DIY Life

As an all-natural soap-maker, I don't use any synthetic additives in my soap. All scents, flecks, swirls and other textures are made from natural materials.

Maybe you've been wanting to lose the FD&C colorants for a more skin and environmentally friendly choice but you just aren't sure what to use. Try clay!

Clays come in an array of colors and will add "slip" to your soap, along with some detoxifying properties as well. Moroccan Red clay is a burnt orange, Rose clay a medium pink, French Green clay a mossy gray-green and Australian Midnight Black clay a dark gray-blue.

My favorite thing about using clays as colorants is that you can get an infinite amount of shades depending on how much clay you add. If you are using Rose clay and add a teaspoon per pound of oils to the amount of raw soap you'll be swirling, you will get a light pink swirl. Add a quarter cup and a deep berry appears.

You can also experiment with the lovely earth tones and spa properties of Rhassoul clay and Dead Sea clay.

The possibilities are endless, but you are sure to create some lovely swirls using clays.