Has anyone tried this?

[christost7]

This may be a stupid question but i have to ask it anyway
I was thinking about mixing some micas with (for example) almond oil and use the premixed colorant for in the pot swirling directly on the soap batter.
I mean only the mica-almond oil, without incorporating them in a portion of the raw batter.
Hopefully you understand what i mean
Has anybody of you tried something like that before, and what are the results?

 

[dixiedragon]

I've tried it. For me, it left pockets in my soap. When I cut the soap, the oil/mica mixture seeped out of the hole.

It might work better on top if you did a thin drizzle.

Soaping 101 did a video of her attempt, I think.

 

[IrishLass]

I've done it a few times, but with glycerin (instead of oil) mixed with gold mica.

In this batch, my gold mica swirl did not come out as wispy looking as I hoped it would:

But they came out better in this subsequent batch:

For what it's worth, neither batch came down with the leakage problem that Dixie described as having happened with hers. Thankfully, all my mica/glycerin swirls stayed in place/became a solid part of the soap. The trick will be in figuring out how much oil to mix with the mica.

I agree with Dixie that less is more- i.e., thin drizzles are better than large swirls.


IrishLass

 

[christost7]

Thank you for the input.
I was thinking about a total black soap with just a hint of red or silver mica swirled inside for accent..
IrishLass @ very pretty soaps btw

 

[Obsidian]

I've done it and not had any problems but I used very little, just enough for a light swirl.

 

[lenarenee]

I've dropped swirled on top of dry mica lines. You need a very pale base color and thick layer of dark mica lines. Also a the drop swirl should be done lightly, moving from area to area, otherwise the mic lines all get pushed to the edges. Its a very delicate look and a lot of mica doesn't show up.

 

[Saponista]

I tried and ended up with leaky holes in my bars.