How are commercial soaps scented?

Darth · Sep 7, 2014

My family uses a $1.5 dollar liquid handsoap that, while not the most exotic, does have nice scents.

I cannot imagine they use the high quality FOs, let alone the EOs that we do.

My bars cost as follows:
65% FOs
25% Oils & lye
10% Color and other additives

I would like to use some of those commercial scents to produce cheap or decorative soap and have no idea where we can source them from.

neeners · Sep 7, 2014

with commercial soaps, they are able to purchase supplies in BULK. that's how they save the money. they're probably buying direct from supplier and not even have a wholesaler as the go-between. the scent used may not even be of good quality... where's it made? (I'm guessing made in China).

also, is your store bought liquid soap actually soap? or is it detergent? read the label. synthetic detergent seems to be much cheaper than real soap.

Darth · Sep 7, 2014

I should have called it handwash; its not soap at all, its SLS probably brought from China and mixed locallly.

I'd still like to know where to get some of those discount perfume/colors that they use since I believe its the same ones used in commercial soap bars that are mainly sodium palmate.

The Efficacious Gentleman · Sep 7, 2014

You can check out alibaba - you can access a lot of foreign mass produced products. You will be looking at buying in not just bulk, but massive amounts though

Dorymae · Sep 7, 2014

Honestly I don't believe they have any special cheap scents or any secret suppliers. They simply buy in huge quantities. If you can buy 5000 gallons of lavender fo I'll bet it will be very cheap per ounce.

holistichonnies · Sep 7, 2014

If it's cheap you want then eBay have loads. But they are just a horrid mixture of toxic chemicals to be honest. Most ppl who but handmade soaps and cosmetics but them as they are less like to have all those toxic chemicals commercial stuff has

Iv failed so many times I'm becoming an expert