# Fragrance oil company question



## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

Has anyone ever ordered and used fragrance oil from justscent.com?  I am interested in ordering from them but I would rather hear from yall first.  Do you have any input on the quality of their products?  Their prices are good and that makes me kind of leery on ordering from them.  You know the old adage, you get what you pay for.  Wondering if because they are cheaper than the other places I've looked to order from, that their products aren't of decent quality.  I've already messed up 3 batches of soap in less than a week.  I've used soapcalc, measured properly,  and still manage to screw things up.  They end up too waxy, lye heavy, or seize up into soap on a stick before I ever add any fragrances.  I am doing hp, well trying to do it anyway.:sad:  I guess I just need a good recipe that someone is already using and getting good results from lard, coconut oil, soybean oil, olive oil, and castor oil instead of trying my best to get the hardest bar etc I can from soapcalc.  I've made myself broke buying things to try soaping and can't buy any palm oil (which I am feeling guilty from thinking about using) until the middle of March to be able to try using it.  I'm waiting on my shipment of stearic acid etc to come in the mail so I can try that too.


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## lsg (Feb 23, 2014)

Do a google serarch, typing in the company name with the words "and reviews."  I come up with information on a company that way, sometimes.


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## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

Great idea.  Thanks!


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## OliveOil2 (Feb 23, 2014)

I haven't used Just Scents, so can't help you there, but wanted to mention that you are having trouble before adding any fragrance oil you may want to look at the temp of your oils and lye mixture, and water amount. I don't take a temp reading, but wait till they are both cool to the touch. If you post your recipe I am sure you will get suggestions, also if you are worried about the palm you can purchase sustainable palm. Spectrum makes a 100% palm shortening that is sustainable.


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## dixiedragon (Feb 23, 2014)

I have used Coconut Extreme from them. I'm pretty pleased. I actually accidentally used it at half the rate I was supposed to, but the scent is still fairly strong. It did discolor to brown, but I think all coconut fragrances do.

Here's the recipe I use from Miller soap. Instead of "beef shortening" I use lard. I also substitute some of the lard with castor - enough to give me about 6%. Sometimes I also substitute some soybean oil for some of the lard, not more than 10%.
45 oz. beef shortening (tallow and cottonseed blend or tallow and soybean... see below*) OR you may substitute lard since I calculated using its SAP value
20 oz. olive oil
20 oz. coconut oil


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## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

*I found my recipe*

Here is my recipe I used.  Lard 60%, OO 3%, Coconut oil 25%, Soybean oil 10%, castor oil 2%.  29% water %, 5% superfat.  I made this recipe concentrating on hardness of the bar since I'm waiting on my stearic and my sod lactate.  It's kinda drying so can I use like an oz of oo as my carrier oil when I add my fragrance to help the moisturizing aspect of it?  I didn't use frag last night because I was just wanting to try out the recipe.  It made nice hard bars, but I had to add a little milk at the end of the process because it was trying to dry out.  Oh yeah, I used sugar and salt in my water before I added my lye.  I tried different % for my oils in the calculator and they resulted in softer bars.  Where I live, it would take forever for them to be ready to use if I don't do a water discount and formulate for hardness.    I finally got me a dehumidifier but it doesn't seem to be helping any for my prev batches.  I guess I'm pretty satisfied with this batch so far....  I didn't see it go through the champagne phase and I never saw it gel from the outside towards the inside either.  Guess I missed it


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## OliveOil2 (Feb 23, 2014)

I know it seems like it would take forever for soap to cure without a water discount, but based on personal experience I think that your water discount may be causing the problems with seizure. A long time ago the soap calculator I used had a range, and I thought being in the middle was just perfect, but I had problems with the soap setting up way too fast.
Even though I've made soap for awhile now, I'm lame at creating recipes without soap calc, so hoping someone else also chimes in, if not I think your post was moved and you may want to ask your recipe question again in the general area. You really don't need sodium lactate or stearic. just a little patience waiting to unmold. Usually a small percentage like 3% won't make much difference in your soap. Coconut oil can be drying, you might want to cut the coconut down to 20% and just add the 5% back to the lard.I would add a little more castor, maybe up to 5% I know that it is more expensive, but I would rather have my castor and do without the sodium lactate or steraric. If you want a less expensive oil than olive oil you may want to look at sunflower or rice bran oil.


