Tie dye melt and pour soap is made by dropping color into the mold, pouring cool shea butter base over it and swirling. In this test, I made two batches side by side to see if it matters whether you mix your mica in distilled water or in alcohol. Spoiler: both looked great, and I’ll keep making tie dye soaps either way.
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Materials & Tools
Soap Base
- Shea butter melt and pour soap base, about 3.2–3.7 oz per cavity
Color & Scent
- Sunset Pink and Ariel Blue from this Stardust mica set or individual Stardust micas
- Distilled water and 91% isopropyl alcohol for mixing the mica
- Monkey Farts fragrance oil (or try Barnhouse fragrance oils)
Tools
- 6 cavity silicone soap mold
- Pipettes (use separate ones for water and alcohol colors)
- Small cups for mixing
- Skewers or a chopstick
- Thermometer
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 Tie Dye Melt and Pour Soap
1. Melt the Base and Add Fragrance
Melt the shea butter base and add your fragrance. Let it cool. Mine was about 124°F when I started on the colors.
2. Mix Two Sets of Colors
Pipe distilled water into two small cups and alcohol into two more. Add Sunset Pink to one of each and Ariel Blue to the other. These two colors are distinct, so it’s easy to see the design. Mix the water colors first so you don’t get alcohol in them.
3. Drop Color Into the Mold
Use a dropper to put pink and blue drops into the empty cavities: water-mixed colors on one side and alcohol-mixed colors on the other.
4. Pour Half and Swirl
Stir the soap and pour it cool, around 118°F. Pour each cavity half full over the color drops. The alcohol-mixed color spreads out more quickly. Swirl each one with a skewer or chopstick.
5. Add More Color and Fill
Drop in more color, then pour the rest of the soap right on top of the drops to create more swirl. Wait about a minute before spraying with alcohol, so the colors can move a little first. Then spray to pop the bubbles and let the soap set.
6. Unmold and Compare
Unmold the bars. The colors didn’t melt together on either side. The alcohol side came out a little darker with a smooth swirl, and the water side had a softer, more flowing look. Honestly, I liked them both.
Water vs. Alcohol: What I Found
- Alcohol: the color disperses quickly when the soap hits it, and the finished bars were slightly darker.
- Distilled water: the color stays put a bit more and gives a soft, flowing swirl. Water can make the soap take a little longer to set.
- Bottom line: there wasn’t a big difference. Use whichever you like best, with four to five small drops of each color.
Tips & What I Learned
- Pour cool. Around 118°F helps keep the colors from muddying.
- Use separate pipettes. Keep water and alcohol colors apart.
- Wait before spraying alcohol. A minute lets the colors flow.
- Pick contrasting colors. Pink and blue make the swirl easy to see.
Troubleshooting
My colors turned muddy.
The soap was too hot, or it was stirred too much. Pour cooler and swirl gently.
The color spread out too much.
That’s typical of alcohol-mixed mica. Try distilled water instead.
There are speckles of mica.
Mix the mica a little longer so it fully disperses.
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.
Should I mix mica with water or alcohol?
Either works. Alcohol gives a slightly darker, quicker spread. Water gives a softer swirl.
How many drops of color should I use?
About four to five small drops of each color per bar.
More Swirl Soap Ideas
- Cloud Wave Silicone Mold Melt and Pour Soap
- How to Swirl Melt and Pour Soap
- Massage Bar Melt and Pour Soap
- How to Make Whipped 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.
