Soap fragrance disappearing?

[mrbigjohnson]

Hello all,

I have made 5 batches of soap so far, and they have turned out great! Good lather, not drying, everyone likes them so far!
The only problem is that after the curing process (4 weeks) some of my soaps don't have any fragrance smell to them at all. I use .75 oz of fragrance per pound, they smell great as I make them and while in the mold, but over time, the smell disappears . I just fragrance from Nuture Soap. Has anyone else had a problem like this before? What can be done to fix it? Is this a problem with the fragrance and manufacturer?

I only use 30% Coconut oil, 30 Olive Oil, 30% Vegetable Shortening, and 10% Castor Oil. I keep it vegan and vegitiarian and organic

Thanks in advance,

Joe

 

[MullersLaneFarm]

I just went to their website. It looks like they have a fragrance calculator to give you a usage ... it looks as though .88 oz per pound of Soap for a strong scent strength.

I wonder if this is for the total soap batch and not the PPO (Per Pound Oil) though?? If using full water amount & 5% superfat, you would use approximately 11 oz of oil to get a 16 oz total soap batch.

If my math is correct, this means you would need about 1.25 oz PPO to get a "strong" scent strength, 1.00 oz PPO for a "medium" scent strength, and 0.64 oz PPO for a "light" scent strength using their FOs

 

[toxikon]

I usually use my FOs at 5-6% of oil weight. So if my recipe had 11oz of oil, I'd use .55oz - .66oz of FO.

 

[mrbigjohnson]

Thank you, I never saw their calculator that they had. Based on that, I am getting a "light" scent. I guess I will need to double my amount.

Thank you!

 

[MorpheusPA]

Some scents also fade and may need an anchor of some sort. Even lightly scented soap should still have a scent post-cure, it's just light!

You go vegan, so things like bentonite clay or colloidal oatmeal could be used to help lock the scent down a little bit. Although in those cases, I do find that the soap has less scent when cured, it blooms in the shower when being used, simply because the clay and oatmeal have absorbed and locked down the scent and keep it from releasing until used!

Base notes can also decrease how fast the scent deliquesces, so scents like amber or oak moss can help your primary scent stick around longer.

Also, watch your temperature in the mold. It's not normally too much of an issue, but very low flash point fragrances can get lost if temperatures rise too high.

Lastly...some fragrances, regrettably, simply don't stick. Unless I use 10X orange oil, I simply can't get an orange scent to stick effectively for the long term. I have similar problems with most other citrus scents. In those cases, use something close--bergamot will often stick where other citrus scents won't. I use lemongrass instead of lemon. Or over-scent as much as the oil allows and use it fast!