Melt and Pour Soap Fail and Fix: Pink Soap with Mold Dividers

Not every soap turns out the way you plan, and that’s okay. In this melt and pour soap I tried a loaf mold with dividers to pour three pink and white sections, then pull the dividers for a swirl. It didn’t go as planned, but I saved it, and it smells great. Here’s what happened and what I learned.

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Materials & Tools

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 I Made It (and What Went Wrong)

1. Measure the Mold with Water

Put the mold on a kitchen scale, zero it, and fill it with water. Mine held about 1 lb 9 oz, so I rounded up to 26 oz of soap. With three sections, that’s about 8–9 oz per section. Soap weighs a little differently than water, but it’s a good estimate. This also showed me the dividers sealed pretty well.

Measuring a loaf mold with water on a kitchen scale

2. Mix Three Colors

I made three cups: clear base in a darker pink, shea butter in a light pink, and plain white shea butter. Mix the mica with alcohol (a touch of distilled water works too), then add the fragrance.

Three cups of pink, light pink and white melt and pour soap

3. Pour Each Section

Let the soap cool into the 130s so it’s thicker and less likely to seep under the dividers. I poured the white and light pink on the outside and the clear pink in the middle. Spray with alcohol.

Pouring soap into a loaf mold with dividers

Three poured sections of pink and white soap with dividers in place

4. Pull the Dividers

Once each section had a light skin, I pulled the dividers out to try for a swirl. This is where it got messy. The colors rushed together, and the top looked a bit like a rose.

Pulling the dividers out of the soap loaf

5. Add Glitter

Wearing gloves, sprinkle bio glitter on top while the soap is still a little wet so it sticks. Glitter makes any soap look better.

Adding bio glitter to the top of the pink soap

6. Fix the Top

One section had set higher than the others, which would have left an angled top. I gently stirred up the top to level it out, which gave it a soft watercolor pink look. You could also cover a top like this with whipped soap.

7. Unmold and Cut

Loosen the sides and lift the loaf out. I cut a few bars one way and the rest the other way to see the inside.

8. The Result

The clear base sank to the bottom even though I poured it in the middle. Clear base is heavier than shea butter and settles if it isn’t cool enough. The bars ended up as a three-color pink soap. Not what I planned, but still pretty and great for using at home.

Tips & What I Learned

Clear base sinks. It’s heavier than opaque bases, so let it cool and thicken more before pouring next to shea butter.
Wait longer before pulling dividers. A thicker skin would hold the sections better.
Measure molds with water. It’s an easy way to figure out how much soap you need.

Pour extra into a backup mold. Keep a small mold nearby for leftovers.
Fix a sliding cutter. If your cutter slides, adding a couple of washers can steady it.
Dividers shine with cold process. They hold colors well, but melt and pour needs more practice.

Troubleshooting

Soap seeped under the dividers. Pour cooler, in the 130s, so the soap is thicker.

One section set higher than the others. Fill each section to the same height, or level the top while it’s still soft.

The colors mixed when I pulled the dividers. The soap wasn’t set enough. Give it more time before pulling.

FAQ

How do I know how much soap my mold holds?

Fill it with water on a kitchen scale. The weight of the water is a close estimate for ounces of soap.

Can I fix a soap that didn’t turn out?

Usually. Level or texture the top, add glitter or whipped soap, or cut it up and use it as embeds in a new soap.

More Soap Ideas

If you make this, I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram or Pinterest, and subscribe on YouTube for new soap tutorials.

About the author

Anna has been making melt and pour soap for over 10 years. Figuring out ways to make different melt and pour soap designs is one of her interests. She has over 100 videos of making melt and pour soaps online.