What is the difference between a pigment and dye when coloring soap?
A dye is soluble (dissolves) in water, oils, alcohol, or glycerin. The color of dyes can change when put in a high pH environment such as cold process soaps. For example, many blues will turn pink in cold process soap. Our dyes are all “coal tar” dyes, which means that they are chemically manufactured. They are also all approved for use in cosmetics. In general, dyes are brighter in color, and color “bleeding” can be a problem. Dyes work exceptionally well in single color pours. Single color pours means you are only using one color when pouring soap base into a mold. Color bleeding is only an issue with dual color soap pours in the same mold OR when embedding soap shapes. A pigment does not dissolve in water or oil. This means that your transparent applications (melt and pour soap, bubble bath, shower gel) are a less transparent (less see-through). Sometimes a color can be a “dye” when it is in water (it dissolves in water) but a “pigment” when it is in oil (it does not dissolve in oil
