Sunday, 9 May 2010
Natural Blue & Purple - Experiments with Alkanet
Hello all! I am sharing some pix here of my experiments with Alkanet Root, in search of the perfect natural blue & purple.... I steep the Alkanet Root powder in an oil, then remove the powder and have a deep red oil (have tried both Olive and Castor) which, when added to the soap either when stirring to trace or at trace, turns the soap some FUNKY colours. I am pleased to share some of my past experiences. Each of the oil combinations in these recipes is different... each colour comes as a suprise to me. In these earlier experiments, I didnt' even write down the amounts of Alkanet or Oil that I used for the coloured oil... so I can't replicate them! Now with my latest experiments, I keep very detailed notes on how I got the colour. I will post my latest struggles/ experiments/ surprises in a separate post. Enjoy! If you have any information you would like to share abour your experiences with Alkanet, please comment!
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5 comments:
Wow, that is quite a range of colours. I'll be careful to write down the amounts and record the results. There must be a way to control that.
Love your soaps, lovely presentation!
Jen your soaps are gorgeous!
it's amazing just how much difference the alkanet root can make I have had some weird and wonderful colours from a beautiful pink to a nasty shade of grey (and a good tip from Ambra )well done I truly love your soaps and packaging x
I forgot to say that I use the alkanet powder but I steep it in olive oil in a glass jar and leave it to infuse on the windowsill and shake it on a regular basis..I have also used the root and macerated it in olive oil but just haven't got a 100% result it always seems to be hit and miss but hey ho that's how we learn
Great soaps Jen,
I don't have any experience with alkanet...but I just wanted to remind you of how much I love your soaps :-)
Gorgeous soaps!
I did an Alkanet test in the summer of 2009; experimented with Citric Acid and Salt to see what that would do.
IMHO only keeping the soap in the dark helps to retain the colour....
I you're interested, you can see pics of my experiment and the results after a few months in CP, HP and a salt-bar in my album : http://www.mijnalbum.nl/Album=NHB4VXDV
happy soaping :)
Eucalypta
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