Welcome to the
April 2021 SMF Soap Challenge. This month’s challenge is the
Lollipop Swirl
The Lollipop Swirl was created by Mater Sam in mid-2020, and exploded across facebook soap groups and internet forums for quite some time. I thought it would be fun to see it make its way to a SMF challenge!
PLEASE READ ALL RULES for the challenge.
SMF Challenge General Rules
1. To enter you must have been a SMF member for at least one month and have a minimum of 50 posts
at the time the Challenge is posted (sorry but no exceptions on this).
2. The only members eligible to vote are those with their names on the sign-up list - regardless of whether or not you have submitted an entry. The sign-up list will be posted in this thread.
3. This month’s voting will be password locked. Passwords will be sent by private message (via SMF conversations) to registered participants ONLY, so please check your messages when the voting begins.
4. A separate entry thread will be created and this is where you will post photos of your entry soap. Please do not post photos of your entry until the entry thread is opened. Post pictures of your entry soap only in the challenge entry thread.
Non-entry photos are always welcome and may be posted in the general challenge thread. The challenge thread should be used to upload pictures of any of your challenge attempts (other than your entry) where you can ask for advice and discuss the technique with other members, and provide helpful hints you learned along the way.
5. Your soap must be made after the monthly challenge has been announced.
6. You are allowed to change your entry photo until the entry thread closes. If you decide you want another try after you post your entry, and you like the second better, you can change it up until the deadline.
7. In the spirit of advancing our soap making skills, all members who sign-up for a SMF Challenge do so with the expectation that they will make every attempt to make a soap for the challenge. Writing about your experience in the challenge is encouraged. By doing so, each participant has a better knowledge of your process when voting. We do understand that sometimes things come up in our lives and throw our plans out of whack, however signing up with no intent to participate and only to vote is not in the spirit of the challenges and is not allowed.
8. Please add your name to the sign-up list if you wish to participate (you don’t have to enter a soap at the end if you don’t feel happy with what you have produced), but please do post your experiences in the main Challenge thread and be prepared to be encouraged to continue trying.
9. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but please keep your comments polite.
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- Competition entries must be uploaded to the separate entry thread before the closing date.
- The entry thread will open on April 21, 2021 at 11:00 pm GMT (Please follow the challenge specific rules as to what you need to enter).
- After the closing date on April 27, 2021 at 11:59 pm GMT the winning entry will be chosen using Survey Monkey. Voting will be open from April 28-29, 2021 and the winner will be announced on April 30, 2021. There is no prize attached to this challenge.
- If you fail to make the challenge deadline, you are still welcome to upload pictures of your soap onto the thread, but your entry will not be eligible for voting. We always love to see anything you have created.
- Even though there is no prize, this is still a competition. If your entry is deemed not to fulfill the general rules or the rules specific to the challenge in any way, then you will be given the opportunity to amend your entry. If this is not possible, your entry will not be included in the voting.
- All the challenge mods reserve the right to have the final say on whether a soap is eligible for voting.
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SPECIFIC RULES FOR THE APRIL 2021 CHALLENGE
The Lollipop Swirl is essentially a modified wall pour done in a column mold. You will pour alternating colours down the side of your mold in order to layer them on top of each other rather than allowing them to break through different layers. For each subsequent pour, rotate your column mold slightly so that each layer is poured slightly away from the previous one - this will create the lollipop pattern. Please see the videos linked below to show how the lollipop swirl is poured.
1. You will require a cylinder/column mold for this technique. If you do not have a specific soap mold, an empty Pringles can works very well. PVC pipes are also suitable, or anything else a similar shape.
2. You must must use a minimum of two colours (you can use many more if you so desire)
3. Your entry photo must show at least two bars from your batch.
4. You can make this challenge as simple or as complicated as you would like. You may wish to try doing a rimmed soap with lollipop swirl centre; you may wish to use multiple colours, or keep it simple with only two colours. You can embed the entire lollipop soap inside a standard loaf, or you can add embellishments to the lollipop. Let your creativity loose with this one
HELPFUL TIPS:
1. Choose a well behaving fragrance oil which will remain at a steady/predictable trace for the duration of the pour.
2. A light to medium trace appears to work best for this technique; however don't despair if your batter is a little too thin to start with and a little too thick at the end. You will likely find you still have some nice bars in the middle of the loaf.
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Creator of the technique, Mater Sam - YouTube video showing two colour lollipop swirls
Fraulein Winter - tutorial video showing both a two colour swirl, and a four colour swirl
For all the inspiration you ever need and more, check out the Soap Challenge Club entries from December when they did this technique!
https://soapchallengeclub.com/lollipop-swirl-winners/
Most of all, good luck and have fun!
) and I'm so excited to see if it comes out ok... I did tiny tiny pours and it took pretty much for.ev.er to get it all poured. On the upside I now have a batter recipe that stays fluid for a really long time too, so I may have another attempt at a pull through one of these days.
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