Swirling Soap Series: Simple Swirl

This swirl is another simple swirl, but the end effect is gorgeous! We have talked about the nonpareil swirl, and this swirl is similar, with one slight difference: instead of using a comb to create our effect, we are going to use one chopstick.

Tea tree/Peppermint Soap

Before you begin...

Basics:

You will want to start off with a slow moving recipe (recipes with 70% olive oil or above work well for me) and a fragrance that does not accelerate trace. Mix your lye and oils together until you reach emulsification, which is where the oils and lye are mixed together, but not thickening. You will want your mix slightly runny. Once you reach emulsification, add your fragrance, then set aside a few ounces of soap into separate containers to color. When choosing the colors for your soap, remember that bright, contrasting colors work great! The addition of black, white, and brown can make a very dramatic effect. 

Tools:

For this swirl, all you will need is a chopstick and a paper towel to clean the chopstick off. You can retire your comb for now!

Diagonal Lines

Normal Soap Lines

So, we are going to start off with drawing our colored lines in the soap. Make sure to alternate your colors! You can go left to right, or you can draw diagonals, like I did in my example above. 

Once your lines are drawn, start at the top of your mold and insert your chopstick. Drag it down the mold until you reach the bottom. Clean off your chopstick, then insert it in the bottom of the mold about a half inch from your first line, then drag your stick to the top. Clean off your chopstick and start over, alternating lines from top -> bottom, then bottom -> top, until you have reached the other side of the mold.

You are finished! This swirl gives your soap a gorgeous feathery look, and can be done with as little as two colors. This is one of my favorite swirls, and it is my go-to swirl for many soaps.