I'm a swirl loser...

[lindsaycb]

Please someone tell me the secret...is it a different soap recipe? Do you not discount at all?

I mean Grumpy & 7 dixie cups!! I want to swirl. I want a grocery list of everything I need. My swirls suck.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Easy in-the-pot swirls.

Soap cool. Don't discount water. Use an fo or eo that doesn't accelerate.

Bring soap to light trace. If you dribble batter, you should see a "trail" or trace that it leaves, but no blobs.

Remove about a half-cup of batter ppo.

Add color to either the main batter or your removed portion.

Dump the half-cup of batter (ppo) back into your main batter in about 3 spots, like the points of a triangle. Dump from up high so the removed portion goes down to the bottom.

Pour into your mold, using a bit of a back & forth swirling motion as you pour into the mold. Try different swirling action to see what results you like best. You can go in little circles as you pour, back & forth, side to side, whatever. Don't stress out about this part. LOL Random is good. Lots of different ways work; I probably rarely do it the same way twice. heh heh

Presto! Easy ITP swirls. hth

Edited to add: Here are the results of an ITP swirl in a slab mold. Whoops, sorry so huge. My bad.

Here are some ITP swirls done in a log mold:

[Crafty1_AJ]

Now if you prefer in-the-slab molds, here's what to do.

Prepare your colored swirl portion as decribed above. DON'T dump back into the pot though.

Pour a thin stream of your swirl portion (about 1/3 of it) onto the bottom of your mold. Cover this carefully with about 1/2 your main batter. Pour another thin stream of swirl color (about 1/3) on top this layer. Now pour the rest of your main batter on top this. Finish with the last 1/3 of your swirl portion.

Then take a spatula, chopstick, whatever, and draw zig-zags through the mold, being sure to get that instrument all the way down to the bottom. Go in one direction first, then in the opposite. Diagonal is good; side to side is good. Experiment to find which way you like best.

Edited to add: OK, I couldn't find any good pics of in-the-slab swirls. This was actually the only photo I could find, and it's lame because it was one of my first attempts. lol It's the green and white bar though, bottom left. In-the-slab swirls seem to be the type preferred by many soapers, but honestly? My target market is non-soapers and they don't know the difference between types of swirls, and they don't care. They're perfectly satisfied with an ITP swirl, or none at all. And they don't know that my swirls are kinda lame compared to other soapers'. What they don't know won't hurt 'em. ROFL

[Carrie]

I can do 2 colors just fine but 7? GG is good.

I watch my soap closely. When I mix the lye and water and it starts to mix there is a color change like adding milk to coffee and stirring. Then, as it is just starting to trace, my soap goes thru another slight color change. That is my signal to watch for trace to begin. I lift the SB out of the soap about every 10 seconds. When the drips leave a slight dimple in the surface, it is at light trace. I always have small bowls ready with the color already added. When the soap is ready I dip out enough soap and add it to the bowls and stir fast. Add the FO to the main batch then pour into the mold. Then take the small bowls and pour it into the mold in a zig zag pattern first from up high, then from close to the soap to make the color go all the way thru. Then the next bowl. I take the handle of my silicone spatula and run it thru the soap back and forth from side to side then from front to back then side to side again. The last thing I do is slam the mold onto the counter a couple of times to make sure any bubbles are out. Cover and don't peak until the next day.

I get really good swirls this way.

edited: I do not discount water, I add Sodium Lactate and silk to the lye water.

[mbrown]

I am challenged in this area also.

This may sound like a silly questions but can you use mica in CP? I have had no luck.

I have only had good luck with oxides.

[Carrie]

I am challenged in this area also.

This may sound like a silly questions but can you use mica in CP? I have had no luck.

I have only had good luck with oxides.

We'll see when I unmold my first ever batch with mica for coloring. It is a two color swirl with black and gold. It was gorgeous when I put the lid on it. We'll see. I mixed the micas with a little bit of glycerine before hand then added the traced soap and stirred well.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Yes you can use some micas for swirls, but some morph. And it takes a lot of mica compared to a dab of oxide or clay, kwim? So I usually only use a mica swirl in one or two soaps and save the rest of the mica for topping off bars.

BTW, one more thing about swirls. This is one of those things that is hard to teach / learn. You learn this best by practicing and doing, rather than reading. My swirls are not the best in the world, but they have improved over time. And even experienced swirlers admit that a batch turns out less than perfect from time to time. It's a bit of a crapshoot sometimes. Soap sometimes has a way of doing what it darn well pleases to spite you.

So my best advice is to read and study up on the subject, but then just dive in and practice, practice, practice! Some things are better learned by experience, kwim?

[mbrown]

Yes you can use some micas for swirls, but some morph. And it takes a lot of mica compared to a dab of oxide or clay, kwim? So I usually only use a mica swirl in one or two soaps and save the rest of the mica for topping off bars.

BTW, one more thing about swirls. This is one of those things that is hard to teach / learn. You learn this best by practicing and doing, rather than reading. My swirls are not the best in the world, but they have improved over time. And even experienced swirlers admit that a batch turns out less than perfect from time to time. It's a bit of a crapshoot sometimes. Soap sometimes has a way of doing what it darn well pleases to spite you.

So my best advice is to read and study up on the subject, but then just dive in and practice, practice, practice! Some things are better learned by experience, kwim?

Very interesting.

Not what I wanted to hear DURN IT :undecided but thanks for the info anyway.

[lindsaycb]

okay, I got the in the pot swirls...but my white portions of soap just never are really THERE that much. If that makes sense

Should I be adding TD to the uncolored portion or something to help perk it up a bit?

Can we use zinc oxide for a whitener too?

