salt bars hold scent better

[serfmunke]

Hello, I am addicted to salt bars, have been for a while but I am really out of control now. I think my obsession is due to two reasons, they are so easy and quick to make and they hold any scent I put in them, even fleeting top notes, and hold the scent for longer than non salt bars. Does anyone know the reason for this? Some assumptions I am making to support my theory:

The salt is a fixative?

and/or....

Salt bars do not cook for 24 hours, usually are only in the mold for 2 hours therefore releasing less EOs?

I am no chemist, although I was pretty good at chemistry. Anyone know the true reason for this? Or is it all in my head?

 

[Hazel]

It's not in your head. I've noticed salt bars tend to hold scents better, too. I used orange EO in my very first batch and the scent lasted for months. I could even smell it very faintly (this means my nose was up against a bar ) almost a year later. I made an assumption it was because of the salt but I really don't know if this is the reason.

There has been discussions about different ingredients like clay or cornstarch to help anchor EOs. I wonder if you used a slurry with salt and EOs if this would help a regular batch to retain its scent. I may have to try this idea.

I don't think the length of time in the mold has anything to do with scent retention. The lye is still active even though the loaf gets removed and cut within a short period of time. A salt batch still needs more time for full saponification. But I'm also not a chemist so I'm just guessing. :wink:

 

[Dennis]

Going along with the theory until a real chemist comes along, how little salt do you think could be used to accomplish the retention?

 

[Hazel]

I'm not sure how much you would need. One teaspoon of salt ppo is recommended to help harden soap. I don't know if this would be enough. Perhaps someone would volunteer to play mad scientist and try an experiment.

 

[Dennis]

Looking for my lab coat now.

 

[new12soap]

I have no idea what the science is but I agree, salt bars hold the scent better and for longer. That may be an idea for a swap, everyone make 2 bars of the same recipe, same fragrance, one with and one without salt...

 

[serfmunke]

I like where this is going I will have to do the side by side test, adding 1 tsp PPO salt to one and not the other, sounds like a plan!

 

[Hazel]

I have no idea what the science is but I agree, salt bars hold the scent better and for longer. That may be an idea for a swap, everyone make 2 bars of the same recipe, same fragrance, one with and one without salt...

Are you volunteering to host the swap?

 

[new12soap]

I have no idea what the science is but I agree, salt bars hold the scent better and for longer. That may be an idea for a swap, everyone make 2 bars of the same recipe, same fragrance, one with and one without salt...

Are you volunteering to host the swap?

Who, me? :shock: Ah, no! I can't But if someone else wanted to put one together I may be tempted to participate!

 

[Hazel]

Uh huh...bring up the subject of a swap and then try to wiggle out it. Tsk tsk

 

[new12soap]

I know, I am very very bad I will probably only get coal for christmas

 

[Dennis]

I know, I am very very bad I will probably only get coal for christmas

Coal is a good thing. Lots of heat for a cold winter night.

Found my lab attire!

 

[serfmunke]

I have seen these swaps you speak of. Is there a specific way they are handled? I have been curious about them since I joined last year.

 

[green soap]

I am addicted to salt bars too, and working on getting half my town residents addicted to them as well....People buy one bar to try and a couple of weeks later they come by my booth and get 3 or 4....

These are salt soaps with 50% salt. I settled on that % when I first experimented with salt soaps.

I honestly cannot tell you if they retain scent better or not. It is hard to tell because my curing time for 'regular' (non salt) soaps is 4-6 weeks but for for salt soaps it is 8-10 weeks. Since I do use essential oils in about half of them, they do tend to fade a bit more because of the longer curing time. Also, do I account for the weight of the salt when comparing? If we count the weight of the salt, then they do scent easier since I do not count the salt weight when scenting them, only the oil weight. That does end up with a batch 50% heavier though.

Since these are my best selling soaps I usually test a new fragrance with them. One lilac FO caused instant seizure and they ended up in the 'ugly soap sale' basket. They sold very fast and made people smile at my sign...LOL. At least I recovered the cost of my material. I tested 'coconut' on another one, the scent went away so I though, well, I will sell them as unscented. Interestingly enough, the scent came back after a good cure. I do not care for the scent, but apparently other folks do because it is selling well.

I would be interested in such swap (scenting non salts and salt soaps equally and comparing). I cannot do it until January though, as this season is very busy and it is going to be my first Christmas with this soap business.

 

[Hazel]

Cool lab attire, Dennis!

I have seen these swaps you speak of. Is there a specific way they are handled? I have been curious about them since I joined last year.