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## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

*my reply to the replies*

This recipe turned out fine as far as hardness goes but was lye heavy.  All the recipes I've ran through the soapcalc have been lye heavy.  I'm cutting up 10lbs of soap batches right now to rebatch.  I just hope I do it right.  I'm going to add 30% more of each oil in my recipes.  I just am not sure if I'm supposed to do like I read that you also add lye for those oils when you rebatch it.  I don't understand why you are supposed to add more lye when it already had too much in the beginning.  Can someone please tell me what I'm supposed to do?  It needs to be redone and I'm surely not throwing this away when I have already thrown out 2 batches.    I so could cry right now if I was the crying type lol.
How do I move this to recipes?


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## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

This last recipe (the one I posted) didn't seize.  It was just lye heavy as well.


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## OliveOil2 (Feb 23, 2014)

Not seizing is good, and maybe the soap will cure out after a few days. Was the soap crumbly, or hurt your skin to touch? It may just need more time. I should mention that I do usually discount water to 35-36%, it is much more difficult to pull off 29%, even for a seasoned soap maker. 
So maybe take a deep breath, and make inexpensive small batches to get started, Walmart GV shortening is another good fat to experiment with.


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## godschild (Feb 23, 2014)

It burned my skin and my tongue. I thought it was hard but that was just the top.  It's soft. I have it all chopped up now and am about to put it in the oven in a huge pan with more oils and will cook it longer.  Hopefully I didn't cook it long enough or something.  I will see what happens I guess.  Please pray for me   Thank you all for your replies.


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## judymoody (Feb 24, 2014)

OK, let's start from the beginning.

You're a beginner, so you should be making small batches - say 2 lbs of oils per batch.

If you're doing HP and cutting back that much on water, I'm not surprised you're having trouble.  You should use full water if you try HP as some water will evaporate during cook.  If you don't use enough your soap might end up crumbly or have other issues.

What kind of climate do you live in?  You seem very anxious that your soap won't harden on its own.  Personally, I use a water discount, but I didn't when first starting out, and I do CP soaping primarily, not HP.  Hardness in soapcalc is not primarily a function of how much water you use but how soluble your soap will be and that depends more on your soaping oils.

I would tweak your recipe a bit - say 20% CO, 50% lard (lard is very similar to palm chemically so I don't see the need to switch to palm if you're not comfortable with it or it's too expensive), 25% OO, and 5% castor with a 5-7% superfat.  Soybean is not a great soaping oil but if you really want to use it, I'd keep it at no more than 10%.

If you measured properly, I'm a little perplexed about the lye heaviness.

You might want to try CP instead of HP.  I find it less fussy.  There are, of course, plenty of people who prefer HP, and they may chime in with tips.

Good luck!


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## godschild (Feb 24, 2014)

*My reply*

I did make a bunch of small batches that ended up with all that lye heavy soap.  I measured correctly twice each oil I used on a brand new expensive digital scale that I had plugged in the wall instead of batteries.  I live in a very humid area and was wanting to get some soap ready for a festival in my area, hence the wanting to use a water discount.  I ran every recipe through soapcalc.  I just should've used someone else's tried and true recipe but I couldn't because I couldn't find a recipe using the oils I had available.  I couldn't afford palm oil and I couldn't find any anyway in my town.  It is very small and I was lucky even finding coconut oil.  I got the only jars they had in the area.    I am trying so that's what counts I guess.  If anyone has a recipe they use with the oils I listed above in my op and wouldn't mind me borrowing it, please may I borrow it?  I bought a 50lb box of lard lol.


