Let’s be honest.
A lot of cosmetics contain questionable colorants—especially if your quest is clean and cruelty-free. Some are petroleum or coal-based. Some are derived from animals. Some use unethical practices, such as child labor to extract mica.
How can you infuse color into your homemade skincare products and stay true to your conscious lifestyle?
Start by exploring botanical pigments.
Plant-based ingredients are natural colorants that are biodegradable and less toxic than synthetic colorants. They may also offer additional therapeutic benefits, such as antioxidant properties.
In this article, I’ll show you how to create a natural pink colorant using five different botanical ingredients:
- French Pink Clay
- Rose Powder
- Flower Petals and Buds
- Hibiscus Powder
- Pink Himalayan Salt
Let’s go.
This post contains affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission on your purchase.
Exfoliate and Extract Impurities with French Pink Clay
French Pink Clay is the mildest of all clays commonly found in cosmetics.
It exfoliates, cleanses, softens, and smooths; it’s well-suited to sensitive and mature skin too.
It works in many applications, whether you’re making bath salts or a body scrub, a face mask, or a lotion.
And the secret to its delicate pink color?
It’s a combination of Red Illite and White Kaolin clays—resulting in a dusty pink colorant with restorative qualities.
Used on the face, French Pink Clay rejuvenates by removing excess oils and dead skin cells and reducing the appearance of wrinkles and pores.
Try this Face Mask:
Soften the Appearance of Pores with Rose Petal Powder
The rose is one of the most popular flowers in the world.
Here’s what the Greek poetess, Sappho writes about the rose:
“Would Jove appoint some flower to reign,
in matchless beauty on the plain,
the rose (mankind will all agree.)
The rose the queen of flowers should be.”
Sappho
Why are roses so beloved?
First, because the fragrance is pleasing to smell. Did you know it’s been scientifically proven to lift your mood?
Roses have been used for centuries in beauty rituals, valued for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant abilities; it’s like nature’s therapy for your skin. Rich in vitamin C, roses in skincare keep the skin supple.
If you want to use rose powder, you can buy pre-ground rose powder, or you only need to crush the desired amount of rose buds in a spice grinder and store the powder in an airtight container until ready to use your pink colorant.
Rose petal powder is suitable for all skin types. First, it cleanses the skin. Then it restores moisture to balance an uneven skin tone. So, it controls excess oils without drying the skin.
Rose powder has a cooling effect, and it helps shrink the appearance of pores by removing dirt and oil. The benefits make rose powder a versatile ingredient for many skincare recipes, such as this cleansing scrub.
Try this Facial Scrub:
Soothe Your Face with a Meditative Flower Facial Steam
The simplest way to add a natural pink colorant to your skincare formulations is to use whole flowers.
Still, a mixture of buds and petals offers a vibrant bouquet; it can reveal a soothing and stress-relieving fragrance like aromatherapy oils, too.
Flowers work especially well in facial steams that help unclog pores, boost circulation, cleanse and hydrate your skin.
Facial steams are not suitable for all skin types, such as those who have melasma, like me, because the heat can make the pigmentation darker.
For many, however, it’s the perfect way to prepare your skin for a deeper home spa day treatment.
Try this Floral Facial Steam:
Hydrate Your Lips with Hibiscus Strawberries
Bright pink has recently been identified as one of the oldest pigments in the world.
However, as in nature, there’s not just one pink colorant; pink can be soft and delicate or bold and energetic, too.
Pink is a pale tint of red spanning the palest blush or strawberry pink to vivid magenta or deep rosewood.
And the recipe to create a delicious color?
Blend various tints, tones, shades, and hues.
A blend not only offers a gorgeous color, it combines therapeutic benefits of the ingredients, too. Like the gentle exfoliator in strawberries to the collagen-boosting hibiscus in this scrumptious lip scrub for supple lips.
Try this Hibiscus Lip Scrub:
Soak in a Relaxing Pink Salt Bath
Himalayan salt is a rock salt mined near the Himalayas in Pakistan.
It gets its rosy pink color from its mineral characteristics, such as iron.
Why is it a compelling pink colorant for skincare?
First, because the elegant color has a calming quality. In Feng Shui pink represents tranquility.
Next, Himalayan salt exfoliates, hydrates, cleanses, and soothes. It works in many types of skincare products, whether you’re making a facial mist or a foot soak, bath salts, or body scrub.
Pink Himalayan salt isn’t just for eating. It’s for self-care and me-time. Even bath time…
Try these floral bath salts
How To Use A Botanical Pink Colorant in Your DIY Skincare
The best way to elevate your skincare with a pop of pink is to incorporate plant-based pigments and pay attention to variations in color depending upon its form.
Next, evaluate the restorative benefits.
Try using the ingredients whole. Or crush them into a powder.
Then reflect: What does the color symbolize? Is it appropriate for the application?
A pink colorant adds pretty flourishes and visual appeal.
So, don’t worry about creating a perfect color.
Just get it to where it feels right.
Happy coloring!
Did you find this article helpful? Let me know by tapping the heart below or leaving a comment. Or, buy something from amazon by using my affiliate links (it doesn’t matter what you buy and it doesn’t cost anything extra.) Thank you!
0