Home Cosmetic Science Talk Formulating 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.

    Linda105 replied 1 year, 2 months ago 10 Members · 11 Replies
  • 11 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

    Member
    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…

  • Linda105

    Member
    August 12, 2023 at 2:34 am

    You can also go for blue yarrow essential oil (Achillea millefolium) or even blue cypress can be interesting to explore. Though, given that you are using it for creams, chamomile is the safest option if the high price point of it doesn’t bother you.

    Sharing some options of essential oil suppliers who offer yarrow oil.

    https://aromachologyoils.com/products/yarrow-essential-oil

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