Why use colours for pharmaceutical products?

Ever thought about pharmaceutical colours? Colours can be used in pharma for various reasons. Did you know, there is a variation in acceptance of pharma colours in different countries. Some of the widely used colours in pharma are white, blue, red, yellow, green and brown. Pharmaceutical colors manufacturers use colours made of natural or synthetic substances to achieve the right formulation.

Colours for pharmaceutical products are used to impart organoleptic properties or for technical purposes. Organoleptic properties are aspects of food or other substances that make it more appealing to the senses of consumers such as sight, smell, taste and touch. Colours are combined with flavours such as strawberry, mint etc. and matched with the formulation of the drugs to be created. Colour Measurement and control is necessary for achieving the consistency in application of pharmaceutical dyes.

Why colour is important in pharma?

• Therapeutic objectives can be easily achieved with the help of pharmaceutical colours. After all, colourful medicines are more comforting to patients, mainly children.
• Colour, shape and size of a drug eliminates the risk of counterfeiting.
• Colour coated drugs in various shapes and sizes help to differentiate the medicines, making it easier for end use and avoiding confusion.
• These days, colourful medicines help in advertising the product too.

Types of colours for pharmaceutical products

Dyes and pigments are two types of colorants used in various industries such as food, pharma etc. Pigments used in the pharmaceutical industry are oxides, lakes and non-synthetics.

Titanium and Iron Oxides

These pigments have wide acceptability, good chemical and light stability along with excellent opacity. But oxides have a limited colour range and mainly feature dull colours.

Aluminium Lake Colours

Lake colours are created using straight dyes with precipitants and salts through reactions. Usually, the blue-coloured aluminium lake colours are used as additives to coat tablets in the pharma industry due to their stability.  Lake colours are insoluble in water and therefore, are used in prescribed quantities to protect the contents of the pill from getting affected.

Aluminium lake colours have a wide range of bright colours and retain the brightness when mixed together with other substances. It has low opacity compared to other pigments and certain particle properties may affect its stability.

Non-synthetic colours

Non-synthetic colours have high acceptability but may not be feasible due to high cost. Also, the range of colours and poor properties in certain instances can be a disadvantage for these colour pigments.

Synthetic Pharmaceutical dyes are used as per the prescribed norms of the relevant authorities of the country where the product is to be consumed.  Strict compliance to the regulations is required by pharmaceutical colors manufacturers to ensure that the colours are safe for end use. Every country has a set of certified colours and detailed technical information that are followed only by reputed pharmaceutical colors manufacturers.

So, what your opinion about colour-coated pharma products like medicinal pills? Would you prefer Aluminium Lakes for brighter colours?

Explore more shades with Cosmetic Colours today!

Cherry Red or Pretty Purple, with more colours, the excited consumers get more product variants and the manufacturer earns more profits. Colours play a very important role in the cosmetics industry. A lot of effort goes into finalizing the right colours for the right product in the cosmetic industry.

Although, the cosmetics industry is perceived as glamourous, it is a very serious business. Manufacturers and users of cosmetic colours in India have to stricty follow certain stringent regulations and adhere to the BIS quality standards. This inturn, ensures a safe product for consumers too.

Types of cosmetic colours

Cosmetic colours or colour additives can be classified into two categories: Cosmetic Dyes and Cosmetic Pigments.

Pigments can be inorganic pigments or organic pigments. Inorganic pigments consist of iron oxides, chromium dioxides, ultramarines, pealescent pearls etc. Organic pigments consist of cosmetic lakes, toners or true pigments.

Lakes are pigments used in cosmetics for their suitable chemical properties and colour characteristics. Cosmetic Lakes are created by absorbing the dye on a substrate and the dye turns into a water-insoluble colour by adapting the property of the substrate.

Dyes Vs Pigments

Cosmetic pigments are insoluble in most liquids including water while cosmetic dyes are water-soluble and soluble in many solvents. Cosmetic dyes are used mainly to create natural colours because dyes are made of organic compounds. On the other hand, pigments are generally made of inorganic compounds, sometimes with highly toxic contents. Dyes are combustible in nature while pigments are non-combustible in nature. In terms of shelf-life, pigments last longer than dyes.

Selecting the right colours

Colour selection for cosmetics depends on various factors as given below:

• Be it natural light or sunlight, the source of light where the colour will be viewed makes a lot of difference in the way it will be seen.
• Certain ingredients are restricted in specific type of cosmetics such as eye pencil, lipstick etc.
• Who sees it or what medium views the final colour can also give different results as the colour is perceived differently by human eyes and by an external object such as a camera or others.
• Accuracy in shade values ensures consistency in cosmetic colours.

Regulations for using cosmetic colours

Appropriate care is to be taken while preparing the colours for cosmetics. Any small error in mixing the ingredients or inclusion of incorrect amount of toxic substances can lead to undesirable consequences and even stringent legal actions. Manufacturers of natural cosmetic dyes in India face lesser challenges compared to ones making synthetic pigment colours.

The business of cosmetic dyes in India is growing as always with great demand for natural colours. Certified colour providers do the necessary testing and follow industry standards to meet the demands of the cosmetic colour requirements of personal care product manufacturers.

So, add more glamour to the cosmetics industry with vibrant cosmetic colours.

Do you have any interesting new shades in mind? What kind of cosmetic colours would you prefer?