the things you don't read in books....

[CTAnton]

So...I had a special order for some M and P pink peeps soaps from my horticulture client.In previous non pink batches I used both micas in glycerine and already incorporated liquid colorants.No problem. I'm now on my 3rd batch of pink trying to get an even color...the prior batches all had what appears to be not quite fully incorporated mica...and of course those are on the visual side of the mold. I;m on batch 3 now and added more glycerine to the mica to see if I had it too concentrated and mixed the cr*p out of it...I'll let you know if this works out but in the meantime, before all you mavens are watching the finale of Downton Abbey, I'd thought I'd hear from the experts how best to prevent this in the future...Just wondering is it best to incorporate the glycerine and the mica the prior night and let it "soak" up the glycerine more thoroughly...
Many thanks!!!

 

[dixiedragon]

Maybe put the glycerin and mica in a bottle and put an agitator in there (small marble, etc) and give the bottle a good shake between squeezes?

 

[topofmurrayhill]

So...I had a special order for some M and P pink peeps soaps from my horticulture client.In previous non pink batches I used both micas in glycerine and already incorporated liquid colorants.No problem. I'm now on my 3rd batch of pink trying to get an even color...the prior batches all had what appears to be not quite fully incorporated mica...and of course those are on the visual side of the mold. I;m on batch 3 now and added more glycerine to the mica to see if I had it too concentrated and mixed the cr*p out of it...I'll let you know if this works out but in the meantime, before all you mavens are watching the finale of Downton Abbey, I'd thought I'd hear from the experts how best to prevent this in the future...Just wondering is it best to incorporate the glycerine and the mica the prior night and let it "soak" up the glycerine more thoroughly...
Many thanks!!!

You don't have to limit yourself to only glycerin as a dispersal agent. If it isn't working well, try something else.

I never used glycerin for that purpose, but I start by trying oxides and similar pigments in water and surprise some of them disperse beautifully, almost like my water-dispersable TD. Those that don't work with water I use with oil. So experiment a bit and see what seems to work the best. Plus use the mini mixer.

The only thing one mica for sure has in common with another is the mica. The colorant, however, can be any type under the sun. So I think it wouldn't be surprising if one dispersal agent was better than another.

Do you happen to know the ingredients for the pink mica?

Edited to add:

I see pink micas are often made with carmine and TD. Don't neglect to try it in water and see what happens.

 

[CTAnton]

Its TKB Trading reformulated neon pink....of course hindsight is 20/20 and after I went to their website to check it out the say it's fine for CP soap but they don't list any recommendation for M and P...I have batch 3 cooling...we'll see how this one comes out...after beating it hopefully into submission...
Happy to report batch 3 is a drastic improvement over the 2 prior batches...not perfect though...thanks for all the suggestions ...I think for this particular mica having it sit in the glycerine for a long time and beating it forever and a day helped...next time I'll try water as a possible dispersal agent...

 

[topofmurrayhill]

Happy to report batch 3 is a drastic improvement over the 2 prior batches...not perfect though...thanks for all the suggestions ...I think for this particular mica having it sit in the glycerine for a long time and beating it forever and a day helped...next time I'll try water as a possible dispersal agent...

I looked it up and it seems this mica is colored with water soluble dyes. So maybe it would be easier that way.

 

[Soapsavvy]

I saw a video where a guy used Isopropyl alcohol to dissolve his Mica's for M&P. That's what I plan on doing also.