This flower swirl melt and pour soap is a white shea butter flower with soft blue swirls running through it. It’s one of my most popular soaps, and the technique is simple once you get the knack: let the shea butter cool until it’s thick, squirt in mica mixed with distilled water and give it one quick twist with a coil whisk before pouring.
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Materials & Tools
Soap Base
- Shea butter melt and pour soap base, about 4 oz per flower cavity
Color & Scent
- Blue Lagoon from this Stardust mica set or individual Stardust micas
- Distilled water
- Baby’s Breath fragrance oil from Bramble Berry (or try Barnhouse fragrance oils)
Tools
- 6 cavity flower silicone mold
- Coil (flat) whisk
- 3 ml pipettes
- Infrared thermometer
- Spray bottle of 91% isopropyl alcohol
- Digital scale
Fragrance Amount
Use up to 5 ml of fragrance oil per 16 oz (1 lb) of soap base. You can always use less if you like a lighter scent, but don’t go over 5 ml per 16 oz.
How to Make Flower Swirl Melt and Pour Soap
1. Melt the Shea Butter
Melt the shea butter base and add your fragrance. I melted 6 oz for two flowers. Each cavity holds about 3 oz of water, but the finished soap weighs about 3.5 oz, so plan on about 4 oz of soap per flower.
2. Mix the Mica with Distilled Water
Use distilled water, not alcohol, for this swirl. Alcohol makes the color disperse, so the whole bar just turns a lighter blue. For 6 oz of soap, I mix a spoonful of mica with about 5 ml of distilled water so it’s runny enough to squirt quickly. You won’t use all of it.
3. Let the Soap Cool Until Thick
Let the shea butter cool as much as possible. You want it thick but not skinned over, around 108–113°F. When you stir it, it should drip off very slowly. If you don’t have a thermometer, watch for the soap to thicken as you stir.
4. Squirt in the Color
Fill a pipette with about 3 ml of the color and squirt it hard into the soap. Because it’s mixed with water, the color stays in streaks instead of dispersing.
5. One Twist with the Coil Whisk
Push the coil whisk straight down, twist once and lift it up. Don’t stir around. A coil whisk reaches the bottom better than an oval one.
6. Pour from Up High
Pour right away, from as high as you comfortably can. Wear glasses, since it can splash. Spray with alcohol and let the soap set.
7. Unmold
Pop the flowers out of the mold. Each one has its own swirl pattern.
Tips & What I Learned
- Use distilled water, not alcohol. Water keeps the color in streaks.
- Go easy on the water. It doesn’t evaporate like alcohol, so too much slows setting.
- Pour thick and cool. Around 108–113°F, with no skin.
- Down, twist, up. One twist with a coil whisk, no stirring.
- Practice. This swirl takes a few tries to get the hang of.
Troubleshooting
My whole soap turned light blue.
The color dispersed. Use distilled water instead of alcohol, and make sure the soap is thick enough.
There’s no swirl, just a blob of color.
Give it one twist with the whisk, and pour from higher up.
The soap took a long time to set.
Too much water in the color. Use a little less.
FAQ
How much fragrance oil should I use?
Up to 5 ml per 16 oz of soap base. You can always use less, but don’t use more than 5 ml per 16 oz.
Why does the mold hold 3 oz of water but the soap weighs 3.5 oz?
Soap is denser than water, so a finished bar weighs more than the water the cavity holds.
Can I use other colors?
Yes. Any mica works. Bright colors show up best against white shea butter.
More Swirl Soap Ideas
- How to Swirl Melt and Pour Soap
- Cloud Wave Silicone Mold Melt and Pour Soap
- Tie Dye Melt and Pour Soap: Mica in Water vs. Alcohol
- Kaolin Clay Melt and Pour Soap
- All my melt and pour soap tutorials on YouTube
If you make this, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or Pinterest, and subscribe on YouTube for new soap tutorials.