Here is a link to an old swap which gives details. Basically everyone just copies and pastes the same info, then fills in the specifics about the new swap.

http://soapmakingforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22877

The rules for swap participation is here --> http://soapmakingforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6557

There can be exceptions made for participation; for example, someone could host a swap who doesn't have the 500 minimum post count but has been a member for at least a year. However, all exceptions would have to be approved by the admin/mod team.

I don't have any problems about waiting until later for the swap. I know everyone is getting busier and it's going to get worse the closer we get to the holidays. This is something which needs to be planned in advance because some FOs stick really well so it wouldn't be an accurate test to use them. I think I'd want to try EOs since they're more volatile. On the other hand, if someone has a FO which tends to fade in CP then this FO would make for an accurate test. I'd also like to have smaller samples sent than a regular size bar (suggestion - send half a bar instead of a whole bar). I've participated in swaps before and I still have soap from them. I'd get so many bars that I'd cut off about a quarter of the bar to use since I didn't want a dozen bars in the shower. It was easier to take small pieces and be able to review them for the people within a reasonable period of time.

I'd also suggest that everyone agree to use the same amount and same type of salt in their batches. I like the idea of just using 1 teaspoon ppo and I would suggest everyone use regular salt. I have dendritic salt and it's said to hold scent better than other types of salt. I've wondered if it would hold fragrance in CP but I'm sure not everyone has this type of salt.

Any opinions, suggestions or criticisms about this type of swap?

 

[strawberryred]

Cool lab attire, Dennis!

I have seen these swaps you speak of. Is there a specific way they are handled? I have been curious about them since I joined last year.

Here is a link to an old swap which gives details. Basically everyone just copies and pastes the same info, then fills in the specifics about the new swap.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=22877

The rules for swap participation is here --> viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6557

There can be exceptions made for participation; for example, someone could host a swap who doesn't have the 500 minimum post count but has been a member for at least a year. However, all exceptions would have to be approved by the admin/mod team.

I don't have any problems about waiting until later for the swap. I know everyone is getting busier and it's going to get worse the closer we get to the holidays. This is something which needs to be planned in advance because some FOs stick really well so it wouldn't be an accurate test to use them. I think I'd want to try EOs since they're more volatile. On the other hand, if someone has a FO which tends to fade in CP then this FO would make for an accurate test. I'd also like to have smaller samples sent than a regular size bar (suggestion - send half a bar instead of a whole bar). I've participated in swaps before and I still have soap from them. I'd get so many bars that I'd cut off about a quarter of the bar to use since I didn't want a dozen bars in the shower. It was easier to take small pieces and be able to review them for the people within a reasonable period of time.

I'd also suggest that everyone agree to use the same amount and same type of salt in their batches. I like the idea of just using 1 teaspoon ppo and I would suggest everyone use regular salt. I have dendritic salt and it's said to hold scent better than other types of salt. I've wondered if it would hold fragrance in CP but I'm sure not everyone has this type of salt.

Any opinions, suggestions or criticisms about this type of swap?

I think it's a great idea! And I agree that it would be best if everyone used the same type of salt/same recipe, etc. That way the only variable is the scent. I've seen some swaps use the crystal light containers because it holds a 1 oz batch pretty well, and they come out nice small sized bars.

 

[Hazel]

It doesn't have to be the same recipe. Everyone could make their usual recipe. I meant for everyone to use the same amount of salt such as 1 tsp ppo.

 

[green soap]

I would not consider 1 tsp PPO a salt bar. I was talking about 50% salt per weight of oils. A totally different animal. Well.....soap.

 

[Hazel]

I thought we were discussing whether salt helped to anchor scents and the smallest amount of salt which might work as a fixative. I was basing my responses on Dennis' comment.

Going along with the theory until a real chemist comes along, how little salt do you think could be used to accomplish the retention?

I thought everyone could use a recipe which they'd also like to have other people review for them. Then we'd cover two things with the swap - will a small amount of salt work as a fragrance anchor and to get opinions of the unsalted soap. I thought it would be more accurate of a test if the same recipe was used for both batches. Would everyone prefer to use a regular recipe and a salt bar recipe with the same fragrance in each? Another idea is for everyone to use a slightly different amount of salt like 1 tsp ppo, 1.5 tsp ppo and so on up to 25% or 50% in a batch. I was just planning on using 1 tsp ppo. It would also be interesting to find out if it helps to harden a batch since my recipes tend to be on the softer side.

Decisions, decisions. See what I mean about having to plan this out in advance.

 

[new12soap]

Ohhhhh all very good questions indeed.... where can I get some snazzy lab attire? Experiments are in order!