# What does percentages mean on a oil smell



## Sharee (Sep 24, 2019)

Okay  I am a real newbie but I study  oh I know I will eventually get the soap making Down. 

 My question.. 
i don’t understand what they mean by 23%  being a mistake it must be 2 to 3% . 

Explanation:

 I Watched a video where this guy made this beautiful beach soaps and stated that the bottle that he got shows 23% and he says there is an error and in the response somebody said yes it must be an error it should say 2 to 3% .


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## amd (Sep 24, 2019)

https://www.aussiecandlesupplies.com.au/products/hawaiian-breez
I believe it is this FO. Their site lists an even higher usage rate than the bottle.

I have seen this before on different suppliers:
https://micasandmore.com/product/fo-lilac/
https://cart.candlesupply.com/Aloe-Water-Cucumber-Type-NEW-for-2019-pr-21344.html (see their category 9 rating)

I don't think this is a typo. It means that the FO is safe to use at that rate. It doesn't mean that you should use it at that rate though. You might find this article helpful:
https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/blog/tag/fragrance-calculator/
Of particular interest:


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## dixiedragon (Sep 24, 2019)

I think it's probably correct. My understanding is that it's based on what percentages of certain ingredients are allowed in certain applications. So, Chemical X is safe at 23% in soap and 8.9% in creams. That doesn't mean that your soap will perform correctly if you add 23% of this, though!


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## Sharee (Sep 25, 2019)

dixiedragon said:


> I think it's probably correct. My understanding is that it's based on what percentages of certain ingredients are allowed in certain applications. So, Chemical X is safe at 23% in soap and 8.9% in creams. That doesn't mean that your soap will perform correctly if you add 23% of this, though!


Okay im lost..
i know soap making is chemistry... but this is algebra to me.
I understand “add two drops” etc..
I understand what FO means but not what 23% is let alone 2.3..
there has to be a simpler way for me to get it.


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## Primrose (Sep 25, 2019)

Yes that brand often has crazy high use rates for their FOs, they are not my preferred brand but when I do use them I use the standard 5% 

You can set your desired % in the lye calculator and it will tell you how much to use. Otherwise it is a percentage of the weight of the oils you use e.g.. if I'm doing my standard batch with 2.2kg or 2200g of oil, I multiply that by 0.05 (which is the equivalent of 5%) and I get 110g which is the amount of FO I need for that batch. Hope that helps


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## Sharee (Sep 25, 2019)

Primrose said:


> Yes that brand often has crazy high use rates for their FOs, they are not my preferred brand but when I do use them I use the standard 5%
> 
> You can set your desired % in the lye calculator and it will tell you how much to use. Otherwise it is a percentage of the weight of the oils you use e.g.. if I'm doing my standard batch with 2.2kg or 2200g of oil, I multiply that by 0.05 (which is the equivalent of 5%) and I get 110g which is the amount of FO I need for that batch. Hope that helps



It helps a bit more..  lol.. So the information is for cold press? The person on the video was making mp so why would we ask that question... 
i need a hawaiian breeze then either way. 
Anybody got a good place for FO for mp?


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## dixiedragon (Sep 25, 2019)

Here's an example from Soap Calc, which is a good starting lye calculator to use. A good "standard" fragrance ratio is 5%. My personal preference is 5%-7%. Some fragrances don't allow you to use that much, and I generally don't buy those, or I don't use them in soap. The soap calculator tells me that a 5% fragrance ratio is 1 oz. 

Here is where I do things a bit differently than some soapers - I measure my fragrance oils (and essential oils) in volume. 1 oz of water = 2 tablespoons of water.


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## Sharee (Sep 25, 2019)

dixiedragon said:


> Here's an example from Soap Calc, which is a good starting lye calculator to use. A good "standard" fragrance ratio is 5%. My personal preference is 5%-7%. Some fragrances don't allow you to use that much, and I generally don't buy those, or I don't use them in soap. The soap calculator tells me that a 5% fragrance ratio is 1 oz.
> 
> Here is where I do things a bit differently than some soapers - I measure my fragrance oils (and essential oils) in volume. 1 oz of water = 2 tablespoons of water.
> View attachment 41658



But im just using an mp. Am i supposed to use this as well to calculate fragrance? This sadly is algebra to me.


