The absorption spectrum of pinacyanol chloride in aqueous solutions of anionic soaps changes sharply to that characteristic of its solutions in organic solvents over a short range of soap concentration. This effect is attributed to the formation of micelles, in whose hydrocarbon-like layers or cores the dye is solubilized. The concentration of soap at which this spectral change occurs is taken as "the critical concentration for the formation of micelles." In water the dye exhibits an absorption band at 5500A which disappears rapidly as the concentration of molecular soap increases. Thus, even 0.00006 molar potassium laurate gives a large effect. At about 0.0126 },If the 'i-band at about 4800A reaches a high intensity, which falls, with further increase of concentration, very rapidly close to the critical concentration. At 2.3 to 2.4 X lO--2 for potassium laurate and 6X lO-3 for the myristate the a-band (ca. 6150A) and the i3-band (ca. 5700A) begin to increase rapidly in intensity and these are considered as the critical concentrations, since these are the prominent bands in the solution of the