How to incorporate mica properly into oil?

[SpaceCorgi94]

So I've been using cocoa a lot to colour my soaps, but recently I've been jumping on the mica train. It's been a bit of a hassle however, as my mica doesn't seem to want to mix in entirely with the oil. Yes the oil gets a coloured tint, (I'm using sweet almond oil so it's quite a dramatic transformation) but it always looks like there's a small % of the mica that just stays gritty and almost the consistency of sand that doesn't want to mix in with the oil. I've tried breaking them up with a spoon, leaving it to sit, but they're so hard.

Is there a better way of doing this? Or is the solution to just buy better quality micas?

 

[Jersey Girl]

I’ve only bought micas from Mad Micas or Nurture Soaps but I’ve never had a problem with mixing them. They disperse easily in oil.

 

[SpaceCorgi94]

I’ve only bought micas from Mad Micas or Nurture Soaps but I’ve never had a problem with mixing them. They disperse easily in oil.

Dang, it's a bit harder in Australia where, while these companies are both highly lorded, they're much less accessible. I might just need to break out my mortar and pestle and grind them all up finer.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Dang, it's a bit harder in Australia where, while these companies are both highly lorded, they're much less accessible. I might just need to break out my mortar and pestle and grind them all up finer.

The ones I have are all a very fine powder.

 

[TheGecko]

I’ve never had any issues myself, but I live in the US. I might suggest watching how Tree Marie Soapworks mixes her colorants. She uses a piece of plexiglass and a palette knife to premix her micas in a small amount of oil.

 

[BattleGnome]

Where are you getting your micas from and what do they look like before you start mixing? Maybe one of our Australian members will have advice about your supplier.

I'm in the US, but I don’t try too hard for a complete emulsion when I premix micas. A quick spoonful in some oil then a swirl or two to get them combined. Sometimes they mix completely, sometimes they seem to separate a bit. By the time I mix everything into my batter the soap doesn’t care if there was separation, the major clumps are gone and everything disperses nice.

 

[michael732]

I’ve never had any issues myself, but I live in the US. I might suggest watching how Tree Marie Soapworks mixes her colorants. She uses a piece of plexiglass and a palette knife to premix her micas in a small amount of oil.

This is exactly why she does it that way. She is also very precise with her calculations and measurements. She never "eyeballs" it.

 

[Baffled]

I'm an Aussie and I purchase my micas from Heirloom and My Mica Obsession. I haven't had any issues like you are describing.

 

[sarahmarah]

Battery operated mini milk frothers make speedy work of incorporating mica into oil. I got a $6 IKEA model on Amazon Prime.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

You can also use a coffee bean grinder to mix micas together to create new colors as well as reduce the particle size.