Dealing with an EO / FO anxiety in the CP process

[BubbleBitch]

Because I am no expert at the delicate alchemy of cp soap making, I am trying to think of ideas that eliminate any possible f*ck ups that may occur.:twisted:

One thing I am particularly anxious of is mixing in the fragrance / essential oils...I've heard many a horror story whereby the trace seizes up or the batch is ruined or discolored when the oils are introduced.

My idea, is leaving the cp, plain, maybe coloring it, but plain re: no fragrance or essential oils. Then cubing some mp soap that is colored and scented and mixing it into the plain cp soap.

When I unmold and cut the soap, there would be something of a mosaic effect, that is pretty awesome, the scent would be there and I wouldn't have to worry at all about ruining the cp part of it.

What do you guys think?
Is this a good idea? Any improvements?

 

[Healinya]

If you want to... but honestly - just go for it! Don't be worried about it seizing. Use good quality oils and only use .7oz ppo. Don't be nervous about it.

 

[Deda]

Maybe try a small batch where you add the FO/EO to the oil BEFORE you add the lye. I'm so lazy, I always add everything I can before I add the lye. It's just easy and I don't have to 'do the dance' until the end.

 

[Lucy]

Not all batches seize. Most do not. you will find out soon enogh which FO or EO are seizers then you work accordingly.

 

[BubbleBitch]

Healinya, forgive my gumshoe-ness, but what does the .7oz ppo mean?

If you want to... but honestly - just go for it! Don't be worried about it seizing. Use good quality oils and only use .7oz ppo. Don't be nervous about it.

Thanks for the advice guys. :twisted:

 

[cdwinsby]

.7 ppo - means - .7 per pound of oils ......use .7 ounces of fragrance or essential oils per pound of base oils used in your recipe.

If you stick with an easy essential oil like lavender (that was my first scent) or ask around for the name of a tried and true fragrance oil, you should have no problem. Just make sure you have done your research first and keep it simple to start.

Your idea sounds nice but maybe get the basics down before adding things like decorative pieces. Many people start out by making a plain batch without scent or color and then with each new batch try out something different like adding scent and then color.

Remember that the plain batches can be used later as decorative pieces so they won't go to waste. You could even try out rebatching and making soap balls with them.

 

[IrishLass]

I know I've mentioned this somewhere here before (can't remember the exact thread at the moment, dag nab it), but here is a really good place to check out whether or not a fragrance will seize in soap:

http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/

Before I decide to buy any scent, I like to check and see if it's been reviewed there first. The site does not have a complete list of every fragrance or EO from every supplier, but it's actually quite an extensive list, and it's the only 'one-stop' place I know of for good info on scent performance in soap. All of the reviews on the site are written by regular handmade soapers like all of us here (I go by VanillaBeanie over there), and you can register and write your own reviews, too.

Like Lucy said, not all batches seize, and most do not, but you know what? Even if they do, all is not lost. You can just immediately take your seizing batch over to the stove and HP it into submission. I've done that with 3 of my batches, and they each turned out great.

As far as the scented MP in the CP goes, there's certainly nothing wrong with trying it. I've added scented MP chunks to many of my CP batches before and they add a really cool-looking dimension to those soaps. As far as the scent goes, though, I don't know how strong the scent would be if only the MP was scented. In my CP soaps with the scented MP chunks in it, I had scented the CP part with a different but complimentary scent, and it's very hard now to smell the MP part anymore. Maybe with your unscented CP you might have better results because it's not competeing with a different scent. It's certainly worth a try!

HTH!
IrishLass

 

[BubbleBitch]

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice!

IrishLass, unfortunately I cannot sign up on the soapscentreview board as all I have is a gmail addy and they don't accept that...pity though, it seems like such an integral resource in this whole process.

I am ordering some supplies from wholesalesuppliesplus.com and getting some fragrance oils from there...has anyone purchased from them before?

 

[Healinya]

Yeah, WSP is the only place I've gotten fragrance from so far. I do have an order from soapsuplies on the way tho. Let me know what scents to you and what you think of them. There's so many to choose, my wallet can't support my habit.

 

[BubbleBitch]

It looks like it could become quite an expensive habit...:twisted:
When I perused the lists of FO's and saw that they do (I think it is referred to as) dupes of B&B Works & The Body Shop stuff...I thought I would just faint...lol.

"And I want this one...and this one...and that one....ooh! and that one..."

$1,000,000.00 later...I'm living out of a cardboard box...but I smell fantastic, lol.

 

[Healinya]

Bubble, http://www.soapsupplies.net/ has dupes for a reasonable price. I haven't soaped with them yet (tho many here have) I did get a nice box in the mail today(very fast - I didn't even think they mailed the order out yet) and in the bottle, they smell great.

 

[BubbleBitch]

Healinya, I just browsed the soapsupplies site...some really nice scents...alas, a little more expensive than wholesalesuppliesplus...when I start making money on this project I will however try ordering scents from them!

In their M-z section, there's a scent, River Dance...ooh! That looks divine!

 

[Healinya]

Some scents are more, but the VS and other brand types, most of them are around a $15 difference for the 16oz bottles.

 

[Ilovesoap]

Also, just a little tip. I you are adding scent to cp - if you will work more at a room temp type temperature it gives you a little more time to work with your soap and fragrances. Warmer temps seize a little sooner than working room temp. If you are working with eo's be advised that cinnamon and clove are notorious seizers.

I prefer to add scent at trace and don't really find that I have seizing very often at all. The only one I have had trouble with was cinnamon and even then I just kept right on blending and when it came to a good trace I had to pour it quickly, but it was all manageable. Just always be ready if you think something might seize, have your mold lined color ready to go etc. so that you can move quickly and you will be fine.

 

[IrishLass]

Thank you so much everyone for all your advice!

IrishLass, unfortunately I cannot sign up on the soapscentreview board as all I have is a gmail addy and they don't accept that...pity though, it seems like such an integral resource in this whole process.

I am ordering some supplies from wholesalesuppliesplus.com and getting some fragrance oils from there...has anyone purchased from them before?

That's a real bummer about not being able to register at the ScentReviewBoard. Well, if you ever find yourself really interested in a particular scent, but don't know it's performance stats in CP, you can PM me and I will gladly look it up for you to see if it has been reviewed on the ScentReviewBoard, and then report it back to you.

At least you have some recourse by buying at Wholesale SuppliesPlus (WSP). They have a section under each scent where people can write their reviews of that particular scent. The reviews are kind of a hit or miss thing where CP is concerned because not everyone uses their scents to make soap, but every so often you get lucky. I love WSP and have never been dissatisfied with what I've bought from them. They're one of my main suppliers (among way too many others ).


IrishLass

 

[mandolyn]

Many suppliers of fo's/eo's will note if there's a chance of discoloring, seizing, etc. Not all suppliers do that, so I go with the ones who do. Some do their own testing as well.
brambleberry.com is good for listing possible gotcha's.

 

[BubbleBitch]

Ilovesoap - I was planning on adding soap at trace too, just because it seems safe that way...with eo's and even some fo's, they are so volatile and heat sensitive, I wouldn't want to lose their aromatherapy before I even got started!

Irishlass - I most certainly will take you up on the offer to review scents for me, lol...an excellent idea. Look out for a pm from me soon!

Mandolyn - I've found at WSP, they have a very comprehensive listing of ALL their products, but esp. with the oils, they mention Vanilla content and discoloration caution. Will dig up on Brambleberry soon! ta!