Fragrance oils losing smell

[dibbles]

I too have good luck with both of those FOs sticking. Nurture BRV is one of the few I use at .75 or .8 and am happy with the strength. Both last over 6 months for me. I'd have others give them a sniff.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I thought my 'Sunshine on my mind' from Nurture had faded a LOT in just a month's cure, but I'm using it in the shower and the hot water really wakes the scent back up. Maybe will be the same with the other citrus ones?

In my experience, when a scent fades, it usually comes back with use. My latest batch, 67% shea butter, had no scent at all at 4-5 weeks. It also had soda ash, my first experience with that. I suspect it's due to the age of the raw shea butter I've been meaning to soap for a very long time and finally got around to it. Anyway, I gave the bars a salt water bath to remove the ash and the fragrance, White Tea & Amber from BB, came through just fine.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use strong EOs to anchor some of mine. For example in my Rose soap I use a smidge of patchouli. You don’t smell it, only the Rose come through.
Alas, some FOs just don’t stick. You learn over time which ones are worth buying again and which ones are no good.

 

[LilianNoir]

Chiming in to say that Nurture satsuma is ridiculous with it's retention and strength. I put a TINY amount of it in a blend, and it took over, even surpassing the patchouli. 6 weeks later, it's settled down a bit but is still dominant and very prominent. I'm actually pretty annoyed about it

 

[Basil]

Anyway, I gave the bars a salt water bath to remove the ash and the fragrance, White Tea & Amber from BB, came through just fine.

I have some soaps that are almost a year old that have ash. I had a problem with that until I learned more about lye/liquid ratios. What is a salt water bath and could I try that on these?

 

[KiwiMoose]

Chiming in to say that Nurture satsuma is ridiculous with it's retention and strength. I put a TINY amount of it in a blend, and it took over, even surpassing the patchouli. 6 weeks later, it's settled down a bit but is still dominant and very prominent. I'm actually pretty annoyed about it

Lol. First world soaping problems.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I have some soaps that are almost a year old that have ash. I had a problem with that until I learned more about lye/liquid ratios. What is a salt water bath and could I try that on these?

It's totally up to you, @Basil. I run about a half sink full of warm water. Add a cuddle of salt (cup your hand and pour salt into your palm to "cuddle" it ). Add salt to the water and swish it around to dissolve it. I use a washcloth to smooth down all edges of the bars while giving the soap several turns. Stand the bars on end on a drainer to allow the water to drain off. Allow to air dry.

I saw that on Martha Stewart's Cooking Show. She made Castile soap with an instructor. For the final step, she gave an already cured bar a salt bath. This is just me, but I sometimes do that on some bars to soften the edges and give them an overall smoother finish.

Oh, and BTW, I leave the soap sudsy water in the sink and use it throughout the day to wash dishes and wipe down whatever needs wiping down. It's a good cleaner and dishes rinse squeaky clean.

 

[Basil]

It's totally up to you, @Basil. I run about a half sink full of warm water. Add a cuddle of salt (cup your hand and pour salt into your palm to "cuddle" it ). Add salt to the water and swish it around to dissolve it. I use a washcloth to smooth down all edges of the bars while giving the soap several turns. Stand the bars on end on a drainer to allow the water to drain off. Allow to air dry.



Oh, and BTW, I leave the soap sudsy water in the sink and use it throughout the day to wash dishes and wipe down whatever needs wiping down. It's a good cleaner and dishes rinse squeaky clean.

thank you again! I’m going to try both

@Zany_in_CO BTW, I watched Martha Stewart all the time, but never felt like I could keep things as perfect . I saw this sign years ago, and it’s been on my soaping cabinet. Ironic that I’m now going to try the technique you learned from watching her show

 

[LilianNoir]

Lol. First world soaping problems.

I don't know what you're talking about, this is serious business.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I watched Martha Stewart all the time, but never felt like I could keep things as perfect . I saw this sign years ago, and it’s been on my soaping cabinet. Ironic that I’m now going to try the technique you learned from watching her show

Awwww, too funny! Cracked me up!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[math ace]

Not sure how this morphed into citrus FOs lol. These are non citrus fragraces that i feel that are losing smell. One in particular i can think of is my Black Raspberry Vanilla from nurture. My friend wants the whole loaf for xmas gifts. I havent taken any money from her yet, because i told her that we needed to wait for the cure to make sure i was happy with them first. I used 6% FO. They used to smell good enough to eat, Now i have to take a good long whiff before i can smell it.

I thought about making another one with kaolin clay to help it stick, but im not sure i can duplicate the drop swirl.

Another is Earth Meets Sky. These are only about two weeks old, but i really cant smell them at all.

All of my batches get 2oz of FO for my 1000g oils. My holiday Sangria smells out of this world and you can still smell it on your hands afterwards. One girl said its too pretty to use, and she has it on display in her bathroom to smell up the room lol.

I dunno. Maybe its just my nose. Gonna bring some samples in to work and see what my fans think lol.

I think micas and mores black raspberry vanilla is the BEST out there and I've tested many! It sticks for over a year!

 

[Catscankim]

So, brought a bunch of tester soaps out. One girl was happy that i backed off fragrance. Another one said they couldnt smell it at all. Another said it was too light, yet another one said she smells it all night long lol.

JC i dont know what to do lol

 

[earlene]

You have to realize different people have different sniffers AND our olfactory nerves are affected by all sorts of things. So someone can smell something all night long that someone else cannot even smell at all. This is perfectly normal. It's nothing you as a soap maker can control.

Things that affect the sense of smell (and this is by no means a complete list): smoking; prescription AND non-prescription drugs; St. John's Wort; pregnancy; illness; Parkinson's & Alzheimer's diseases; sinus infections; allergies; hormonal imbalances; nasal passage damage (physical, chemical, etc.); tumors of the nose; even psychological conditions can impact our sense of smell.