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## amd (Sep 25, 2019)

How much mp are you making? Do you have a calculator? mp x (% usage rate / 100) = amount FO to use.

So if you are making 100g mp with 5% usage rate:
100 x (5 / 100)
100 x .05 = 5g FO

But for mp I don't think you'll want to use that much - but I don't know. I don't scent my mp as it's just used for embeds in cp. Because mp has already gone through the saponification process the scent retention is much better, so you may be able to use 3% FO. Just what I think, but maybe someone who does scent mp can chime in with some correct information and then we'll both learn


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## dibbles (Sep 25, 2019)

You don't need to use a soap calculator for MP.  Just multiply the number of ounces of MP base you are using by the percentage of FO you want to add. Many suppliers will list usage rates for soap in the FO description. Look for something like this:


If a supplier doesn't list the usage rate, you can email them for it. Remember though that SAFE usage rates is often higher than what you should be using in soap. 

There are also fragrance calculators:
At Nurture Soap Supplies: https://nurturesoap.com/pages/fragrance-calculator
Bramble Berry: https://www.brambleberry.com/calculator?calcType=fragrance

Setting the fragrance calculator to the MP option, it looks like they are both recommending .44 ounces of FO per pound of MP base for a strong scent.


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## dixiedragon (Sep 25, 2019)

I missed that you were using MP. I cheat on this one:
https://www.brambleberry.com/calculator?calcType=fragrance

You can pick MP as the product, and then I choose something similar sounding, because I assume that (for example) Apple Pie FO is going to be pretty similar across the board. 

I think the safe usage (meaning safe for your skin) rate will be the same, since both MP and CP are wash off products (vs leave on like a lotion). A rough "rule of thumb" is to use 1/2 the amount of fragrance for MP that you would for CP, bc the lye monster in CP is going to gobble up some of the fragrance. I'm not an MP expert, so I'd try say 3% if the FO seems to be "medium" strength - not strong, not weak, but "medium". So take the amount of MP  you want to use an multiply by .03 to get 3%. 16 oz of MP would be 16 x .03 = .48. So, round up, that equals .5 oz, which is 1 tablespoon.


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## Sharee (Sep 25, 2019)

dixiedragon said:


> I missed that you were using MP. I cheat on this one:
> https://www.brambleberry.com/calculator?calcType=fragrance
> 
> You can pick MP as the product, and then I choose something similar sounding, because I assume that (for example) Apple Pie FO is going to be pretty similar across the board.
> ...



I’m still trying to figure out where the percentage is coming amou i’m still trying to figure out where the percentage is coming from. 
I failed algebra math.. could be why..
So say I use a package of clear mp
And i want to use say lemon FO
how would i know how much to use.

I see people using eye droppers a lot..


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## amd (Sep 25, 2019)

Sharee said:


> i’m still trying to figure out where the percentage is coming from.
> ...
> So say I use a package of clear mp
> And i want to use say lemon FO
> how would i know how much to use.



The percentage is the safe usage rate provided by the FO supplier. So for the lemon FO in your example, you would look it up on the supplier site (if it's not noted on the bottle, some aren't). As verified by dixiedragon, you need less than the usage rate for mp. The 5% I used in my example above is a common usage rate for FO's in CP, so if you have an FO with a high usage rate (such as the 23% FO in your original post) you would only calculate 5% usage rate. For your use in MP you would be able to use 3-5% roughly.

They use eye droppers to zero in on a fine amount of FO when measuring by weight.


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## dixiedragon (Sep 25, 2019)

How much does your package of MP weigh? I think they are usually 2 lbs?

I'm not sure where you are confused about where the percent is coming from?


