How do I make my soaps overpoweringly fragrant?

[steve4soap]

I notice that my soaps from Soapier.com and other various soaps I've bought from boutique stores have incredibly strong fragrances that stink up rooms and stick to your body.

I know some of these are melt and pour soaps and those fragrances tend to be stronger. Does anyone have any tips for CP soap and making fragrances smell stronger?

What is the maximum amount of FO I can safely add to a pound of oil? Right now I use about 1oz PPO but am curious if I can "double-fragrance" them like is advertised on some soap stores.

 

[dieSpinne]

Most FOs have a maximum safe usage guideline on them...
That being said, if you are using 1 oz PPO, then you are in line with what most of us are doing with our CP soaps. "Double Strength" may not be what you think it is... you may already be at double strength when you use 1oz PPO.

That being said, I have noticed that some FOs are MUCH stronger than others... Citrus tends to fade quickly whereas some florals can take over a room to the point of being smothering.

 

[IrishLass]

As dieSpinne mentioned- you will need to look at the max usage guideline that comes with the FO. Most FO suppliers (but not all) list the usage rates on their sites. If you don't see a usage rate listed, I would contact them and ask. Just adding more indescriminately is not a good idea because of potential allergy issues, toxicity issues, and also possible issues with your soap such as leakage, seizing, etc....

The best tip I can give you is to research the miriad of fragrances over at the following site (below) and buy only those that are have been rated as being strong stickers in soap (that's what I do).

http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/


IrishLass

 

[bluenote]

I'm also interested in the answer to this.

 

[krissy]

some FO's are strong, some are not. you cant go above what is safe just because you want a strong smell. your best option would be to do your research by reading reviews from others on specific scents and to trial and error with your personal recipes.

 

[bluenote]

I just looked up some of the maxes on Natures garden (of which I have some of their scents), and they seem to list a range between 1% to 5% of the finished product. At 5% , with a fairly low water content as I prefer,
this works out to be about 2.4 oz in 2.2 lbs of oil.
At 1% it would necessarily be quite a bit less.

The original question still remains though - how does a home soaper get those room filling scents? Do commercial manufacturers have access to more concentrated scents [I assume they do]?

To have to limit yourself to strong scents that are allowable at higher concentrations doesn't seem to be a real solution to this issue.
If those are in fact hard limits, then personally I have no choice but to try and source something better.

Surely someone here already knows the answer to this?

 

[PrairieCraft]

I guess some of us aren't sure what you're getting at. I have purchased FOs from multiple different well known suppliers that are strong at their regular usage rate. There are some that are actually way too strong at 1 oz ppo and I have to use less. Have you been soaping long? It may be that you have gotten some duds. I have sampled hundreds of FO's (this is not an exaggeration) to find a few dozen that I like that also don't fade. Fading scent is a problem with CP soap as not all FOs stand up in it.

 

[IrishLass]

IThe original question still remains though - how does a home soaper get those room filling scents?

I apologise if I'm not understanding your question properly, but I believe the question was already answered in the above posts?

Like PrairieCraft, I have several strong FOs that scent my whole house when used at their proper usage rate in my soap. Some are even so strong I can use much less than the highest recommended usage rate. And I also have many lighter FOs as well. I came by those room-filling scents from researching at the link I gave in my post above.

Also, when it comes to room-filling scents, bear in mind that much depends on our individual senses of smell. The scent receptors in our noses are peculiar things. Depending on which receptors are saturated or overloaded at any given time, what one percieves as being a strong scent, another will percieve as being a weak to non-existent scent, or maybe even a different kind of scent altogether. Take jasmine, for example. To some it smells like a beautiful flower, while to others it smells like (pardon my crudeness) cat pee.


IrishLass

 

[bluenote]

I am relatively new. I've done somewhere in the neighbourhood of 50 lbs of soap I would say. I don't believe I've gotten any 'duds', however I have a tonne of different scents and there is obviously differences between them between strong and not so strong.

I know what steve is talking about when he says "a bar" can fill a room - I don't personally buy lush but I guess some of their stuff is strongly scented, because I have had the experience of finding the bathroom filled with the scent from one bar.

Surprisingly, that 5% max limit doesn't work out to be very much FO.
And, although I thought it was obvious, but, 1% is obviously quite a lot less than what I calculated above, and even more restrictive.

