Shop Natural & Non-Toxic Pigments | Natural Pigments

1. Shop Natural & Non-Toxic Pigments

2. What are Natural Pigments? Natural pigments are colored substances that are derived from natural sources, such as minerals or from plants and insects. The colorants may be ground, washed and sifted, but otherwise are not chemically modified. As an example, the natural pigment yellow ocher is derived from the iron oxide mineral goethite found in many locations throughout the earth. The mineral is ground into small particles, washed, and sifted but remains an iron oxide mineral.

3. What Does Non-Toxic Mean? “Non-toxic” is a claim with almost no regulation—it’s mostly a marketing term. Non-toxic means the product is not poisonous or doesn’t contain ingredients that have been linked to toxic responses (like hormone disruption, cancer, etc.) in humans. However, the marketing claim of non-toxic is usually restricted to the product's intended application—not all possible uses of the product. So, a pigment may be considered non-toxic in an artist’s paint, but not in cosmetics or food. Pigments used in artist’s paint do not come in frequent contact with human skin and are unlikely to be absorbed through the skin. On the other hand, pigments intended for cosmetics are applied to the skin, and those made for food are consumed. Manufacturers’ cannot anticipate every use of their products, so they may label them non-toxic for their intended use. Always determine the intended use of a pigment before selecting it for your application.

4. How to Find Non-Toxic Pigments To see which pigments are considered non-toxic on this website, select Non-Toxic in the shopping filter on the lefthand side of any Pigment category page. (See the box to the left.) There you can also narrow the results of your search by selecting Natural, Earth, or any other pigment type.

5. Why Use Natural Pigments? Synthetic pigments today are made to serve the paint industry, in which producing paints for artists plays a minor role. To achieve maximum desirability in paint today, pigments are made homogenous in shape, size, and composition. For example, to increase the covering power of pigments, particle sizes are made as small as possible. The smaller the particles, the more the color nuances of the pigment are reduced to its basic hue, as in inks that have no texture. Particles that are homogenous in shape and size also tend not to settle quickly and separate from the binder during storage. This increases the shelf life and thereby the marketability of paint, but reduces its beauty as a color for artists’ use. As Anita Albus wrote in Art of Arts, “The result is not perfection, but sterility.”

6. What's the Difference—Artificial or Synthetic Artificial is anything that is made by humans rather than Nature. Synthetic is also something human-made but refers more specifically to chemical synthesis. Thus an item carved from wood would be artificial, while a pigment derived from a natural mineral and is chemically altered into a new form would be synthetic.

7. What Pigments Can Be Used in Cosmetics and Personal Care Products? Even if a pigment is considered non-toxic, it does not mean it is approved for use in personal care products and cosmetics. In the United States, pigments and color additives approved for such use are determined by the United States Food and Drug Administration and are listed in the Summary of Color Additives for Use in the United States in Foods, Drugs, Cosmetics, and Medical Devices. You can find this document online here.

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