Essential Oils that don't solidify soaps

[DW2088]

Hello all,

I have a question about which scents of essential oils and or brands do not accelerate the solidification of soap in the cold process. I’ve used different scents and brands, but often, my soap reaches a thick trace too quickly, even with minimal blending. Does the specific scent or the brand of essential oil cause this rapid thickening? I want to work on my soap designs, but the quick thickening (trace) is making it difficult to experiment with new ideas. Does anyine have any idea??

 

[ScentimentallyYours]

Where have you purchased essential oils @DW2088?

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Most reputable soap supply vendors will tell you how the essential oils they sell behave in CP soap.
Below is the link to Brambleberry's site, filtered for essential oils that behave well in CP soap.
https://www.brambleberry.com/shop-b...?prefn1=performance_label&prefv1=Behaves Well

 

[akseattle]

@DW2088 , I haven't used essential oils in cold process soap very much. But, if I recall, I think I thought lemon essential oil seemed to slow down trace.
I have been using a lard recipe for my last 10 batches or so. Although I've been thinking of trying other recipes that rely less heavily on lard, I've been doing alot of fragrance testing. If you don't object to lard, I have found lard based recipes to be EXTREMELY slow moving. You can stick blend without fear.

I use the same lard recipe when I am testing a new fragrance so that I can remove one variable and know if it is the fragrance or something else that has caused acceleration. At this time, I would also use my same lard recipe if I want to work on a design since I know I'll have lots of time.

There are probably other oils that also slow trace, but lard happens to be one that I stumbled upon. So, your selection of oils is something you might want to consider if there is an EO that you like but you're avoiding due to acceleration.

 

[DeeAnna]

...I’ve used different scents and brands, but often, my soap reaches a thick trace too quickly, even with minimal blending....

You've decided the problem is the fragrance, but I'm not convinced. This one statement tells me you have had uniformly bad luck choosing fragrances or -- what's more likely based on similar problems reported by other soap makers -- that something about your technique might be the real reason for this issue.

Why not step away from your belief the fragrance is the issue and take a broader look at your general soap making technique. Maybe give some thought about sharing here the way you make your soap and asking readers for a critique.

 

[bookworm42]

Same with @DeeAnna above. Maybe it's your recipe and not the fragrance. What is your recipe and technique and maybe we can help you trouble shoot.