I've also been exposed to a range of handmade soaps made for sale, and generally speaking I did not find their scents to be very scent-able without sticking the soap to your nose. Not bad, mind you, but not as strong as the occasional commercial soap I've come across.

Keep in mind, I'm not talking about fresh soap still curing, and I'm not talking about the fact that your house will smell after making that fresh batch of soap either.

So, regardless of your personal taste, if you had to create a smellier bar, how would you go about it?

Not really looking for a rehash of what has already been said, but I would love it if someone who hadn't already weighed in would share any knowledge that hasn't been shared already.

thanks!

PS. I'm not casting any aspersions on anyone's soaps, or fragrances. I'm just interested in how to get the strongest result possible.

 

[PrairieCraft]

Not really looking for a rehash of what has already been said, but I would love it if someone who hadn't already weighed in would share any knowledge that hasn't been shared already.

thanks!

PS. I'm not casting any aspersions on anyone's soaps, or fragrances. I'm just interested in how to get the strongest result possible.

I've never noticed a bar of commercial soap scent my bathroom like some of the homemade soaps I've used. I'm not only talking about my own soaps here either. Personally, I couldn't even smell the L*ush bar soaps in the store even with it up my nose.

So, what soap is it that we're comparing to? Zest, Ivory, Dial??

I know this is a repeat of what has been said (fortunately this is an open forum and even though you apparently don't want to hear my own or anyone else who has already responded to this thread speak further on the matter...) but it all has to do with the individual FO not the amount of it you use. Where have you been getting yours?

 

[Dennis]

Just switch to melt and pour. Seems reasonable to me for more consistent greater smellage. Uhoh, that's not a word is it. It should be. 8)

 

[HutCar92]

I mostly use NG for my FO. They have recommended usage rates, however their MSDS limits are higher. I've never gone above what they recommend but for what it seems on the MSDS you could use more. I'm by no means saying it should be done but according to their sheets you can

 

[Soapy Gurl]

Won't increasing the usage rate up the chance of skin irritation? The limit must be there for a reason. Plus the trouble it could cause in the soap. Separation, ricing, seizing, yikes!

 

[bluenote]

I mostly use NG for my FO. They have recommended usage rates, however their MSDS limits are higher. I've never gone above what they recommend but for what it seems on the MSDS you could use more. I'm by no means saying it should be done but according to their sheets you can

This is excellent info, thanks hutcar.

I'm showing my ignorance of the topic, but I wonder if the materials that are a problem are actually the chemicals that make up the scent themselves, or if its other materials such as the carrier and any other pieces of the fragrance puzzle. I imagine it's some combination, but I'm curious.

 

[HutCar92]

Your welcome and as always its very important to test. Good luck!

 

[PrairieCraft]

There are some scents that just do not work well in cp soap. Citrus, coconut, coffee are just a few that come to mind off hand, there are others. It's not a supplier problem. Vanilla more often than not ends up smelling like playdoh plastic or nothing. From vendor to vendor.

Chemically I can't tell you what components exist in these formulas that makes them incompatible with cp. We do have some chemistry people here, maybe someone more knowledgeable will chime in. If you haven't played with color yet, you will find that some colorants have the same issues, morphing and fading.

I would rather find FOs that work well at the recommended rates than use more of something that doesn't. Besides the potential for skin irritation there is the additional expense of using more product per batch.

 

[Dragonkaz]

I anchor my citrus EO's with base notes EO or cornflour and they last amazingly and smell splendid.

I've had feedback that a piece of my soap smelt a hospital ward for days, it had been left in the top draw of a patients bedside table / that a piece of my soap kept a house smelling divine for months etc. I usually use below the recommended maximum and in general use 2% to 3% of EO's and FO's.

Me personally ... often I can't smell my soap. I can't smell how wonderful my house apparently smells. It's annoying, but it seems the more I smell soap the less I smell it. ):

 

[krissy]

I can't smell how wonderful my house apparently smells.

me too! people always comment on how great the house smells and want to know what candle i am using, but i am not using one, it is just all the soap!

 

[PippiL]

I always use a little more, I love to have my bars smell strong,too.
I test all my bars,never had an irritation problem.

 

[walkinwounded]

Have you considered using EO's, I find their scent lasts a lot longer than FO's and are much stronger, and like DragonKaz, I use something to anchor them, I like using clays in my soap for this, also like what was mentioned, use a mixture of scents that combine well so you have a good base note to help anchor the top notes that tipically over power a room for my nose.