What is pigment and what role does it play in the way we see colors?
A pigment is a powder that imparts colors to enhance the visual appearance. Pigments are inorganic compounds completely insoluble in water and most solvents, whereas dyes are colored substances that are soluble in water and other mediums. Both dyes and pigments are different from the other and each functions differently and serves different purposes.
Alright! In this blog post, we will discuss what is pigment and what role it plays in the way we see colors. The pigment is mainly used to impart colors to a material they are applied. Furthermore, cosmetic color dye pigments are broadly used for coloring different cosmetic products, such as eyeliner, lipstick, glow cream, etc.
The main purpose of using pigments is to enhance the visual appearance of products and make them more appealing to customers. Additionally, the use of pigments is widespread in cosmetics and home and personal care products. If you are still wondering what is pigment and what role it plays in the way we see colors, continue reading this blog further.
So, without any further ado, let’s get started with the basics!
What is a Pigment?
Pigments are classified as inorganic pigments and organic pigments or colored substances used to change the appearance of a material when they are applied. Inorganic pigments are pigments derived from natural sources, such as natural ores and oxides through chemical reactions of metals. You can find various inorganic pigments that last longer and brighter than organic ones.
Organic pigments are pigments produced from coal tar petrochemicals and other materials. Organic pigments are less bright compared to inorganic dyes. Inorganic pigments are further classified as synthetic inorganic pigments and natural mineral pigments.
Natural mineral pigments are those pigments produced from natural sources, including plants, trees, soil, and minerals. Peacock stone, turquoise, and ochre are some examples of natural mineral pigments. Rock paints are another example of these pigments used in Japanese painting. Moreover, pharmaceutical colors and pigments are famous for coloring various medical devices and pharmaceutical dosage forms.
On the contrary, synthetic inorganic pigments are derived from bonds, oxides, and bonds through chemical reactions of metals, including lead, copper, and iron. Cobalt blue, lead yellow, and titanium white are examples of mainly 18th to early 20th-century metals that were discovered, manufactured, and used.
There are also other “special pigments,” designed and developed, like fluorescent pigments that glow brightly in the dark.
Uses of Pigments
Pigments are substances that absorb specific wavelengths and provide color to materials. They have many uses, including:
1. Cosmetics
Pigments are widely used in cosmetics, including eye shadow, nail polish, lotions, and lipsticks.
2. Food
Pigments are those substances that give color to various food products, including foods that contain facts and oils.
3. Plastics
Organic pigments are widespread for coloring different plastic products effectively.
4. Paints
Inorganic pigments are most commonly used in paints for outdoor products as they are cost-efficient, providing great resistance to weather.
5. Printing inks
Organic pigments provide exceptional quality coloring powder and more vivid colors and are used in printing inks.
6. Face powder
The shiny and highly adhesive properties of white and colorless pigments make them ideal for use in face powder.
7. Electronic parts
Carbon black offers conductive properties and is widely used in electronic parts for a variety of applications.
How Do We See Colors?
The way we see colors and how they influence our lives could be more complicated because of the friction behind color perception. There are a number of physics principles involved in how we see colors and how they affect our color perception, such as wavelengths of energy, reflections, and signals that zap back and forth between the brain and the eyes.
ROYGBIV is a great example of different colors with different wavelengths that you might been taught in your school. This pattern represents energy wavelengths where red color tends to have the longest wavelength, whereas violet is known for the shortest wavelength.
When sunlight comes into contact with an object, some materials absorb specific wavelengths, while some wavelengths that are not absorbed are reflected. We perceive the reflected wavelengths as colors when this reflected light reaches to our eyes.
And this is how it influences how we see colors and our color perception of different objects.
Factors That Influence How We See Color
Many factors influence color vision in addition to innate or learned color perception:
1. Lighting
When it comes to lighting, it plays a great role in how we see color and how it influences color perception. Light has a specific color that your brain perceives based on the color of the light. It’s important to check them side-by-side under controlled lighting whenever you compare colors.
2. Background Effects
The background against which we are evaluating color strongly affects the ability of our eyes to perceive colors correctly. This is called simultaneous contrast.
3. Retinal Fatigue
It’s common to experience tiredness with your eyes. Long-term eye viewing depletes chemicals in our eyes, causing the brain to receive inaccurate information.
4. Poor Color Memory
Experiencing human color memory is terrible. Color matches are impossible even when two colors are across the room from one another.
5. Age
As we see the color starts changing and looks fade as we age over time. There is no need to be born with a natural ability to perceive colors, you can also learn it.
Conclusion
The bottom line is that pigments and colors both play a vital role in our life providing us with various materials with different hues and shades. Pigments are most commonly used in cosmetics, plastics, painting, and home and personal care products, while colors are widely used for a variety of applications in different industries, including foods, drugs, cosmetics, and textiles.
There are various factors that directly influence how we see colors based on the physics of color psychology. Need more information on dyes or colorants or have any further questions or queries, please contact us today.