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## Obsidian (Sep 25, 2019)

Sharee said:


> I’m still trying to figure out where the percentage is coming amou i’m still trying to figure out where the percentage is coming from.
> I failed algebra math.. could be why..
> So say I use a package of clear mp
> And i want to use say lemon FO
> ...



A 5% usage rate would mean you use 5% of your mp base weight. If you have a pound (16 oz) of mp, 5% of a pound would be .80 oz of FO.
Your mp should say how much FO to use, its usually 2-3% for mp. 

You need a scale to weigh your mp base then your FO. You can use a online percentage calculator to figure out how much FO you need. 
I use https://percentagecalculator.net/

If you are just making a bar or two, you can add just a few drops. I think I was using around 10 drops per bar but I like a lot of scent.

The FO you pictured will work just fine for your mp.


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## Primrose (Sep 25, 2019)

Sharee said:


> It helps a bit more..  lol.. So the information is for cold press? The person on the video was making mp so why would we ask that question...
> i need a hawaiian breeze then either way.
> Anybody got a good place for FO for mp?


 
Cold process not press  but it's the same concept for MP except i believe you can use a lower percentage in MP, so you could try 2-3%


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## Sharee (Sep 26, 2019)

dixiedragon said:


> How much does your package of MP weigh? I think they are usually 2 lbs?
> 
> I'm not sure where you are confused about where the percent is coming from?


Yes 2 pounds


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## shunt2011 (Sep 26, 2019)

Sharee said:


> Yes 2 pounds



If you're melting the entire 2 lbs of soap and want to use 2-3% (I wouldn't go higher on MP unless it's extremely weak).  There's no lye to mess with it as it's already soap.   2% would be .64  oz and 3%  would be .96 oz. of FO.  WSP has Hawaiian Smoothie that's supposed to be a dupe of Hawaiian Breeze.  I'm sure other suppliers carry it as well.


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## Sharee (Sep 26, 2019)

shunt2011 said:


> If you're melting the entire 2 lbs of soap and want to use 2-3% (I wouldn't go higher on MP unless it's extremely weak).  There's no lye to mess with it as it's already soap.   2% would be .64  oz and 3%  would be .96 oz. of FO.  WSP has Hawaiian Smoothie that's supposed to be a dupe of Hawaiian Breeze.  I'm sure other suppliers carry it as well.


How do you know how much percentage to use? Is it a hit and miss? I dont want to waste 1/2 a container of i gradients only to find you can barely smell anything. 
Thanks for the heads up on the Hawaiian smoothie btw! I was trying to figure out where to get his list.


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## Sharee (Sep 26, 2019)

Sharee said:


> How do you know how much percentage to use? Is it a hit and miss? I dont want to waste 1/2 a container of i gradients only to find you can barely smell anything. Im guessing thats where the calculator comes in..
> Thanks for the heads up on the Hawaiian smoothie btw! I was trying to figure out where to get his list.


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## amd (Sep 26, 2019)

Sharee said:


> How do you know how much percentage to use? Is it a hit and miss?


This has been answered for you several times if you read through the responses.
My response in post #13


amd said:


> The percentage is the safe usage rate provided by the FO supplier.


Obsidian's response in post #15


Obsidian said:


> Your mp should say how much FO to use, its usually 2-3% for mp.


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## Sharee (Sep 26, 2019)

amd said:


> This has been answered for you several times if you read through the responses.
> My response in post #13
> 
> Obsidian's response in post #15


Thanks


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## shunt2011 (Sep 26, 2019)

Sharee said:


> How do you know how much percentage to use? Is it a hit and miss? I dont want to waste 1/2 a container of i gradients only to find you can barely smell anything.
> Thanks for the heads up on the Hawaiian smoothie btw! I was trying to figure out where to get his list.


The only way you will know is trial and error.   Same way we all learned what works best in our formulas.   It will also vary from FO to FO.  So testing is the only way to find out. the advantage to MP is you can always melt it again and add more.


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