I need to get a slab I like.

[jwahlton]

okay, I got the in the pot swirls...but my white portions of soap just never are really THERE that much. If that makes sense

Should I be adding TD to the uncolored portion or something to help perk it up a bit?

Can we use zinc oxide for a whitener too?

I need to get a slab I like.

You may not be keeping out enough white and using more color. I can't do in the pot swirls, but I can do a mean swirl in my Kelsei

[Carrie]

Hey mbrown,

My mica swirls came out absolutely gorgeous. I cut it this morning. I don't think I should post a pic because it's for the TSW swap. It should be a suprise...hehehehe

[CareBear]

POST IT!!! (I cannot STAND suspense LOL)

[mbrown]

Hey mbrown,

My mica swirls came out absolutely gorgeous. I cut it this morning. I don't think I should post a pic because it's for the TSW swap. It should be a suprise...hehehehe

Please, please, please show us

Okay so do I just need to test my micas to see if they will work in my batches. I tried this a couple of times and my soap turned some ugly color. Needless to say I just stop using it in CP.

Once I get up the nerve I will try this again with the mica again.

[Grumpy Girl]

I do exactly what AJ said, but I don't dump in triangles. I dump in a very thin circular bullseye pattern then take a chopstick to it in a W pattern right before dumping it into the mold to break it up a bit. I also get the lightest trace I can get. Just at the point where everything is mixed, and just changed to the first milky color. Trace is trace, it'll thicken/set up on it's own after it's in the mold. My recipe is full of fast tracers.. lots of butters, palm, coconut, etc.

I'm far from a perfect swirler, honest. If I had done this in a log mold, I would have had marble instead of swirls and it would have sucked big time. Thank you for the compliments, my ego is on cloud 9 and I actually have myself fooled into thinking I can duplicate this one again today. I'm an idiot.

Okay Carrie, mine is for the SW swap... cough it up girl, I want photos!

[lindsaycb]

I think I'm bored with my colors... Ineed my micas from the coop!

okay, no discount & super duper thin trace.

Just for sh*&s & giggles Grumpy...how big of a batch was your 7 color swirl?

[Grumpy Girl]

Ah, you guys will kill me for this for sure... LOL

I ended up using my 9 bar kelsei for this batch, I did a triple layer, each layer was 13 ounces of oils. That gorgeous swirl is the middle layer. (Ducks)

So, total, 39 ounces of oils between 3 layers.

I have to make two of them since I only get 9 bars, so today I'm going to sandwich a white layer between two of the 7 color layers in a reversal from the first mold.

Had I known it was going to work, I would have saved it for a top layer... I know, I know... shoot me now. LMAO.

[Crafty1_AJ]

Here's a cool way to do a mica swirl, since we're on the subject. lol

I did a GM soap once that was scented in vanilla. Since I knew it would d big time, I did a blind swirl with a silvery-white mica. Looked cool in contrast when it discolored to dark brown.

[Carrie]

I took a picture of it after I cut it and put it on the drying rack. It is on my mom's camera so I'll have to try to post it tomorrow. OK, you talked me into it. It isn't as fancy as GG's and the gold mica looks kinda orange in the photo. It is a little oily but when that soaks in I'm gonna lightly brush it with a tad bit more gold mica, just for shimmer. I think it's oily because SW recommends .7oz/lb and I made a 4lb batch in my Misty Creek and dumped the whole 4oz bottle in...LOL

[Scented]

OK can I veer a bit here lol ... just how much mica coloring should be used? I'm doing 1/4 tsp of mica to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soap, mix. When I in the pot swirl, I vary the pouring range, close to high above (well for this shorty) and yet I can't get the swirlies or even the marbled look. I don't stir long. I even did Bunny's restraint method, but when I pour, the soap just pushes the color to the side. I'm asking for help here too lol.

[eugenia]

I was waiting too long and the soap was too thick. I was swirl impaired but I am getting there. You need to take some out at a very light trace, just as the oils start to go opaque. The soap that's in the pot is saponifying as you are working on coloring the other portion. Mixing my lye and melting my oils a day ahead and soaping room temp has helped immensely.

HTH,

e

[Carrie]

OK can I veer a bit here lol ... just how much mica coloring should be used? I'm doing 1/4 tsp of mica to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soap, mix. When I in the pot swirl, I vary the pouring range, close to high above (well for this shorty) and yet I can't get the swirlies or even the marbled look. I don't stir long. I even did Bunny's restraint method, but when I pour, the soap just pushes the color to the side. I'm asking for help here too lol.

I know what you mean by pushing the color to the side. That's why I only tried ITP swirl once. I didn't care for it much.

[Purple Lilac]

OK can I veer a bit here lol ... just how much mica coloring should be used? I'm doing 1/4 tsp of mica to about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of soap, mix. When I in the pot swirl, I vary the pouring range, close to high above (well for this shorty) and yet I can't get the swirlies or even the marbled look. I don't stir long. I even did Bunny's restraint method, but when I pour, the soap just pushes the color to the side. I'm asking for help here too lol.

I am finding that I need to use more mica than I do with my oxides and ultra marines - I use any were from 1/2 tsp to 3/4 tsp depending on the color.

[Purple Lilac]

Please someone tell me the secret...is it a different soap recipe? Do you not discount at all?

My swirls suck.

Just wanted to encourage you to keep at it, it does take some practice and to expect the opposite of what your "planned" swirl you were trying to achieve and also remember that once you have that perfect swirl it's hard to reproduce it again.

[Carrie]

OK, I posted the pic in the gallery.

[MsDammit]

The only way I seem to get a halfway decent swirl is when I take the two portions and pour them at the same time in my log mold.