# Swirls



## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

How do you do it???!!!! I have tried 3 times this week. Only once did it *somewhat* turn out. I get the soap separated, color the main portion and get it poured just fine. But by then even though I am moving quickly, the soap I took out for the swirl has gotten thick (thicker than the soap I just poured in the mold). How do you keep that small amount of soap from thickening up??? Should I be pulling it out before I scent it?? If I do that will the scent from the rest of the soap be enough to cover it? This is so frustrating.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I never scent my swirling portion. I also work at nowhere near trace, light trace maybe. You can tell when your soap is coming to trace, pull your swirling portion out then. I put mine into a 2 cup measuring cup with a pointy spout on it, old tupperware one. I have the coloring in it already and ready to go. I get it ready, stir it make sure it is smooth, and then go back to the main soap and scent, color if it is going to be colored and pour almost at trace. I then with my swirl material pour 'high' so the swirl soap goes to the bottom of the mold. I will then let the main soap rest a second until it is maybe a little firmer, I can tell my hitting the side of the mold...then pour a little closer to the mold so the material goes to the middle, then I pour the rest of it close, so the swirl stays on top. All the swirl material is poured in race car S's, alternating going one way on the very bottom, the opposite way in the middle, and back the other way on the top. I then take a bamboo scewer used for making shishkabobs and drag it through the mold in circles.....less is more, you don't want to muddy it all up but make a design. The last thing I do is texture the top by swirling the stick around on the top of the soap. Now don't go back and mess with it. If anything ever gets really ugly or you have swirled and it's ugly with caves because you went to much into trace. Oven process it, the heat will 'melt' it back together really pretty. Vicki


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Thank you...I wish I had thought of the oven thing. That would have helped with one of them. I wonder what horrible color I'd end up with if I rebatch. LOL


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## lynpea (Oct 26, 2007)

Kalne said:


> Thank you...I wish I had thought of the oven thing. That would have helped with one of them. I wonder what horrible color I'd end up with if I rebatch. LOL


Instead of rebatching why not shred it for confetti or chunk it up? Keeps the color that way and makes pretty soaps.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I just looked at yesterday's attempt and the color really would be horrid if I melted it all together. LOL So confetti soap sounds like a good idea.


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

how much mica are you supposed to use? as a rule of thumb


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Um, how much shredded soap do you use? Would 50/50 be too much (50% shreds/50% new soap by weight)? And what do you use to shred it? I have done chunks before but not shreds.


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## Guest (Feb 6, 2008)

I use between 1/3 weight and 1/2 weight of sheds to raw soap
Barbara


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Sondra, you ask Sara if she has used the color before and how much she used  Like clays, it's trial and error, a tiny bit of red is just right, too much and you have raw bleeding meat colored soap  Vicki


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## Sondra (Oct 25, 2007)

yeh on the red clay  I use 1/4 teas and it is too much 
but am wondering abt mica's now


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

Aaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!!!!!! I'm not sure which was worse...the swirl from 2 days ago or todays. *sigh*

First batch was layered. Everything went nice and smooth. I even had to wait to pour the top 'cause it was too thin. Then when I did pour it I had to wait to texture it. Got all my bowls and stuff cleaned up while waiting. Looks great.

Then comes the batch I want to swirl. Seemed to be going just fine. Until I got to the swirl part. Oh, it was thin enough this time. But I had too much and rather than just stop pouring it on I put it all on. THe base soap was too thick for it to do anything but sit on top. I tried to run my chop stick through and that worked to some extent. But then, since there was so much I decided to try to texture it and ended up with what looked like a very thin layer of icing. Ick. The only thing that makes this one look better than the last is the color. LOL

I am not giving up. I will eventually master this, right? LOL


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