Question about swirling

[LushishLux]

I have been watching videos on youtube about swirling. One lady after she mixed her colors added more water to it to make it a little more liquidy. It seemed to make it easier for her to work with it. But my question is by adding more water would it throw the calculations off? I personally didn't think so, I thought it might only need to cure longer. But I would like to double check before I attempt it.

 

[Healinya]

IMO it's very negligible... however, just take the amount of water you use to mix colors and subtract from your water before mixing with lye.

 

[LavenderLady]

The amount of liquid that you add can vary greatly. Some people use 26% water each time and others 38% water, while most change the percentage depending upon the recipe and the scent (need extra time to swirl or deal with a difficult FO, add the higher range of water). So adding a bit of extra liquid to your colorant is not going to throw anything off. As you said, at the most you may have to cure a tad longer.

 

[aussie girl]

I get really pretty results if i take a small portion of my soap when its not fully traced, than add my dye which is really easy to mix in. Than add this to my soap that has reached a good tracing point. Depending on the teachnique, I generally get really nice results especially with a kebab stick which makes a lovely fine swirl.

good luck

 

[busymakinsoap!]

If my trace has gone a little further than I like, i often use a bit of extra water in my colour (for water soluble colours) even a tiny amount can save a swirl. sometimes I water discount, mostly I dont, it doesnt effect my soap in anyway other than a little extra time needed for full cure.