Time to Make the Donuts...er Soap! How to Make Swirled Soap

This weekend I was knee deep in olive oil. My etsy site has been getting a bit dry in the last few months and needs to be replinished!!! My goal: add 12 more batches of soap before March 15th. This weekend I was able to whip out 6 batches. Stay tuned on my etsy site as i'll be unveiling the new scents in the next few days!

To make things easier, i've recently purchase some new molds. Previously I used the homemade wooden style and they work wonderfully, but the new ones are awesome! I've been using them for six months now and absolutely love them! They're made from the same material that your everday kitchen cutting board is made from. Because there's no need to line them, unmolding and cleaning them are SUPER easy. (One little FYI: I do spread a thin coat of petroleum jelly on the molds to help with unmolding).

I'm so excited to show off my first successful swirl! I've attempted to swirl a few times in the past and the results were always the same....boring! I'm a habitual stirrer and when you overstir a swirl you get something far less intersting.

Here's how you do an IN THE POT swirl: (My recipe uses 36oz of oil.)

1. During the mixing process let soap/lye solution come to a light trace.
2. Separate 1 cup of newly created soap mixture into a small mixing bowl or container.
3. Add colorant to the small amount of soap and mix well.
4. Hold the container of colored soap high over the pot of soap (approx. 2ft) and slowly drizzle into the pot. This enables the color to dispense to throughout the pot and all the way to the bottom of the pot.
5. OPTIONAL **Stir pot once with a skinny stick (I use a shishkabob stick). Do not overstir or you will loose a crisp swirl.
6. Pour into the log mold- this is where the swirling effect occurs.