ITP swirling soaps question

[Loolee]

Everytime i try and do an ITP swirl, it ends up muddled.... all the colors mix together and i don't get a great swirl. I pour the colored soap into the base soap at 12, 3, 6, and 9 oclock. Use my spatula to gently stir through the colors once. Pour.

sometimes it comes out ok, but its never great.

What should I try?

 

[Midnight Rowan]

I do just 1 clockwise stir close to the outside of my bucket and this is usually enough. Are you stirring more than that? Also, try to pour from just 1 end of your log mold or 1 corner of your slab. HTH

 

[judymoody]

How thick is your trace? I find that a medium trace gives me better definition than a thin pour.

 

[Loolee]

thank you. Both of your suggestions are helpful.

I never knew if I should stay in one spot, or move my pitcher while I was pouring.

And yes, I think I am pouring at thin trace. That makes perfect sense!

 

[heyjude]

Have you tried a Celine Swirl? Look her up on youtube. Celine makes beautiful soap and very enjoyable videos with her partner in crime, Titch.

 

[soapcakes]

When I do an ITP swirl, I rarely swirl my colors in the pot. I just pour my soap in as you do, and then pour the soap into the mold. Gravity will do the swirling for you as you pour your soap into the mold.

If you want really sharp colors and swirls though, I second trying a Celine swirl. The colors stay much sharper and it's easy-peasy

 

[AndreaMakesSoap]

A good example of the "Celine Swirl"

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CepZH1ZWmg[/ame]

Good luck!

 

[danahuff]

Hi everyone!

I'm reviving an old thread because I used the Celine Swirl Andrea shared in ordered to save a soap that I intended to be an ITP swirl. One of these days I will figure out how to finesse mixing the soap to the point where it will not become the consistency of thick pudding if I set it aside to mix colors. I think I am just mixing too much, but I'll figure it out. Anyway, the pics below are of a new Coconut Lime Verbena soap I made yesterday with coconut milk in place of water and a mix of olive, coconut, palm, avocado, and castor oils and cocoa butter.

Meanwhile, take a look at the pretty soaps that resulted from my experiment with the Celine Swirl: