Lavender again

Last time the lavender soap was made with Alkanet powder added directly to the soap at trace. I did get a purple, but not one I liked. Plus the soap is speckled quite a bit. 

This time around the alkanet powder was infused in castor oil for some days. This castor oil I used along with the base oils (about 3%). Outcome:






I whipped up some air into the soap

I like it a lot more than the previous lavender soap, but I'll try again. After a few weeks of curing, the color is more greyish than purple and there is a layer of soda ash. Grrr!! I cling wrap the soap after pouring it into the mold and when it is time to cut, there is absolutely no ash at all. But a few days later it magically forms on the top. I wish there is some way to avoid it altogether.

Have a great day everyone!!

9 comments:

miscellanea said...

You can remove soda ash holding the soap over boiling water. The steam will remove it. I read this tip in the forum "Seifentreff".
Petra

Natalia said...

What a beautiful rustic colour, Nitya! I like to read your experiments, I will have to continue with my alkanet trials as well . The last foto is really beautiful!
Have a nice evening!

Nitya said...

Thanks for the tip Petra! I tried it and it does really work. The soaps end up looking shiny after steaming them. :)

Thank you Natalia! The color is still not what I am completely happy with, but it isn't bad. I look forward to seeing your trials with alkanet. You got a lovely purple last time! :)

Have a wonderful day!!
~Nitya

Anne-Marie said...

What naturally gorgeous color!

Nitya said...

Thank you so much Anne-Marie!! Have a great weekend!! :)

The Soap Sister said...

I like the delicate color! :) I appreciate the tip from Petra, too...once in a while I get it, and it's nice to know a technique to remove it without having to cut the tops off. Thanks! :)

Nitya said...

Thank you Becky!! After Petra shared the great tip, I set up a tea kettle and took the soaps to the spout. It works really well. :)

Have a relaxing Sunday!!

STC said...

You are doing so well Nitya. Much love from Trinidad. Your bars are cut so smooth and they look so good.

Nitya said...

Thank you Sada! It is so good to hear from you. Have a great day!!