What to do about scent fadage?

[melstan775]

So my wonderful and delicious chocolate soap scent has faded from amazing chocolate brownie magic to a light hint of chocolate. My Indonesian Teakwood has faded from over-the-top wood oil to something lighter and dare I say it - pleasant smelling. The strawberries and champagne is light and sweet, but is not identifiable as anything resembling strawberries or champagne.

So, the changing scents brings to question - what to do about scent fadage?
Do you keep them use them, give them away, sell them as "lightly scented"? Do you try the scent again at a higher concentration or switch scents? Is it normal for scents to morph and change that much in CP soap?

Frankly I'm at a loss. My soaps are setting up beautifully, but they barely smell like anything. What to do, what to do... input welcome.

 

[christinak]

How much fo are you using per pound of oil? I use a full ounce for 22 oz. Mine are super strong. At least you like your teakwood now, lol

 

[Badger]

I scent my soaps to be strong as I like strong scents, and while it has not been terribly long, I still have reasonable scents from my soaps. I have read other people talking about anchoring scents, but I am not sure if that is something that applies to all scents or is more specific to EOs or blends.

 

[melstan775]

How much fo are you using per pound of oil? I use a full ounce for 22 oz. Mine are super strong. At least you like your teakwood now, lol

I have been using about 1/2 oz ppo. The Indonesian Teakwood I used 1/2 oz for a full 2 pounds oils. The chcocolate I think was .085 oz for 1.5 pounds oils. Am I not using enough, is that the problem?


ETA Anchoring scents is using clay or another additive to absorb the scent. When the scent has something to adhere to, it sticks around longer. That's my understanding anyway. Maybe someone else knows more.

 

[Shannon_m]

I would use more. I've been using 1 oz ppo and for those that tend to fade a bit I've been using a touch more.. like 1 1/8 oz ppo

 

[Relle]

It sounds like you are using too little. It all depends on the strength of the FO, some are strong OOB others not so, it can be trial and error. You can rebatch and add the scent again, use it your self.
You asked - sell them as lightly scented ? - I wouldn't be selling them at this stage as I don't think you have the experience behind you with the questions you are asking to be selling soap.

 

[melstan775]

Thanks Shannon. How do your soaps smell a few weeks into cure. Does the scent hang around? Do you feel like they are still as strong? At more then 1 oz ppo it seems like they would be .

@ Relle - Thank you, I do think not enough is probably the culprit .I will try again, maybe rebatch these ones. As far as selling them, I was just asking what other people do with them. At some point here soon I will be giving these away at least. I'm getting on curing time with some of the earlier batches, so in another 6-8 weeks if there's no DOS they will be ready for 3rd party guinea pig testing. I can't keep 10 pounds of soap to myself, they will never get used. However I do plan on selling, at some point. I don't think asking questions about it is silly. You can never be too prepared.

 

[Shannon_m]

With a few exceptions of seriously light-handed scenting, my soaps still smell fabulous! The OMH has faded a bit but I scented that one at 1/2 oz ppo on purpose because I wanted it to smell more "authentic" lol. The Creamy Vanilla Latte soap doesn't smell like much but it looks fabulous lol.

 

[dianne70]

Mel, don't know if it will help or not, but I watched a Bathmistress video the other day, on how she stores her soap. Anyway, she stores the separate scents in separate cardboard boxes, and said she gets a cotton ball, and puts some of the FO on to it and pops it in the box with the soap and apparently it helped keep them scented, especially she said, the ones that tended to fade! Don't know, but maybe worth a try! Good luck The video is on you tube.

 

[2lilboots]

I went thru a spell where I couldn't smell any of the scents of my soaps. I thought I had made a lot of very lightly scented soap. Then I realized that I had become so used to the fragrances that I just didn't notice it. My friend let me know that the soaps all still smell nice and strong, I had just become desensitized to them. For FO I use 5% of my total oil weight. With EOs I used anywhere from 3-5% of my total oil weight(depends on the EO)

 

[Ruthie]

When I first started back to soaping back in November, I tried using an OLD lavender eo. It faded in all my tries except the goats milk one. I never thought of goats milk as an anchor. But it seems at least in this case it was....

 

[chicklet]

I use EO's and I use white clay in every batch now to hopefully anchor them. I used cornstarch in some earlier batches and I don't feel that it worked very well. For citrus EO's I blend them with patchouli or litsea cubeba as they are thought to help anchor citrus.

 

[Badger]

Mel, I agree with you that using too little is the likely culprit. I am making 1 lb batches and I am using almost an ounce of fragrance in them. I have been using the fragrance calculator on BB's site as a sort of gauge to figure out about how much scent to add to my soaps and even though not all my FOs are from BB, they have similar usage directions with what I compare them to.

 

[thefarmerdaughter]

I've had a few scents fade, only to come back after they are cured.I have no idea what caused this, and I thought it was my imagination, until looked it up and read about it on suppliers websites. But using the appropriate amount will defiantly help. WSP for example recommends 6% Fo in cp, other suppliers recommend less.

 

[Situ]

Before I begin mixing everything, I get my additives ready. I have started mixing my fo with arrowroot powder as a fixative, about 1tsp/ppo. It has a chance to sit and absorb while I get everything else ready. This seems to help with sticking.

 

[Genny]

Don't increase your usage if it goes over the recommended amount. Honestly, some fo's just fade and/or morph in CP no matter what you do. Some fo's come back after a couple months, some come back when you use the soap and some just completely disappear.
Have you had anyone else smell them? I've had so many soaps that seem to have faded to me or changed to something different only to have someone else say, "It smells great to me."

Before buying a new fragrance oil, I check out the scent review board. If most of the people are having fading problems, I skip that fo. Saves me a lot of money & frustration. If you have a non-free email address, you can sign up. (You can email me for info on how to sign up).

 

[Badger]

Scent review board?

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

And remember, when you do start selling, some people don't want a strong scent. I would not think you would need to mark them as "lightly scented", the buyer can do a sniff test and determine if it is what they want. Unless you will be only selling on line, then you could have lightly scented and strong scents. I personally don't want to be knocked down with the scent in my soap, just like I can't stand to be in the office with someone who uses too much scent (perfume or cologne), so I tend to go light on them anyway. And I am meeting more and more people who don't want any scent or coloring, allergies or sensitivity issues, so I tend to keep some of those on hand too. I don't sell, but am very generous to friends and family. A nephew will drive 90 miles 1 way to get free soap. He doesn't like store bought soap anymore. He will even use the ones that I really don't like the scent of or for some other reason.

 

[Genny]

Scent review board?

http://soapscentreview.obisoap.ca/

 

[TeriDk]

I'm finding that a lot of folks here do not care for strongly scented soaps when I thought most would. You might be surprised. I sell a lot of unscented soaps.