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating How much colour to use?

  • How much colour to use?

    Posted by natzam44 on January 20, 2021 at 9:54 pm

    Hello,

    So despite the fact that I have been doing cosmetic chemistry as a hobby for nearly five years now, I have never added colour to my products. Now that I have purchased some, how much should I add? I have seen certain sample formulas use 2% pigment but I find that oddly high.

    Thanks,
    Nathaniel

    Eliana replied 1 year, 4 months ago 5 Members · 5 Replies
  • 5 Replies
  • Cafe33

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 10:10 pm

    It depends completely on the nature of the color. As far as pigments, to give you a rough benchmark, 0.1% can be quite strong.

    Then you have some colors that require a tiny amount like RED 33 and Green 8. I manufacture a pink colored spray and I dissolve 0.05g of RED 33 in a 99.95g of water and use 0.22% of this solution and it creates a vibrant pink color.  

    So to provide a rough range - 0.02 - 0.20 %

  • OldPerry

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 10:26 pm

    Yes, it depends on the formula.  2% is definitely very high unless you’re making color cosmetics.

  • natzam44

    Member
    January 20, 2021 at 10:37 pm

    @Cafe33 @Perry Thanks! When I read 2% my spidey sense went off. I’m glad I checked.

  • jenniehunt

    Member
    January 21, 2021 at 2:14 pm

    That’s amazing @Cafe33

  • Eliana

    Member
    June 25, 2023 at 2:32 pm

    I was wondering if anyone could guide me on how to colour match a
    personal care product to another, or to a particular pantone colour.
    i.e. a green shampoo in this case.

    For example pantone 2251C:
    approx. %
    31% Blue 1
    12% Yellow 5
    57% White

    I have access to diluted dyes (at 1% for Blue 1, and 0.5% for yellow
    5), and opacifier for the white.

    How much of each colour in grams do I add in a 100g product? Surely
    31g of Blue and 57g of White is far too much, and will also dilute the
    product?

    I am definitely missing something here! Please help! 🙂

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