Zeolite (green zeolite clay)
Green.
Opens the calculator’s starter recipe, 1000 g of oils, with this additive at the dose it fills in, ready to change.
What it is
Green zeolite is a mineral powder sold among the clays for colouring soap.
Wholesale Supplies Plus supplier or guide, Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
How much
- 1–3 tsp per pound of soap filled in Wholesale Supplies Plus supplier or guide
- 3.2–12.8 tsp per pound of oils (from a published recipe that adds it to one part of the batch: the lower figure over the whole batch, the higher within that part) Faiola, Pure Soapmaking primary source
The calculator fills in 1 tsp per pound of soap: 14.8 g for the 1000 g of oils in its starter recipe.
When and how
- Usually: at light trace.
- Mix it with about three times its volume of the recipe’s water, held back for it: a teaspoon of powder to a tablespoon of water.
Faiola, Soap Crafting primary source
What it does to the recipe
- It changes neither the lye nor the water: it is only weight in the bar.
Spoons and drops
- 1 tsp ≈ 4.68 g (3.94–5.42 g)
- 1 tbsp ≈ 14 g (11.8–16.3 g)
- 1 cup ≈ 225 g (189–260 g)
Neag et al. 2022 primary source
INCI name
Zeolite
- CAS number
- 1318-02-1
- EC number
- 215-283-8, 930-915-9, 930-985-0, 930-993-4
Guides that discuss it
Sources
Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting (Storey, 2013): clays, 1.5–2 teaspoons mixed with 1–1.5 tablespoons of distilled water per colour, mixed fresh just before use (Clay Spoon-Plop, p. 166); oxides dispersed in oil first; LabColors diluted in distilled water heated to 140 °F; mica "becomes shimmery, offering a sparkle not seen with other colorants", takes its colours from what it is coated with, and "Mica both reflects and refracts light, so it works best in clear products" (p. 43).
Wholesale Supplies Plus, beet root, black walnut and chamomile powders, and green zeolite and sea clays: "Common use levels are 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon per pound of base"; for the beet root and black walnut powders, "Test your final product to insure optimal performance and no staining."
Anne-Marie Faiola, Pure Soapmaking (Storey Publishing, 2016), recipes in chapters 8–10. 100% Castile-Brine Stamped Cube: "1 tablespoon sea salt" dissolved in the water before the lye, for 33 oz of olive oil. Oatmeal Soap for Babies: "2 teaspoons bentonite clay dispersed into 4 tablespoons distilled water" and "2 tablespoons colloidal oatmeal" at thin trace, for 15.1 oz of oils whose olive oil is infused with "2 tablespoons Egyptian chamomile" in a teabag in 14.5 oz of oil, 2 hours in a double boiler. Nettle & Yarrow Upcycle: "2 teaspoons dried yarrow powder dispersed into 1 tablespoon apricot kernel oil" in one of two halves of 24.1 oz of oils. Buttermilk Honeycombs: "3 tablespoons honey" at thin trace for 25.1 oz of oils. Banana Cream Pie Layered Bars: "1.2 ounces banana, 1.5 ounces whipping cream, and 1.5 ounces water, pureed" at thin trace for 35.2 oz of oils, then the freezer "for 24 hours to avoid overheating from the sugars in the banana". Annatto-Yarrow with Embeds: "1 tablespoon spirulina powder" and "1 teaspoon yarrow powder", added "directly to the hot lye-water", for 7.1 oz of oils; "2 tablespoons poppy seeds" in one of two halves of 34 oz of oils. Cucumber Layers: "1 ounce cucumber puree" into the whole batch at thin trace, 22 oz of oils. Gardener Scrub with Coffee Grounds: 50 oz of oils, the batter divided "into four exactly equal sections", one each for "5 teaspoons paprika", "5 teaspoons ground orange peel dispersed into 1 tablespoon of canola oil", "5 teaspoons brewed coffee grounds" and "10 teaspoons green zeolite clay". Indigo-Annatto Negative-Space Funnel Pour: "1.5 tablespoons indigo powder" whisked into the lye-water and "1 tablespoon alkanet root powder dispersed into 1 ounce sunflower oil" at very thin trace, 35.2 oz of oils; "In order to bring out the best color for the indigo powder, the soap must go through a hot gel phase". Black Tea Funnel Pour: 5.5 oz of brewed black tea added at thin trace, 5.5 oz of water for the lye, 33.1 oz of oils. Goat Milk Sunset Burst: "0.7 ounce goat milk powder dissolved in 1 ounce distilled water" for 17.1 oz of oils and "1 ounce goat milk powder" for 25.2 oz, added at trace: "To help avoid scorching, this recipe incorporates the goat milk by using a concentrated solution of powdered goat milk."
Neag et al., "Exploring the Properties of Micronized Natural Zeolitic Volcanic Tuff as Cosmetic Ingredient", Materials 2022, 15(7):2405: "The RZ samples showed apparent density values in the range of 0.8 and 1.0 g/mL ... the MZ samples exhibited a slightly higher value of 1.1 g/mL" (poured, untapped; a tuff of 70–77 % clinoptilolite, MZ the micronised cosmetic grade).