Scenting a Rebatched Soap with Sandalwood E.O.

[Orchidgirl]

Hi all,

I am planning to do my first re-batch, since I have a fresh 2 pound batch of soap that did not turn out so well (failed attempt at making pretty swirls, and forgot to add any fragrance. Oops). I figured this would be a great opportunity to use my 1/4 ounce of sandalwood essential oil that I've been squirreling away for a special occasion, since (if I understand correctly) the soap being used for a re-batch is already saponified and so the lye shouldn't "eat" the fragrance as it usually does.

Anyway. How much of my precious sandalwood oil should I use per pound or other amount of my soon-to-be rebatched soap? Is my 1/4 ounce of sandalwood strong enough, do you think, to scent the entire 2-lb batch, or would it be better to just rebatch a pound (or less) of it and add all the e.o. to that?

And a related question: Do you have any special tips for someone who is a rank beginner at re-batching? I know most folks say to use a crockpot...I have one, but am completely unfamiliar with its use...so, I am most likely planning on using the double-boiler method for rebatching this. Is that fairly simple, or would some other method work better? I have even seen some explanations online about rebatching in a "heatproof" plastic bag...is that just a heavy-duty Ziploc freezer bag, or what?

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to any tips you may have for me!
Claire

 

[savonierre]

To rebatch in the crock pot I turn it on high and let it heat up a little bit, I turn the crock to medium and then I add the chunked up soap and let it melt, add the scent and put in mold. I am not sure what rate sandalwood eo is used in soap, I hope someone else can answer that.

 

[Orchidgirl]

Thanks for the tip. That does sound pretty easy. Is there much of a risk of burning the soap in a crockpot?

I actually just cut the soap a little while ago, and to my surprise it's not as bad looking as I feared. I thought I had muddled the colors together a lot worse than I did. So I think what I might do is just rebatch a few of the bars, adding a small amount of the sandalwood, and just try to "judge" how much is right. I think this might help me avoid over-diluting the scent. Of course, if anyone has any experience working with this essential oil, please feel free to advise me on this.

I'm attaching a photo of the batch, which is colored with pink kaolin clay and alkanet root. My first ever time working with color! Hopefully the rebatch will turn out well, also.

 

[PinkCupcake]

I think your swirls look nice!