Alkanet is part of the borage family and its roots make a beautiful red natural dye.
This is for whole/flaked alkanet root pieces that you flake off (not the powder form).
Available in 20gm lots
Used as a natural fibre dye, to colour food red, to tint balms red, to colour candle wax pink or to colour soap purple.
Testing is advised for your soap/skincare recipe - As you can see from our photos that colour differences occurred with the same alkanet root but varied ingredients.
If there is no saponifaction then your oils will remain red but once saponification occurs the colour changes to a purple.
Photo:
Rectangle soap - Cold process high coconut oil recipe
Bowl - Just with melted coconut oil (unsaponified)
Round soap - Cold Process high olive oil recipe that creates an earthy purple colour
Flower - white Melt & Pour soap
Imported product
Infuse in warm oils or in alcohol. Insoluble in water.
FAQ: Is this real Alkanet? The answer is yes, this is the bark and root, both the bark flakes and the solid root will add colour. For soap making I add the alkanet to the hard oils as I'm melting and infuse until it is a deep red, my hard oils are 48% of my total oil weight. The colour will go a horrible grey when mixing and adding to the mould and even after cutting it can still look not quite right but once it starts to cure the colour changes to a beautiful purple.