How to Use Mica

by Anonymous

I was wondering, how do you use mica in cold process soap making?


I heard you can mix it with carrier oils but do you use the oils from the soap recipe or do you use a separate amount?

Answer:
Mica is extremely easy to use in cold process soapmaking! It is one of my favourite soap colourants.

I don't mix my mica with anything. I simply add the mica powder directly to the thinly traced soap and use my stick blender to thoroughly mix it in.

Once the batter is evenly coloured, I add the scent and any soap bits or botanicals.

It's really that easy! The hardest part is discovering how much mica to use to get the colours you want. This is achieved by pure trial and error.....and a ton of notes. (ie. added 1 tsp of copper mica to 750 ml of soap base - resulted in a deep rust/copper colour).

If you want to add oxides and ultramarines to your soap, try mixing them with a small amount of mica (I often will add them to white mica). You have to work the clumps out with the back of a spoon but it really helps to get an evenly coloured soap.

If you would prefer to use mica suspended in oil, just add a bit to the mica to make a thin paste. Since it is such a small amount of oil you will be using, it is okay to use oil that isn't in your recipe.

Good luck and have fun soaping!
Cathy

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