Using Micas to Make Your Soaps Pop!

If you're an official Wonder Turtle Soaps fan, you know that I've been working on a new Key Lime soap. (And if you're not an official Wonder Turtle Soaps fan, head on over to Facebook® and become one!)

I have a lovely Lime Crystal Kisses fragrance oil that smells like lime kissed with a touch of lemon and sugar. Yum! I used my square mold to make a pretty layered soap of light green and white.

Last summer, I picked up these cool citrus wedge-shaped ice cube trays at Michael's craft store. It's funny how after you start soaping you start eyeing everything as a potential mold. Ice cube trays, candy molds, silicone baking pans, fondant cutters, etc. I fragranced and colored some clear base and poured them into my molds.

Next came the waiting to unmold ...

The plan was to use a bit of clear soap base to affix the lime wedges to the square soaps, and I think that plan worked. The wedges seem pretty darn affixed. It takes some practice, I guess, to get to where you don't have any overflow when "gluing" soap to soap (with more soap!). Before I did that, though, I decided to try something that I saw on The Soap King's blog (and, yes, The Soap King is related to Bramble Berry's Anne-Marie, aka The Soap Queen - he's her brother, Erik, and he manages Bramble Berry's retail store, Otion.)

I took a bit of gold sparkle mica and used a fan brush to dry-dust my soapy lime wedges to make the details of each wedge pop. I just liberally brushed the wedges with mica, wiped the excess away with a paper towel, and then used my thumb to smooth the whole thing.

See the difference using the mica? It really showcases the details of the mold. Give it a try!

Then I melted some clear base and smoothed a small amount across the back of the lime wedges. Then I quickly pressed the limes onto the tops of the square soaps at an angle.

I think they look quite nice! The white has gone a lovely creamy pale yellow, making it look like cheesecake, just perfect for a Key Lime soap! They were a bit of a challenge to wrap, being an odd shape, but I think I did an good job!

Now to take a bar into the shower and make sure the lime wedge stays on during use. And I want to make sure that the yellow stays pale and creamy and doesn't compromise the green (already had one nasty discoloration surprise this week and don't want another).

What fun making this soap was! If my quality assurance tests go well, look for the Key Lime soap soon at Wonder Turtle Soaps!

What fun fragrances/ soaps do you Wonder Turtle friends like? Soapers, what have you been soaping up lately? Wally the Wonder Turtle and I love to swap soaping stories, so please share!

Soap How-To: Adding Pigments to Melt-and-Pour Soap

Powdered pigments (ultramarines and oxides) and micas are great -- they give your soaps strong, defined colors with stunning effects.
 


In clear melt-and-pour, pigments are bright, almost like stained glass.







With a white base, pigments create beautiful pastel shades.






Micas are shiny and shimmery and gorgeous.



Skin-safe pigments and micas are among the best choices for soap colorants. Trouble is, they can be a little tricky to mix into your melted soap base. If you dump powdered pigments or micas directly into your base, they can clump, leaving specks in your finished soap even if you stir, stir, stir until your wrist is dizzy.

So what to do?

Here's a little trick -- dissolve your pigments and micas in a bit of rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol. (Don't worry -- the alcohol evaporates away very quickly and will not adversely affect your soap.) Here's an easy way to do it:

Get yourself a small bowl or cup. I am using a condiment cup here. Pump a few spritzes of rubbing alcohol into the bowl or cup. (You probably already have your alcohol in a fine mister spray bottle. This allows you to easily spritz your soap layers after and between pours. It's also helpful here.)

Add a pea-sized amount of the pigment to the alcohol. (I am using Bramble Berry's ultramarine violet oxide.) Remember, a little bit of pigment will color a whole lot of soap!

Mix the pigment and alcohol together with a spoon or craft stick to make a slurry. Keep stirring to work out any clumps. If your mixture seems dry, add another pump or two of rubbing alcohol.

Once the clumps have been worked out, add your slurry to your melted soap base and stir.

The color should now incorporate smoothly with little speckling. When using micas, it is common for some mica bubbles to rise to the surface. Just spritz the bubbles with alcohol and they should burst.

   

Now you're ready to pour your beautifully-colored base!




You could also dissolve your pigments and micas in a bit of liquid glycerin instead. Some soapers even add it directly to their fragrance oil to make their slurry.

Pigments are also available pre-mixed with glycerin so all you have to do is shake up the bottle and add your color drop-by-drop without it clumping. This makes coloring your soap super-easy and painless, although not all colorant options may be available in this convenient form.

Oxides and micas are so much fun, and they can add such interesting dimensions to your soaps. Give them a try!