As you design your next lip care product line, consider which colorants you want to work with. Bramble Berry offers beautiful options, including micas and oxide pigments. These colorants work great for lip balm, lip gloss, lipstick, and combine well with various lip making supplies. With a wide range of shades and finishes, you can create anything from soft everyday tints to bold lip colors.
Colorants should be added after the oils, butters, and waxes have fully melted and blended. For best results, pre-mix colorants with a small amount of liquid oil before incorporating them into the main batch. This helps prevent clumping and allows the color to disperse evenly. Work while the formula is still warm, then mix thoroughly before pouring into packaging supplies like tubes or tins. It often helps to test color in a small batch before scaling up.
Which lip colorant should I use?
Micas:
- Best for lip balm, lip gloss, and sheer lipstick
- Disperse well in oil-based formulas
- Add shimmer, pearl, and soft color
- Works well for translucent and glossy finishes
- Does not create a strong enough color for opaque or matte lipsticks
Oxide Pigments:
- Best for lipstick and more heavily tinted lip products
- Offer strong color payoff for rich, opaque shades
- Allow better control over depth, tone, and shade accuracy
- Commonly used to create reds, browns, blacks, and neutral tones
- Require thorough mixing to ensure even color
Many makers choose to blend micas and oxide pigments together to create custom lip colors. Micas add shimmer, while oxide pigments result in stronger color and coverage. By adjusting the ratio of each, you can fine-tune the color to match your vision. This approach is helpful when developing signature shades for specific formulas.
Checkout Bramble Berry’s lip balm making tools & accessories.
Which colorants work best for lip gloss?
Micas work well in lip gloss because they have a sheer, translucent effect. They disperse evenly in oil-based formulas and add gentle shimmer.
Why are my lip colorants clumping?
Clumping is usually caused by adding dry powder directly to the batch. To avoid this, pre-mix colorants with a small amount of liquid oil before adding them to melted oils and waxes. This helps break up the powder and allows it to blend more evenly. Adding color while the formula is still warm and mixing thoroughly can also improve results.
Why does my lip balm look speckled after cooling?
Speckling usually means the colorant was not fully dispersed before pouring. This can happen if the mixture cools too quickly or if the colorant was not mixed for long enough. Pre-mixing colorants with oil and stirring thoroughly before pouring helps the color blend well as the balm cools.