Alkanet Root Powder Milk Soap

Notes: I will admit. I was not expecting a change to occur between the plain alkanet powder soap and its milk soap counterpart. However, I am surprised and tickled pink to tell you that there is a difference in the color. The milk soap is a lighter, more purple-blue color. The plain soap is much darker and more blue in color.

I did not notice any strange or funky odors coming through the soap. It smells like an unscented milk soap. Milk soaps do have an odor to them but I find it really hard to explain. It is a kind of mildly sweet, clean odor. For those of you who use or make milk soaps, how would you describe the odor? I am at a loss here!

I am thrilled about the color difference! I can’t wait for Christmas to come around again because I want to make this soap with our Mulberry Fragrance Oil. I also have Woodberry,, Crystal Blue, Tassi Lavender and Ocean Rain on my list of soaps to make with Alkanet Powder. What fragrances does this color inspire you to use?

Recipe:

Weigh all of the oils into a microwave safe container. Heat gently until liquid. Add the Sodium Hydroxide to the water to form a lye solution. Allow the oils and the lye to cool to a lower temperature. We do not want to have the soap overheat and volcano. Mix the oils and lye solution and blend until trace is achieved. Add the botanical and milk at this point. Stir well. Pour into a mold and allow to sit for 24 hours. Cut the soap. Allow the soap to cure. Longer curing time will result in a harder bar. Enjoy!

Note: Milk soaps can get very hot. Please plan for this by soaping at a little bit of a lower temperature and/or pouring into a shallow mold. We recommend soaping somewhere between 110° F and 130°F. Adjust due to the weather and temperature of your work room. In summer, soap on the lower end of that spectrum. Shallow molds also help by allowing the excess heat to dump into the air. This will prevent the milk sugars from interrupting the saponification reaction.