Im really confused about fragrance amounts

[Catscankim]

Until now i have used a few BB fragrances. But *somehow my fragrance collection has multiplied exponentially with new vendors lol.

BB calc asks you for weight...is that weight of oils or your finished soap?

Soap calc gives a recommended amt of fragrance according to your recipe.

i just got an order from elements bath and body, and i want to start a batch, but elements doesnt give any recommendations or have a fragrance calc.

All of the soaps that are close to cured have significantly lost their scent when at first they almost seemed too strong. Or am i getting olfactory overload lol.

i remember my grandmom used to LOVE Este Lauder, when she came over she would smell up the whole house, like REALLY bad. She would say she doesnt smell her perfume, so apparently she would keep spraying until she smelled it.

anyway, is there a go to amt of fragrance or calculator that you can recommend?

 

[BattleGnome]

DeeAnna recommends measuring ppo. I’d follow DeeAnna’s advice while you’re learning, especially when you should be developing good habits.

I’m lazy and have bad habits. I’ll usually use 1oz per pound of soap. the easy math turns into one 2oz bottle of fragrance for my 2lb loaf mold. I think this maths out to 6% fragrance which turns out to a nice, strong, long lasting scent. It also gives me a bit of playroom with my batch sizes - i can scent 4-5lbs of soap with that same 2oz or i can measure half my bottle for a 1lb batch. (it also helps that i mostly buy 2oz to be able to afford all the pretty smells)

 

[artemis]

Each fragrance has a recommended safe usage rate, and that should be followed. I don't know about soap calc, as I don't use it. Soapmaking friend lets you enter that usage rate percentage and it does the math for you. Otherwise, you can just figure out by that usage rate how much you can use for your batch size.

 

[gloopygloop]

I agree with artemis you need to know that both FOs and Eos have sensitisers and a maximum usage rate which you would need to look up. Its not just a case of pouring in a bottle of fragrance as you risk taking the skin off of someone! In Europe we use a % of the oils weight which is usually legaly no more than a maximum of 3% oil weight. Working in grams is more accurate than ounces although I know in the US this is not your custom. The important thing is to make sure that you dont overdo the FO or EO which could give an allergic reaction.

 

[shunt2011]

I go by oil weight. I use 6% for the majority of soaps. However, I don’t by fragrances that can’t be used at at least 6% except a handful which are mighty strong at 3-4%. I enter 1 oz ppo in the calculator I use.

 

[dibbles]

I also use soap calc and set the usage rate at 1 oz - this is PPO. Some fragrances that I have found to be very strong, and I will use less of those, but there are very few. If a company doesn't provide the ifra amounts, I will email them. I've ordered from Elements before, and I thought the ifra rates were there.

BB's calculator bases usage rate on the whole batch. I use PPO.

 

[Todd Ziegler]

I agree with shunt2011 about purchasing only FO's that can be used at 6%. This advice has been really useful.

 

[gloopygloop]

I just want to re iterate for new people in Europe that 6% is double the legal amount allowable on most safety certificates and would be deemed harmful. IFRA usage doesn't mean you can in Europe its just a guide.

 

[Catscankim]

I also use soap calc and set the usage rate at 1 oz - this is PPO. Some fragrances that I have found to be very strong, and I will use less of those, but there are very few. If a company doesn't provide the ifra amounts, I will email them. I've ordered from Elements before, and I thought the ifra rates were there.

BB's calculator bases usage rate on the whole batch. I use PPO.

Maybe i missed their ifra on there. I will look again. Thanks!

 

[TheGecko]

Running the numbers from different FO Calculators, usage rates are PPO and run approximately 3% for a Light scent up to 6% for a Strong scent. The 'default' for SoapCalc is 3.125%.

Mind you, this is just for FRAGRANCE Oils...Essential Oils can be different. As an example...the usage rate for Lemon EO at BB was the same for several different FOs I entered, but the usage rate for Peppermint Oil was lower.

Unfortunately not all Essential Oil and Fragrance Oil suppliers have Calculators, but I always run a test batch (16 oz Oils) at about 5% for FOs. For EOs, I will check what calculators there are and then use an 'average' measure.

 

[dibbles]

Maybe i missed their ifra on there. I will look again. Thanks!

