I've lost my virginity bubble!

[dOttY]

Well Fellow Soapers,

Welcome me to the club officially! I have poured my first batch. Only a small batch, but soap nonetheless. Woohoo!

Just a question for those who use FO, rather than EO. How much, or is there a rule as to what amount of Fragrance you add per ounce, etc?

Thanks everyone! Now I have to develop patience....

*bubbly hugs to ya'all!*

 

[PrairieCraft]

Hi there, Dotty. Welcome to the addiction, I mean the wonderful world of soaping. :wink:

1 oz of FO ppo (per pound of oil) is pretty much standard. Some suppliers will post usage rates so pay attention to those when you make purchases. There are FO's out there that while body safe have low usage rate recommendations which make them not so good for soap.

Yes, patience is a good thing to have with soap. It took me forever to stop yanking too soft soap out of the mold. I'm a slow learner.

Love your sig line, nice people rule.

 

[carolyntn]

Congratulations! The first batch is so special - you just made soap!!!!
I love your sig line, too!

 

[Relle]

Congrats Dotty on your first soap. Put up some pics when you get time - we love soap porn here .

 

[dOttY]

Thanks everyone! I'm super excited, but....
I peeked! I couldn't stand it, and I looked.

I poured at around 100°F, which is 38°C. I hope that is alright? Also, I used a silicone mould with a plastic lid, and when I peeked, there was a lot of condensation on the clear lid. Will that effect the soap? I naturally thought we had to cover the mold?

 

[Dragonkaz]

The first time I use an FO I add between 2% and 3%. Some suppliers will give advice as to how much to use, plus there's often good posts in the 'fragrance' section, with hints by other soapers.

Some people like stronger perfumed soaps and other's like them less perfumed, so it takes a bit of playing and record keeping.

It's disappointing when a soap smells divine for the first few months and then the smell disappears ... but I try to look at this as an excuse to make more soap!

 

[falldowngobump]

Welcome to the addiction!!!!

 

[yoenoess]

Welcome to soap making world

would you share your work of art

 

[soapbuddy]

Congrats on your batch! I use anywhere from 0.5 oz. to 1 oz. per lb. of soap. Not all fragrances or essential oils have the same strength.

 

[SudsyKat]

Congrats and welcome!! I use between .5 and .8 oz of FO per pound of oils (same for EOs). There's a lot of room for variation there, since different ones will have different strengths/staying power, etc. Generally .8 oz PPO has worked for the majority of scents I've used.

 

[nattynoo]

Hi Dotty.
I use anywhere between 1-5% for my FO. Depends on the FO and the soap I want to make.
What size batches are you making?? are you working in oz or r u doing it aussie style in grams???
So for 1000grams total oil you could start somewhere around say 3%. So 30grams of FO.

 

[dOttY]

I'm juggling between ounces and grams... Mainly because I haven't looked for a lye calculator that looks easy to use with grams yet

 

[Dragonkaz]

SoapCalc does it in either or ... so I use only grams.

 

[dOttY]

Oh how I love grams! I'm really dodgie with ounces/pounds...

I'll look into SoapCalc then. TY

 

[dOttY]

Another PITA is that an American tablepoon is 15mls, whereas Aussie tablespoons are 20mls... So I'm sure their teaspoons are effected too

(When talking about teaspoons & tablespoons)

 

[Dragonkaz]

Dotty you should be measuring everything in grams (on digital/electronic scales), so no need to worry about our crazy differences in tablespoons, teaspoons etc ... aren't these differences just sooooooooooooooooooo crazy!

 

[dOttY]

Duh @ me! Yep, weighing over liquid quantities. I'm an avid baker, and find the differences infuriating... There's somethings that should just be universal! Same with sewing, I generally use centimetres and metres, but if I quilt, then everything is in darned inches! *sighs*

Maybe I should just stick to soapmaking over anything else

 

[jennikate]

mms lets you choose oz or grams when using lye calc. I do grams.