Mica Powder

Mica powder comes from the rock type mica, which has glittery and flaky properties. This is combined with various oxides and other ingredients to create a variety of colorant for soap making and cosmetics.

Mica powder is relatively simple to use when making soap and cosmetics. Just add the mica powder to your melting soap base, wait for your base to melt and stir the mica powder in. If pesky little mica bubbles float to the top, just spritz them with a bit of rubbing alcohol and you'll see them burst open. Just stir everything in until the mica is well incorporated, then add your fragrance.

Mica powder can be heavy and therefore may settle out in low viscosity. To use in soaps, pour your soaps at cooler temperatures as they will suspend the mica better. To achieve the real effect of a mica in soap, the particles need to be aligned in the same direction. You can try pouring your soap and then combing the surface of the soap in one direction using a spatula.

You will get different results when you add mica powder to colored verses non-colored soaps. Having a background color enhances the effects of the mica powder. Mica uses light reflection, refraction, and transmission to exhibit their effects much like a prism creates various colors as light passes through it. Therefore, mica powder works best in clear soap.

Our wholesale mica powder is sold by weight, not volume. So you get the most for your money!

General Instructions for Using Mica Powder in Soap Making:

Cold Process Soap Making (CP):

Mica powder works in cold process soap, but only marginally, as there is no light for reflection (since cold process soap is opaque). To use it in cold process soap, use 2 tsp. per pound of soap to achieve a good color. Simply add the mica powder directly to the soap and stir. Make sure you add it at very thin trace so that you have enought time to stir the colorant in.

Melt and Pour Soap Making (MP):

If you are using a clear, transparent or translucent soap base, we recommend about 1/2 tsp. of mica powder per pound to achieve a nice, strong pearl effect. You can use mica powder in opaque soap base at 1.5%-4% of the total weight to achieve good color, but micas work best in clear soap. Light is needed for the true reflective qualitites of the micas to work properly.