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Home Cosmetic Science Talk General Off Topic Which are the bluest of the Essential oils?

  • Which are the bluest of the Essential oils?

    Posted by Graillotion on June 11, 2021 at 11:24 pm

    I am making a pain cream, and want it to accidently end up blue, so it will look  amazing in the blue jars.  In test batches (150 gm), I am getting the perfect blue color with 4-5 drops of Blue Tansy EO.  However this stuff is crazy expensive, but the deep indigo color is amazing in a white cream.

    I know there are other blue EO’s….cypress, and the Chamomiles… Can anyone tell me which ones have the deepest blue pigment?  Typically I buy my EO’s at New Directions Aromatics…so if you are familiar with their line-up, that would be awesome.

    abierose replied 1 year, 10 months ago 9 Members · 10 Replies
  • 10 Replies
  • ngarayeva001

    Member
    June 11, 2021 at 11:52 pm

    Is there a reason why you don’t want to use Blue 1 FD&C?

  • Graillotion

    Member
    June 11, 2021 at 11:56 pm

    Is there a reason why you don’t want to use Blue 1 FD&C?

    Yes…. the premise is basically a natural pain reliever.  Blue #1would defeat that.

  • Pattsi

    Member
    June 12, 2021 at 1:22 am

    howbout Butterfly pea water, not oil tho.

  • Graillotion

    Member
    June 12, 2021 at 1:31 am

    Wonder if that would translate through to the final emulsion color?

    Are there known formulas that use that method?

  • MarkBroussard

    Professional Chemist / Formulator
    June 12, 2021 at 1:45 am

    Butterfly Pea Water is intended for coloring bar drinks … it is not stable in a cosmetic product and turns grey.

    German Chamomile is quite a bit less expensive than Blue Tansy

  • RedCoast

    Member
    June 12, 2021 at 3:53 am
    German (Blue) chamomile also very blue. Some essential oil suppliers will omit “German”, though. It’s about $60 to $90 per 0.5 oz, depending on the supplier.
    It’s entirely possible you’ll have to use a little more German chamomile EO to get that lovely blue color, especially due to the sourcing and the age. Be aware that fresh/recently harvested German chamomile can have an “old fish” top note, but the smell gets better with age.
  • emma1985

    Member
    June 15, 2021 at 3:40 am

    I wouldn’t use Blue Butterfly powder in a product containing water.

    When I first got into formulation, I played around with natural colorants like Alkanet Root, Hibiscus powder, Rosehip powder, Acai powder, etc. For starters, they’re usually not pigmented enough to contribute to the color of a final product. But also, they oxidize in products containing water.

    I have Blueberry Seed Oil that is blue, but I think you would have to use a ton of it to get the final product to be blue. 

    Yarrow is a blue essential oil.

    https://www.newdirectionsaromatics.com/products/essential-oils/yarrow-essential-oil-blue.html

    Actually more expensive than Blue Tansy from NDA.

  • raiyana

    Member
    June 15, 2021 at 10:59 am

    i’m not sure if this would help, but you might want to take a look at butterfly pea extract as suggested by others. it’s blue. but sometimes it can be purplish.

    i actually bought a bottle of this butterfly pea extract a couple of months back, and the one i got was very deep blue. i also bought butterfly pea flower petals, infused it in my tea and it turned blue. 

    paulas choice has a product that uses butterfly pea extract to produce a lilac color. 

    SKIN PERFECTING 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel

  • jamesmiju

    Member
    July 20, 2021 at 7:35 pm

    raiyana said:

    i’m not sure if this would help, but you might want to take a look at butterfly pea extract as suggested by others. it’s blue. but sometimes it can be purplish.

    i actually bought a bottle of this butterfly pea extract a couple of months back, and the one i got was very deep blue. i also bought butterfly pea flower petals, infused it in my tea and it turned blue. 

    paulas choice has a product that uses butterfly pea extract to produce a lilac color. 

    SKIN PERFECTING 25% AHA + 2% BHA Exfoliant Peel

    That product is colored using mica and advertised differently.

    I also had this dilemma with natural coloring of cosmetics.
    you can try adding copper gluconate alongside your EO for the blue hue.

    there is also guaiazulene but it’s crazy expensive

  • abierose

    Member
    July 21, 2021 at 12:18 am

    @Graillotion I came across this blue mica that is supposedly natural…

    https://www.rusticescentuals.com/products/Deep-Ocean-Blue-Mica.aspx

    I don’t know if you’re opposed to micas or not but some are considered natural while others aren’t…