Arg!!!!! I hate EO and FO in CP Soap!

[SunRiseArts]

I have made like 7 loafs so far. The one that came beautiful had no fragrance on it. 3 of them got totally ruined. One I had to rebatch.

Seems the fragrance always ruins my soap! What am I doing wrong? Help?


:headbanging:

 

[penelopejane]

I have made like 7 loafs so far. The one that came beautiful had no fragrance on it. 3 of them got totally ruined. One I had to rebatch.

Seems the fragrance always ruins my soap! What am I doing wrong? Help?

Making soap is so frustrating but to help you the gurus here will need the recipe including the amount of lye and water, FO, additives and your method. Do you CPOP? If so what temp do you use.

Sometimes even the FO will make a difference so where you buy it from and the name is important too.

 

[IrishLass]

Ditto what Penelope said^^^.


IrishLass

 

[powderpink]

And how did it ruin your soap? Do you not like the smell? Did it make your batch seize? etc. etc.

 

[Susie]

I have been soaping 3 years and I still get surprised sometimes. Just two days ago I blended a couple of FOs and a bit of an EO together. All of them behaved beautifully apart. I put the scent in the oils, added the lye, and hit the SB about 3 seconds, and got soap on a stick. Seriously! The last 3 batches I have made have done that to me. I just write it down in the "Scent blend" file as a problem, and don't make it again. I now have enough soap for a huge rebatch. I hate making rebatched soap, but I can donate the soap once it is done and cured.

Life is like that sometimes. You just have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, decide that you have learned the lesson, and don't repeat the mistakes. Then move on to the next thing. I am not going to stop making soap, but I may use straight FOs that are unblended with other things for a while. I just have so many small bits of this and that left over, I need to use them up before ordering more.

 

[christost7]

Same here, more or less...
For my last few batches of soap I have settled in adding the FO/EO/blend/whatever at the last possible second, give it a stir or two with a whisk and mould the darn thing asap, just to be on the safe side.
No fancy swirling etc when I need to use up any leftover FOs and EOs for me.

 

[Susie]

I forgot about doing that! Thank you! I really, really must use these little bits up!

 

[christost7]

I forgot about doing that! Thank you! I really, really must use these little bits up!

Apart from using them in soap, I find an oil heater extremely useful in using up any leftover small quantities of FOs and/or EOs....Plus my wife likes making scented soy candles

 

[dixiedragon]

What fragrances are you using? Are they soap safe?

I think with fragrance it's very helpful to buy from companies who are also soapers. For example, while Peak Candle has some great fragrances, they aren't "soap people" primarily so they aren't my first choice. Brambleberry and Nurture are soap people. When you buy a fragrance, read the reviews. On sights specializing in soap, you will almost always find a review of the performance of the fragrance in cP.

 

[toxikon]

Yes, reading reviews is very important. I usually buy from WSP and make sure to read reviews from CP soapmakers. And if the fragrance is on the forum's FO Review list, that's a bonus too!

 

[randycoxclemson]

Seems the fragrance always ruins my soap! What am I doing wrong?

I guess the flippant answer is "you're using fragrances."

But seriously, at least half my soaps are scent free (I know so many people who don't like scents in soap, though I know a LOT of people shove the bar up to their nose first thing).

I think I only had one batch (I'm up to about 45 batches in the past 10 months) behave poorly when I added FO (at the last possible moment). But it was beaten into submission when it looked like it was going to rice up on me. What exactly happened to your soap that "ruined" it. It just wasn't as pretty or it separated or what?

 

[SunRiseArts]

Thank you all. I have used different recipes, but I always put them through a lye calculator for safety...

The first fragrance that ruined the soap my son gave it to me, he bought on eBay. Never again ... it raised to the top. It was my Christmas soap! But I do always double and triple check they are soap safe.

I mostly get my fragrances from BrambleBerry, and Natures Garden, so they have the technical information. Sometimes I buy from lonestar, but those I have only used on MP. Not crazy about them either.

The only thing I do not always measure is the fragrance. Maybe that is what I am doing wrong? Putting too much?

 

[snappyllama]

Not measuring is probably your culprit. Always weigh everything that goes into your soap.

first, check the IFRA limits - the supplier should have that listed. Do not exceed that. Lots of EOs have never small allowable limits.

Then stick with reasonable limits for the soap itself. I normally do 1oz ppo (that means one ounce of FO per pound of oils). I put that into my lye calculator and actually measure in grams since that is much more precise.

 

[dixiedragon]

The measuring could be the problem. Some FOs are fine in small amounts, but can make the soap misbehave in larger amounts. I confess, I do not weigh fragrances, I use a teaspoon. Mainly b/c I don't want dribbles of expensive FO and EO down the sides of the bottles.

 

[IrishLass]

I agree with Snappyllama- always weigh everything that goes into your soap, including FO's.

Also- always check the safe usage rate (they each come with their own and can oftentimes differ greatly). For what it's worth, the safe usage rates that companies list are normally based on weight, not volume because not all FO's weigh the same- some are more dense and heavier than others, sometimes significantly so.

The majority of the FO's I use are good for me at .75 oz. ppo, and some are stronger than an acre of garlic and are plenty good enough at .3 oz. or .5 oz. ppo. Also- some of my FOs that accelerate at .75 oz. ppo, behave very nicely at .5 oz. ppo. The highest amount of them that I ever use is 1 oz. ppo, but only with very weak smelling FOs, and only if the higher amount falls within its safe usage rate.

I confess, I do not weigh fragrances, I use a teaspoon. Mainly b/c I don't want dribbles of expensive FO and EO down the sides of the bottles.

Here's how to pour without spilling a drop: http://www.modernsoapmaking.com/pouring-essential-oils-without-spilling-a-drop/


IrishLass

 

[BattleGnome]

I've still managed to spill with that method, it it is much better than I was doing before.

 

[Susie]

I've still managed to spill with that method, it it is much better than I was doing before.

I gave up and started just using pipettes to transfer the FO (but I always weigh it).

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IQTSE0/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I use that method, but with a stainless steel skewer - much thinner which makes it easier for me to handle. Works with smaller bottles, too

 

[SunRiseArts]

Again, Thank you!. Yes I never added more than 1 oz per pound, but I will always measure from now on. But I think I learned why it was happening. I was stirring the FO or EO with the stick blender..... :headbanging:

Now I just use the spatula, and it has not happen again. I practice on three new batches I made. Granted I only make 1 pound loafs, because I am practicing.

 

[penelopejane]

Again, Thank you!. Yes I never added more than 1 oz per pound, but I will always measure from now on. But I think I learned why it was happening. I was stirring the FO or EO with the stick blender..... :headbanging:

Now I just use the spatula, and it has not happen again. I practice on three new batches I made. Granted I only make 1 pound loafs, because I am practicing.

I don't know that you've discovered the reason yet. I put my FOs in with the oils and SB before I put the lye in and SB again.

You don't have to SB fragrances of course but be careful that they actually get mixed in well or you will have other problems.

I think Susie's idea of the EO and FO reacting might be closer to it.