Using Mica In Your Soap

Using Mica is a fun way to add color and personality to your soap… I love seeing the beautiful colors soap makers can make with mica.  My favorite is to see them use different shades of the same color together. I think it’s so pretty.

I usually like my soap to have all natural, earthy colors, so I rarely use mica in my soap. But I thought I’d give it a try.

From my brief experience using micas I know that it’s really important to soap at cool temperatures and to use a scent that won’t accelerate your soap.  Soap Makers like to call this a “well behaved” fragrance.  A well behaved fragrance won’t rush your soap to thick trace and won’t change the colors of your soap.

When using micas, I like to mix them with 1-2 tsp of olive oil, then I’ll add that to my soap. I like to mix with a little whisk, and make sure there are not clumps.

I like to mix my colors into paper cups that I can just throw away and I won’t have to worry about cleaning or staining.

So my suggestion for you if you’re going to try out using micas for the first time,

1. Eliminate what can go wrong, and don’t use fragrance the first time.

2. Prepare all the colors and measure them out in advance.

3. Do all your calculations for how much you want to divide the soap batter in advance.

4. Have your design ready

Because you’re going to need to work fast.

What you’ll have to do is bring your soap to a very thin trace.

Divide the batter to as many colors you have.

Mix each color into the soap just until the color has mixed in well.

Always mix from lightest to darkest

Be careful not to over mix until you get to the consistency that you actually need.

I'm going to try making the layers with different shades next time.

Do you like to use micas in your soap? Or Do you prefer to use natural colorant like clays, herbs and spices?