Sorry, incomplete thought. I didn't see the usage rates when I checked today either. I thought I had seen them before, but I doubt the usage rates would have been listed at one point and then taken off, so my memory is clearly wrong (sadly, not too surprising). I must have emailed them for the usage rates and received a quick enough reply because I don't remember a problem with any at 1 oz PPO.

Sweet Cakes is another supplier I use that doesn't provide usage rates. I've checked with them about many, and they were all safe at 6%, so I'm thinking most, if not all, of their FOs are the same.

 

[Catscankim]

Running the numbers from different FO Calculators, usage rates are PPO and run approximately 3% for a Light scent up to 6% for a Strong scent. The 'default' for SoapCalc is 3.125%.

Mind you, this is just for FRAGRANCE Oils...Essential Oils can be different. As an example...the usage rate for Lemon EO at BB was the same for several different FOs I entered, but the usage rate for Peppermint Oil was lower.

Unfortunately not all Essential Oil and Fragrance Oil suppliers have Calculators, but I always run a test batch (16 oz Oils) at about 5% for FOs. For EOs, I will check what calculators there are and then use an 'average' measure.

I love essential oils and have studied them a lot over the years, and originally planned on only using eo in my soaps, but now that i am making batches i have decided that they are too darned expensive for something that is not going to be therapeutic or even have a lingering smell.

plus now im addicted to fragrance oils lol. I just bought a bunch (more) lol. Im all ready to make soap, and i keep changing my mind on which one of my new babies to use LOL. So here i am an hour later still not soaping because i cant make up my mind

 

[Catscankim]

Sorry, incomplete thought. I didn't see the usage rates when I checked today either. I thought I had seen them before, but I doubt the usage rates would have been listed at one point and then taken off, so my memory is clearly wrong (sadly, not too surprising). I must have emailed them for the usage rates and received a quick enough reply because I don't remember a problem with any at 1 oz PPO.

Sweet Cakes is another supplier I use that doesn't provide usage rates. I've checked with them about many, and they were all safe at 6%, so I'm thinking most, if not all, of their FOs are the same.

I could have sworn that i checked before i purchased them. I am trying to develop good habits. Guess i got too excited by all the different smells they had that i was a bit impulsive.

 

[dibbles]

I could have sworn that i checked before i purchased them. I am trying to develop good habits. Guess i got too excited by all the different smells they had that i was a bit impulsive.

Well, that happens...

 

[linne1gi]

Until now i have used a few BB fragrances. But *somehow my fragrance collection has multiplied exponentially with new vendors lol.

BB calc asks you for weight...is that weight of oils or your finished soap?

Soap calc gives a recommended amt of fragrance according to your recipe.

i just got an order from elements bath and body, and i want to start a batch, but elements doesnt give any recommendations or have a fragrance calc.

All of the soaps that are close to cured have significantly lost their scent when at first they almost seemed too strong. Or am i getting olfactory overload lol.

i remember my grandmom used to LOVE Este Lauder, when she came over she would smell up the whole house, like REALLY bad. She would say she doesnt smell her perfume, so apparently she would keep spraying until she smelled it.

anyway, is there a go to amt of fragrance or calculator that you can recommend?

Elements bath and body does have several calculators - Go to their website elementsbathandbody.com Then go to Learning Center. They have a calculator for fragrance, for colorants, a volume calculator and a guide to SoapCalc.net. They are an excellent resource.

 

[Catscankim]

Omg thank you!!! Never thought of looking there! I thought that was a learning/how-to link.

 

[dibbles]

Elements bath and body does have several calculators - Go to their website elementsbathandbody.com Then go to Learning Center. They have a calculator for fragrance, for colorants, a volume calculator and a guide to SoapCalc.net. They are an excellent resource.

But you have to determine the usage rate percentage rate yourself. At least that’s the way I understand it. It doesn’t give you the safe usage rate for any particular fragrance oil.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Don’t leave your FOs unchaperoned in the cupboard - they tend to multiply when you’re not looking ;-)

 

[Debby]

After reading this thread and having just finished a batch using FO I was wondering how much FO I should have used?
Oils were 800gr it’s just that the honey fragrance was very strong. I used 10ml from the bottle. I now realize I should have weighed the FO, sodo calculator gave me 24gr but the scent was so strong I went for less.

 

[Debby]

Sorry ‘soap’ typo!