How to Make Swirl Soap Bars
Soap making is a hobby that many people enjoy, but making soap from scratch can be an arduous and sometimes dangerous process. If you’ve mastered the art of basic soap making and are ready to try some new and exciting projects, here’s a recipe for making swirled soap bars. The versatility and creativity involved in this process creates fun and colorful bars. These bars will look almost so good you could eat them. They are also a perfect addition to your soap making business, for gifts or even your own personal collection. Here’s how to make swirled soap bars right at home.
Things You'll Need
- 3 lbs Lard
- 1 lb. Coconut Oil
- 1 lb. Olive Oil
- 32 oz water
- 11.2 oz. Lye
- 1.4 oz. Fragrance
- 2 tsp. Color Dye
- Mixing Bowls (preferably stainless steel)
- Wooden Spoon
- Pitcher
- Stainless steel spoon
- Candy Thermometer
- Swirling Tool
- Soap Mold (should hold 7 pounds of soap)
- Scale (must be accurate to the 1/10th of an ounce)
- Rubber Gloves
- Goggles
- Apron
Instructions
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1
Line or oil your soap mold.
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2
Put on your safety gear. Always wear protective eye wear, apron and gloves when handling lye.
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3
Mix your lye. Place your pitcher onto the weight scale, and weigh exactly 32 ounces of cold water in a plastic container. Slowly and carefully add your lye to the water. The lye will react immediately, and it gets very hot. Mix this up, and set it aside to cool.
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4
Measure out all of the oils in the recipe, and combine them in a mixing bowl. Once thoroughly combined, place on the stove, and heat to 135 degrees. Monitor the temperature carefully using a candy thermometer.
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5
Combine your colors. In a small mixing bowl, combine your color dye with 2 ounces of water. If you’re using one color, simply add it to 2 ounces of water. If you’re combining several colors, mix them together before adding the water. Set aside.
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6
Mix the lye and oils together. Once the lye has cooled to room temperature, it is safe to combine with the oils. Combine them and blend them to a light trace. If you’re hand mixing, you’ll need to mix for about 45 minutes. If you’re using a stick blender it should only take about 5 minutes.
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7
Add the fragrance. With a metal spoon, lightly blend your fragrance. Don’t use a wooden spoon for the fragrance mixing or your soap might seize.
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8
Create your swirl colors. Add 6 cups of the uncolored scented soap into the bowl with the colorants and mix until the color is evenly distributed. Set aside.
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9
Check the temperatures. Both your base soap and colored soap need to be between 110 and 115 degrees in order to swirl properly, so make sure you’re temperatures are okay before pouring into the mold.
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10
Combine raw soap and colored soap. Pour what’s left of the remaining uncolored soap into your prepared soap mold and then immediately pour the colored soap in a zig zag pattern over the raw base (like making swirled brownies). Create lines going lengthwise and then repeat this process for the width.
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11
Swirl. Using the end of your spoon, straw or chopstick begin to make a swirling motion starting from the right upper corner and continuing right to left, like you’re reading a book. Make sure that the end of your swirling tool is touching the bottom of the soap mold pan at all times.
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12
Cover and cure. Cover your mold, insulated, for 24 hours. Cut into bars and let cure for 3 weeks before selling, gifting or using.
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Tips & Warnings
Swirling is basically another word for stirring and since stirring causes colors to mix, you need o be very careful of how much mixing you do, or the color will bleed the entire mix.
Line or oil your mold before you begin to mix your soap.
Use a candy thermometer to monitor the soaps temperature.
Never use hot water to mix with lye, it will explode.
When mixing the soap, do not stir constantly (especially with a stick blender) because continuous mixing will cause the soap to explode.
Lye solution is a very dangerous substance and should be handled with care. Don't breathe the fumes and always wear protective goggles and gloves when using it.
