Does this swirl technique have a name?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Babyshoes

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2021
Messages
525
Reaction score
1,284
Location
Uk
I've used this technique a couple of times and it came out really well with a recent soap. I'd call it a mica-in-oil in the pot swirl, of a sort. Basically, I make a single colour batter, then drizzle mica-in-oil on the top just before I pour, leaving some to add to the top of the batter as I go along and the first batch of mica runs out.

It can leave a sticky bit of mica in your mould if you get a batch in a corner, but it's worth it for the sparkly veins through your soap.

This soap was the last cavity mould I poured while making a batch of unscented charcoal soap - I had some pink mica already mixed to do swirls on top, and on the spur of the moment I decided to do one with the mica in the soap. I'm pleased with how it came out, I wasn't sure if the charcoal would swallow it up. I think I'll do more dark soaps with bright micas through them.

IMG_20220424_192502__01__01.jpg
 

Thank you!
Interesting that one thread seems to conclude that it likely wouldn't work, the other is full of folks saying it does! I guess the moral of that is to experiment and just see what happens if you have an idea like this. 😁

I've also done it with grey mica in uncolored soap a few times (with rock salt and driftwood fragrance), and if you use just the right amount of mica, some of the bars look like marble... It really is a "less is more" type of technique.
 
I think it's called the Babyshoes Swirl? Really great work there -- love the black and pink. My thread was referenced above in post #2, and I realized I had not updated it, which I just did. It was an epic fail! It indeed was a muddied mess with that large amount of oil in my mini-cylinder mold. However like you, I've had great success using a little mica-oil in my loaf molds.
 
Back
Top