How To Make An Upright Soap Swirl Tutorial

Using an 'Upright' log mould. I
had this idea going around in my mind for a while now, I wanted a soap with
contrasting colors on each side and a swirl that doesn't look too
contrived. I decided to go with the vertical position. If the log mould is
horizontal you get a different style of swirl altogether so the brain was
placed into gear and this is what I came up with...

I have lined the sides and the base with laminating
plastic. This one is an old laminated movie poster. I cut it to fit and
taped it together. It’s a very snug fit, I was very exact with my
measurements. The log mould has a removable base, like a plug, I taped that
into position so nothing leaked out the base.

The same result can be achieved by using a piece of stiff
cardboard or similar, cut to the shape of the mould base then taped
together, you can also use packaging tape. Make sure you tape it good and
firm to stop any leakage. When filling the mould stand it in some sort of
container or tray in case there is any spillage as a precaution.

To divide the mould into two sections I cut a piece of
'very' thick strong cardboard, it touched both sides real snugly and I just
pushed it down to the base. It’s simply there to keep the two colored soaps
apart while they are in their liquid state.

Photo number 01 shows you my wooden vertical log mould, I
don’t know how much it takes I think it was about ten good sized bars of
soap in the end with four small individuals, I just poured the excess into
single moulds.

I made up the soap trying to take it at early or thin
trace as I would be fiddling with it for a couple of minutes and praying the
FO didn’t accelerate it. I was using Brambleberry’s Cool Water and I have
had no trouble with this FO before so I felt pretty confident. I colored
and fragranced both bowls then poured them together into the two cavities at
the top of the mould, my theory was if I pour them at the same pace then the
cardboard divider strip won’t get pushed out of the way. It was a firm fit
and in the end it held nicely.

In hindsight I think I would mix the two halves in the
plastic jugs I have then I could pick them up together, one in each hand but
if you are lucky enough to have someone in the room then it helps but it can
be done with just one person pouring.

This is how it looked before removing the divider. You may
want to use pliers to pull up the cardboard so you don't get any raw soap on
your fingers, I could have cut the cardboard longer to allow myself to get a
good firm grip on it. Mine pulled away easily enough though.

This photo shows me removing the divider, do it slowly so
your not pulling too much of the liquid soap up with it. With a gloved hand
you could place the cardboard between your fingers then pull it upwards and
any soap sticking to the cardboard would fall back into the mould.

The wooden dowel I used here was about 12mm thick . I
didn’t want it too thick or it would have made a thicker swirl, by the same
token I didn't want the swirl to be too thin either, I was trying not to
disturb the mix too much, just enough to drag one color into the other.

I moved the dowel in two circular movements, then pulled
it straight up.

This is it finished, I achieved the swirl while
maintaining that two separate colored halves of soap.

This was the following day, the soap actually went into
gel within 10 minutes of finishing the swirls, it even rose a little but
luckily it settled. You can see the two distinct halves of different colors
on the side angle of the log.

This is after cutting the log up using a thin wire.

This is another arrangement of the finished swirl.

It’s really easy once your set up. I also had to restrain
myself from giving it a good old swirling with the wooden dowel, in this
case 'less is more' It worked and I am more than happy with the results and
can’t wait to try another one now :-)

Note: The colors used here were Blue Ultramarine and FD&C
Yellow #5. I have a bar of this soap still in my cupboard I am keeping to
watch for any changes and I am pleased to be able to report that the FO is
still as strong and true and the FD&C Yellow hasn’t bled into the
Ultramarine Blue. From past experience I knew if I had used two FD&C dyes
for this it would have become slightly muted by now so using two differing
coloring agents was successful.

I now regularly use an FD&C for the background color and
an Ultramarine or Oxide for the swirl, the swirled pattern remains crisp.

Tutorial Provided by Terry "Nizzy"
Nisbet Owner and Operator of Nizzy
Molds Please visit her site and show your support!

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