The Use and Importance of Colorants

Colorants are widely used by the food, cosmetics and drugs manufacturing companies for imparting color to their finished products or providing them with special physical qualities and features. Today, a growing number of cosmetic lakes manufacturing companies are producing a wide variety of colorants and Lake colours in India to meet the requirements of food, clothing, pharmaceuticals, plastic and a host of other businesses and industries. Here, find out more about colorants and their use and importance.

What are Colorants?
Colorants are essentially synthetic or natural additives, including pigments and dyes that are used for imparting colors or hiding the power of a product or substance. Colorants are basically pigments or dyes that are used across different industries such as paints, clothes, plastics, prints, photographs as well as ceramics. While, dyes are water soluble and primarily used in the textile industry, pigments are insoluble compounds that are widely utilized by the ceramics, plastics and painting industries.

Each of these industries also utilizes Aluminium Lake colours for adding colours to their products. These lakes are basically pigments that are manufactured by combining dyes with mordant-a metallic salt. They are used for the purpose of food coloring, especially when food dyes aren’t efficient or effective enough. In fact, lake pigments are specifically used for coloring all those food products that contain oils and fats. Lakes are also used for manufacturing a wide range of personal care items and products like lipsticks, nail polish, eye shadow and lotions among others.

The Use and Importance of Colorants
Colorants are essentially used for making products appealing and attractive. Additionally, they’re also used for adding bulk and durability to different types of products. Following are some of the other uses of colorants:

• Colorants are utilized for establishing a product recognition or image.
• We live in a world full of colors and colorants are a great option for industries that wish to make their product both alluring and in tune with environment.
• Colorants, including dyes and pigments, are not only used for making a product attractive but are also utilized for the purpose of identification, safety and protection of the products as well as their innovative features.
• In case of food products, they’re used for the purpose of appetizing.

Industries that need to manufacture colorful products often use different types of pigments for preparing the desired colour. However, they need to surface treat the pigments, in order to acquire the desired attributes or properties. Food, drugs, cosmetics and other industries use Surface located pigments in India to alter the physical and chemical properties of the pigments as well as for achieving the desired aesthetic and function appeal. Depending upon the surface properties, surface treatments can transform the surfaces and make them hydrophobic, lipophilic or hydrophilic.

When it comes to purchasing surface treated pigments or colorants, industries must turn to renowned colorant manufacturers who possess the desired capabilities, expertise and infrastructure for customizing the colours and further treat them in accordance with the client’s requirements. This would eventually aid them in acquiring fresh and improved products with ease.

Cosmetic Colors and Cosmetic Dyes – Are they Safe?

Selecting an appropriate colour for the desired product can be extremely confusing. With cosmetic colours and cosmetic dyes, food, drugs, cosmetics and other industries can not only achieve the desired color for their products but also use them for attracting their customers. Here, find out more about cosmetic colours and cosmetic dyes in India and which ones are safe to use.

Cosmetic Colours and Cosmetic Dyes Explained
Cosmetic colours or cosmetic lakes are produced with the help of absorption of dyes that are water soluble onto a substrate that renders the colour insoluble in water. Cosmetic lake colors are created using unique technology that further aids in attaining extremely fine particles. These particles are helpful in achieving shade consistency. In comparison to the colours that are easily soluble in water, the cosmetic lakes are way more stable and generate vivacious as well as brighter colours. In fact, cosmetic pigments and lakes are more suitable for food products that contain fats and oils or even those products that do not contain enough moisture for dissolving colours.

Superior quality colour pigments do not dissolve in solvents and produce bright and attractive colours. They are stable against light, alkalis and acids and bleed less in water.

Cosmetic dyes, on the other hand, are used for producing cosmetic colours. Dyes are extensively used by the cosmetic manufacturing industries and businesses. They are primarily used for manufacturing hair dyes, lipsticks, nail polishes, shampoo and other personal care products. Water soluble & food dyes are very easy and safe to use. They are used for a wide variety of applications including that of cleaning chemicals, soaps, cosmetic products etc.

Which ones are safe?
Cosmetic colours and cosmetic dyes are used in a wide range of synthetic colours. These synthetic colours are referred to as FD&C colours and are essentially extracted through coal tar, which is basically a by-product of petroleum. Since some of the coal tar based dyes are known to cause different types of cancer, the FDA regulates them and determines the arsenic or lead amount they contain, thereby limiting them to 10 parts/million. As far as the U.S. is concerned, the country permits its industries to use the below mentioned artificial colours:

• FD&C Blue No. 1 (Brilliant Blue FCF, E133)-used in the manufacturing of lotions and soaps.
• Blue No.4. FD&C Black No.2 and No.3. FD&C Brown No.1. FD&C Green No. 3
• FD&C Orange No. 4, 5, 10 and 11. FD&C Red 4, 6, 7, 17, 21, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 34, 36, FD&C Red No. 40 (Allura Red AC, E129).
• FD&C Violet No.2. FD&C Yellow No. 5 (Tartrazine, E102). FD&C Yellow No. 6 (Sunset Yellow FCF, E110) and F&G Yellow No: 7, 8, 10, 11.

A couple of Synthetic lake colors are safe to be used for coloring of products. These include disperse black 9, which is commonly used for manufacturing Henna based hair dye. On the other hand, HC yellow 2 is less hazardous and is perfectly safe when used at concentration level of 3 percent.