Does kaolin clay do THAT much to anchor scent??

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

I totally changed my recipe around and switched to a dual lye recipe- and (like an idiot) somehow forgot to keep kaolin clay in there to help anchor my scent. After 4-5 months most of these soaps are nearly scentless. I soap at room temp with 5% fragrance. With my last recipe my soaps kept their scent for a couple years. Is the lack of clay the most likely culprit, or are some oils better than others at retaining scent? Thank you!

 

[IrishLass]

Some fragrance oils are definitely stronger and much better at retaining their scents than others. For what it's worth, I personally have never used clay or anything else to help retain the strength of my scents. If I find an FO to not hold it's strength in my soap for at least a year or so at its maximum usage rate, I drop it from my inventory and find another one that will.....and more often than not, I usually find one from another vendor that holds up quite well.


IrishLass

 

[Susie]

Kaolin does nothing to help citrus EOs stick around. I did not try it on FOs, so I am no help there.

 

[shunt2011]

I have never used kaolin to anchor any scent. I'm with IL that if it doesn't last it's gone. Fortunately, I've only had it happen a handful of times over the years. I need reliable fragrances that last.

 

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

It's not a couple scents that have disappeared- it's all of them. Kind of wild, really.

 

[toxikon]

It's not a couple scents that have disappeared- it's all of them. Kind of wild, really.

Where did you order them from?

 

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

Where did you order them from?

These were essential oils and fragrance oils from wholesale supplies plus, and some essential oils from Camden gray.

 

[jcandleattic]

I have to ditto what IL said. Like her, clay is not a part of my normal soaping recipes. If a scent fades, I get rid of it, and won't use it in my soaping.

 

[Susie]

These were essential oils and fragrance oils from wholesale supplies plus, and some essential oils from Camden gray.

I am not defending WSP, but I have purchased quite a bit from them with no problem.

I am wondering two things:
1. What usage rate did you use? (How much PPO?)
2. Did you try using them a few times to see if the scent just faded on the outer layer? I find this happens often, but then once they are used (or planed) a couple of times, the scent comes right back.

 

[jules92207]

I think I tried using clay once to anchor and really didn't notice much difference in retention. When an EO or FO doesn't want to stick around it's not going to no matter what I do.

What I have found helps is to blend with something I know will stick well and compliments the fragrance your having trouble with. Like I anchor my citrus EO's with lavender, lemongrass or litsea as I know they stick around well. It seems to help the troublemaker from running away.

Also, I order a lot from WSP, but I don't buy anything where the max usage isn't 5% or higher as I know anything less than that probably won't be strong enough to make me happy, I like strong scents.
[emoji4]

 

[penelopejane]

You probably aren't using enough of those particular scents in your batches.

 

[IrishLass]

.....Or the particular EO's or FO's just happen to be typical faders.

For what it's worth, I've found every single vendor that I have ever used (at least 10 of them offhand, including WSP) to have both faders and stickers when it comes to soaping, meaning that no single vendor out there has the corner on stickers (or faders). It sure would make shopping for scents soooo much easier if the opposite were the case, but the best we can do is shop around and/or rely on word-of-mouth through the various scent review boards as to who has the best of this or that scent.

Can you post the names of the actual scents? If so, maybe some of us can point you to who might have a stronger version of your scents.


IrishLass