How much FO do you use?

[ibct1969]

I am curious to see how much fragrance oil per pound of oils you all use in your CP soap. I have tried .5 in the past and more recently, .7. Nothing is sticking past cure time of 6 weeks or the cured soap doesn't smell anything close to what is smells like oob. Regardless of recipe. I have been using both Brambleberry and Nurture FOs. I feel like I have wasted so much money! Has anyone else experienced this? Which FOs stick for you all and how much do you use? Thanks

 

[Rusti]

which oils have you used that have faded? I've had lots of great scents from BB that have stuck well and forever.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I use nurture and natures garden mostly and haven't had much trouble with fading. I use strong scents like dragons blood at 3% and lighter scents at 5% ppo. I've never used brambleberry.

Some I've experienced as stickers from nurture...
Cinders
Satsuma
Karma
Winter wonderland
Fairy garden
Supernova

I know there's more that I've still liked at 6 months but that's all that's popping to the tip of my tongue at the moment.

Have you tried the cured soaps in the shower or just sniffing dry? Sometimes a scent really pops back once you get it wet.

 

[ibct1969]

Rusti- All of the oils (I have tried around six) from Nurture have faded to nothing, except Sambucus, and Winter Wonderland which are really awesome. I just used Karma at .07 last weekend, and after a week the scent is almost gone.

mx6inpenn, I will give some of your other recommendations a shot.

 

[penelopejane]

Rusti- All of the oils (I have tried around six) from Nurture have faded to nothing, except Sambucus, and Winter Wonderland which are really awesome. I just used Karma at .07 last weekend, and after a week the scent is almost gone.

mx6inpenn, I will give some of your other recommendations a shot.

Check the forum fragrance list first for ones that fade, accelerate, rice etc. it will save you a lot of time and money. Or ask here first if one is not listed.

Citrus EOs and FOS tend to fade.

 

[cmzaha]

I use my fragrances at 6% including my very strong DB and Hardwood Musk. I do go very light on clove and cinnamon eo's. I know many would not agree with me, but soap is a wash-off and not staying on you skin like a lotion. If my scent is not strong in my soaps I simply cannot sell it and it becomes a big waste that I cannot afford

 

[penelopejane]

I use my fragrances at 6% including my very strong DB and Hardwood Musk. I do go very light on clove and cinnamon eo's. I know many would not agree with me, but soap is a wash-off and not staying on you skin like a lotion. If my scent is not strong in my soaps I simply cannot sell it and it becomes a big waste that I cannot afford

Is that 6% ppl or 6% of batter?

 

[jewels621]

I only use FO's in soap so I can't address EO's. I always set my fragrance rate in soapcalc at 50g per kilo, which is 5%....unless IFRA recommendations are less. But I rarely use FO's that IFRA says should be used at less than 5% for a category 9 product. I always write right on the bottle the cat9 IFRA max percentage, so if I'm soaping and I add my 5% and I don't feel it's enough, I can quickly determine whether it's safe to add more.

 

[penelopejane]

I’ve bought small bottles of FO and tested them - stuck and smelt great. Bought a large bottle - doesn’t stick! So annoying. I’m changing my supplier but I’ve noticed natures garden has had similar comments recently.

Are FO companies diluting their FOs to make them cheaper?

 

[dibbles]

I found Nurture's Karma to be a light scent OOB. The max usage rate on that one is 2% or something like that. I haven't used it yet, but I ordered Karma from Fragrance Buddy on the recommendation of a couple of members here. It smells great.

From Nurture I have had good luck with most of the FOs I've tried. Paramour (was Tramp) retains a medium scent, Somali Soul, Honey I washed the Kids, Delhi Junction, Flame Tree are a few that come to mind that stay strong. I usually go with 1 oz PPO. I've tried so many and not too many have disappeared - ask if you are wondering about something in particular.

Brambleberry - For the most part, I have very few from Brambleberry that have faded as well.

I should say that they are not as strong as when first cut, but I would still consider the soaps to be well scented.

 

[jewels621]

I've not really had any issues with scent not sticking, either. The couple of times that I thought the scent disappeared, it popped right back out when the soap got wet.

 

[Kittish]

I am curious to see how much fragrance oil per pound of oils you all use in your CP soap. I have tried .5 in the past and more recently, .7. Nothing is sticking past cure time of 6 weeks or the cured soap doesn't smell anything close to what is smells like oob. Regardless of recipe. I have been using both Brambleberry and Nurture FOs. I feel like I have wasted so much money! Has anyone else experienced this? Which FOs stick for you all and how much do you use? Thanks

Are those numbers a percentage or ounces per pound of oils? Either way, it looks like possibly your main problem is not using enough.

 

[ibct1969]

Kittish and penelopejane, I am using .5 up to .7 oz per pound of oils, based on what the seller's site says to use.

I don't sell, but I give a lot away. The first thing people do is smell, even before they ask what's in it. I do the same thing! I know people should be happy to have a free bar of soap, but it's more irritating to spend money on FOs that fade. I'll keep experimenting.

 

[toxikon]

I use strong scents like dragons blood at 3% and lighter scents at 5% ppo.

I do the same. Never any trouble with scents sticking - I make sure to use ones that are well-reviewed by cold process soapmakers.

 

[penelopejane]

Kittish and penelopejane, I am using .5 up to .7 oz per pound of oils, based on what the seller's site says to use.

I don't sell, but I give a lot away. The first thing people do is smell, even before they ask what's in it. I do the same thing! I know people should be happy to have a free bar of soap, but it's more irritating to spend money on FOs that fade. I'll keep experimenting.

That is 3% - 4% of FO ppo.
Moderate amount is around 5% FO ppo.
Some use 8% ppo.

I think you need to use more. I use 5% minimum and often more depending on the supplier.

 

[jcandleattic]

I typically use 6% unless the IFRA says it needs to be lower. If lower, I usually skip that fragrance unless I really want to use it.

There are some FO's that I use that are so strong in CP, I drop those down to 3%.

 

[shunt2011]

I too pretty much use 6%. Of course there are some exceptions.

 

[penelopejane]

The brambleberry calculator uses per pound of mix oils+lye+water.
So if you have a total mix of 16 oz (450g) for fresh bamboo
Light = 0.44 oz (12.5g)
Medium = 0.68 oz (19g)
Strong= 0.8 oz (22.5 g)

If you are measuring per pound of oils (like so many people who are having trouble with FOs sticking are using) for 1 lb of oils if you are putting in the above amounts you are using much less than the recommended because 16 oz (450g) of oils = 24.5 oz 700g of mix which requires:
Light = 0.68 oz (19g)
Medium = 1.5 oz (30g)
Strong= 1.23 oz (35 g)

Shunt, jcandleattic, cmzaha, dibbles and others do you use per pound of total mix when you are stating the % of FO?

5% ppo of 16oz (450g) = 0.7 oz (22g)
5% total mix of 24.5 oz (700g)= 1.2 oz (35g)

 

[jcandleattic]

Shunt, jcandleattic, cmzaha, dibbles and others do you use per pound of total mix when you are stating the % of FO?

I use ppo - approximately 1oz FO to 16oz total oils.

If it's a cloying floral or something very strong, I only use .5oz PPO

 

[dibbles]

I usually use 1ounce PPO. Then adjust up or down if I wasn’t happy with the result and am using again.