Raspberry Lime Swirled Soap

Melt and pour soap is great for beginning soapmakers. It doesn't involve lye and uses a microwave.

Raspberry Lime Swirled soap is not a difficult soap to make, but it would be a good idea to watch or read a few tutorials on melt and pour soap before attempting this soap,

This soap was inspired by my favorite beverage Polar raspberry lime seltzer water.

To make this soap you will need:

• goats milk soap
• two microwave safe containers
• a mold with multiple cavities
• something to cut your soap up with
• rubbing alcohol in a spray bottle
• fragrance oil in raspberry
• fragrance oil in lime
• colorant in green
• colorant in red
• (optional) infrared thermometer

It is important to cut the soap up before attempting to melt in the microwave. This will help the soap melt more evenly and quickly.

Place the cubed soap into a microwave safe container.

Since I am using color blocks for this project I divided the soap into the two microwave safe containers before melting them. Color blocks are concentrated color in soap base. A little goes a long way.

When melting melt and pour soap it's important to melt in short bursts to prevent scorching the soap. I did a pound of each color so I did 30 second bursts and then even shorter once it was almost melted. Stir the soap between each burst, this will help the soap heat evenly.

Once the soap is melted it is time to add fragrance.

The rule of thumb for adding fragrance oils is 0.25 ounces per pound of soap. Some suppliers have fragrance calculators for their fragrances which is helpful if you want to have a lighter or heavier scent without having to experiment too much.

I added the lime fragrance oil to the green tinted soap and raspberry fragrance oil to the pink tinted soap.

To do this double pour it's important to have both containers of soap about the same temperature. An infrared thermometer is great when making melt and pour soap because it's quick to give a reading and you don't have to clean it off afterwards.

I poured my soaps at about 125 degrees Fahrenheit. If the soap is too hot the soap colors may mix and muddle. I wanted them to swirl together but still create a contrast between the colors and fragrances. Checking the temperature before pouring is especially important if you are not using a silicone mold. Plastic molds will melt and warp if your soap is too hot.

**Liberally spray with rubbing alcohol. It evaporates while the soap hardens and gets rid of the bubbles on the soap.**

To create the swirl effect I held both containers of soap and poured them from opposite sides of the mold and let them meet in the middle. Afterwards I took a wooden skewer and used it to swirl the soap a bit more once in the mold.

After about 4 hours the soap will have hardened. If using a silicone mold it will be easy to remove from the mold.

Once the soap is removed from the mold it should be wrapped in cling film in order to prevent glycerin sweat. Melt and pour soap contains a high quantity of glycerin. Glycerin attracts moisture, which is great for skin, but causes the surface of glycerin soap to collect moisture if not wrapped.

Now your soap is ready to use and enjoy.