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## cmzaha (Feb 24, 2014)

godschild said:


> I did make a bunch of small batches that ended up with all that lye heavy soap. I measured correctly twice each oil I used on a brand new expensive digital scale that I had plugged in the wall instead of batteries. I live in a very humid area and was wanting to get some soap ready for a festival in my area, hence the wanting to use a water discount. I ran every recipe through soapcalc. I just should've used someone else's tried and true recipe but I couldn't because I couldn't find a recipe using the oils I had available. I couldn't afford palm oil and I couldn't find any anyway in my town. It is very small and I was lucky even finding coconut oil. I got the only jars they had in the area.  I am trying so that's what counts I guess. If anyone has a recipe they use with the oils I listed above in my op and wouldn't mind me borrowing it, please may I borrow it? I bought a 50lb box of lard lol.


 
I am also perplexed why your soaps are lye heavy or you are thinking they are. I am assuming you are hp'ing all batches. Are you fulling cooking them through the complete gel stage? In a crock pot you will see it changing color around the edges and it will look like it it folding over itself as it continues to gel. I have always used soap calc since I am to lazy to use pencil and paper and have never had a lye heavy soap and I do not superfat over 2%. Something is just not right. Why don't you practice making a 100% lard soap? It actually does make a nice soap although not a lot of lather. If you are only buying jars of coconut oil that is way to expensive to practice with. I personally love 100% lard soap or you can always grind it up mix with washing soda and borax to make a laundry soap. Any soap you think is lye heavy can be ground up and used as laundry soap. Usually there is no reason to throw away soap


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 24, 2014)

When I started HPing, I watched a few videos online so that I'd know what to expect and so that I would know when it was cooked properly.  If you know that everything is fine in the mix itself, maybe it is a process issue.


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## godschild (Feb 24, 2014)

*Hi again yall*

I cooked it past turning into vaseline looking goopiness.  I have watched close to 100 Youtube videos so I'm thankful for them showing me the process.  That's how I became interested in soaping. I'm glad I did.  When I finally get it right, it's on!  It is a wonderful hobby that I hope I can make some extra $ from.  I want to thank you all from my heart for all your thoughts.  They are very welcomed.


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## judymoody (Feb 24, 2014)

Here are some sites with reliable recipes.

http://www.millersoap.com/

http://www.soapqueen.com/

Run them through a lye calculator just in case.

Also, two people here have already suggested recipes to you, including for oils you have on hand, like this one:

20% CO, 50% lard, 25% OO, and 5% castor with a 5-7% superfat.

Or 

20% CO, 40% lard, 25% OO, 10% soybean, 5% castor, 5-7% SF.

You should not contemplate selling until you have consistent results and know your procedures and product inside and out.  That takes time.  Also, you do know that HP needs a cure time just like CP, right?


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## godschild (Feb 24, 2014)

*Reply*

I know.  I've watched so many videos that my eyes are bugging out.  I do the quick cure by heating my oven to 200 degrees and putting my soap in for 2 hours, then I turn the oven off and let it sit overnight.  It's called a quick cure.  It does away with the need of letting it sit forever and a day.  I believe I have fixed my recipe and mold issues and everything will be fine.  I never planned to sell my soap until I tried it myself and let my family try it after I have and knew all is well.  I would never sell anything to anyone without knowing it was 100%.  I'm far from an idiot.  I just have never done this before and stumbled across this forum thinking it would be good to get ideas.  I started soaping because my sister has a very rare skin disorder and can't use commercial soap products.  I am going to make her a special bar that is just for her needs.  I could care less really if I ever sell even one bar of soap so I'm ok if I don't.  I wish I could delete every post I have put on here but I don't have the option of doing so because I'm not a paying member.  If a mod can remove my posts, please do so.  Success is in sight so I don't need anyone being condescending because it has no positive effect on anyone.


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## cmzaha (Feb 24, 2014)

I would still go with 100% lard for practice until you learn the hp process. It really sounds like you are not cooking long enough if you know for sure your scale is not off. It helps to have calibration weights for checking scales. Also make sure you are using what is considered full water, 38% of water to oil in soap calc which is the default. Some hp soapmakers even add in an oz or so extra liquid which should give you a longer cook time and cook on low after the initial heating of your crock pot. (if using a crock pot). Please do not give your soap even to your sister until it has had at least a month to cure. I do not think anyone is being condescending, you asked for help, mentioned selling so please do not get angry when it is offered.

There really is no quick cure for soap it needs to cure and dry for at least a month and I find hp needs longer with the amount of water used. Soap becomes milder with time. I just cut a bar of soap that I had sitting around for 3 yrs in a small log and it is the best soap we have ever used. Actually my daughter still had it sitting around and I cut off a piece to try. Soap takes time. Not knowing what your sisters skin problems are a lard soap just might fit the bill. it has no lauric and 1 for myristic, which are the fatty acids that make soap cleansing and or harsh, depending on the number


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## godschild (Feb 24, 2014)

*All is well*

Batches are fixed.  All is well.  Thanks for all yall's help.  I won't be checking this thread again so if you have anything to tell me, please message me.


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## Lin (Feb 27, 2014)

No one was being condescending, everyone was just trying to help. Many people want to sell their soap too early, and thats a concern to us all. Even if its safe soap, it may not be the best soap and do you really want your first customers getting that? To make money selling soap you have to build up a customer base with the best product possible. If you start selling to early, you may lose quite a few customers by the time your soap is of high quality. They may have purchased one of your first bars and felt it was just meh, and purchase soap elsewhere. Everyone here is just trying to support you in doing the right things, and trying to guide you from making the mistakes they've already made that you don't have to make.


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## godschild (Feb 28, 2014)

Thanks.  I was just being overly sensitive.  I didn't think things through at first but now I have.


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## judymoody (Feb 28, 2014)

godschild said:


> I know.  I do the quick cure by heating my oven to 200 degrees and putting my soap in for 2 hours, then I turn the oven off and let it sit overnight.  It's called a quick cure.
> 
> I believe I have fixed my recipe and mold issues and everything will be fine.  I never planned to sell my soap until I tried it myself and let my family try it after I have and knew all is well.  I would never sell anything to anyone without knowing it was 100%.  I'm far from an idiot.  I just have never done this before and stumbled across this forum thinking it would be good to get ideas.  I started soaping because my sister has a very rare skin disorder and can't use commercial soap products.  I am going to make her a special bar that is just for her needs.  I could care less really if I ever sell even one bar of soap so I'm ok if I don't.  I wish I could delete every post I have put on here but I don't have the option of doing so because I'm not a paying member.  If a mod can remove my posts, please do so.  Success is in sight so I don't need anyone being condescending because it has no positive effect on anyone.



People have tried to help you.  You asked for advice about recipes and process and you got it.  You said you were a bit worried because you had to prepare spap for a festival.  From that, I inferred you were planning to sell.  Hence the advice.

There is no such thing as a quick cure.  CPOP, what you describe, still needs a minimum of four weeks to cure.

BTW, if you take a deep breath and slow down, you will see that we are a pretty friendly and helpful bunch.


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## godschild (Feb 28, 2014)

I decided against the festival for that reason.  I want all to be right when I do.


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## OliveOil2 (Feb 28, 2014)

I know that you will learn with each batch, both good and not so good. You can learn alot from the members here, I know that I have, and you can always ask questions. I don't do hot process often, and for me cold process is much more simple. I love to pour into my mold and then know it will turn into soap. I never rush the process of cure, I just let it happen. Everyone has their own style, but if you haven't tried a cold process batch, it might be a good exercise for seeing how the soap behaves.


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