Trouble: Cracking and oil leaking

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I either use EO from brambleberry or Majestic Pure or Sun from Amazon. Fragrance oils are either brambleberry or a local candle supply store that gives instructions for using thier FOs in soap.

Lye is from the hardware store. It says 100% pure lye.
Buying FO's from a candle supply can be iffy if candles is their main business. Even though they are body safe they are not necessarily designed to work well in soap. It also applies to companies that specialize in m&p like Essentials by Catalina. While they have some very nice FO's many of theirs will not play nice in lye soap, because they supply m&p bases, lotions, scrubs etc.
 
I do not find their fragrance at all ridiculous, in fact of I do use it I go for the strongest and at times even add extra. You will find uncorpative fo's from all companies. Rain, Waters, Coconut, and many florals are notorious mis- behavers. Do a tint test batch can save your sanity. If not selling why make 5lb batches. I would make 1-2lb batches
Because they instruct users to include the entire batch weight for their fragrance calculater, my random selection of patchouli EO takes 1.25 oz EO ppo using full water. That seems like a lot! Am I missing out? All this time I have been timidly using 1 oz ppo as my max :neutral:
 
Since you are making multiple 5 lb batches, I am assuming that you are gearing/practicing up to sell. Carolyn (cmzaha) sells soap. She is successful at selling soap. Scent sells soap. Colors/swirls attract people to the soap table, but scent sells. I would take her word on this.

Have you tried any of the changes suggested yet?
 
I always have people walk by and say how good my booth smells, of course I cannot smell it, but they can. I find scent sells first color is secondary and most do not worry or care about color. For some it is goat's milk and oatmeal.
 
I used Brambleberry's Green Tea Fragrance Oil and Kermit Green Mica in this recipe. I also infuzed the olive oil with green tea, and used my normal Goats Milk.

I do sell at our local small town farmers market even though I'm new. Thats the reason for the 5lb batch. Since its the same recipe as the plain I didn't feel the need to test first. I'm learning I really need to test small batches even if I'm tweaking a tried and true recipe just a little. I mostly sell my plain goats milk soap and some lip balm and bath bombs and whatever else I can get on the table. My husband was out of work last summer (we have two kids under 3) and direct sales wasn't my thing. I wanted to be making my own products. So I was sort of thrown into it out of necessity but I love it! My husband is enlisting with the Air Force so it won't be out of dire need anymore but I'm hooked and want to become a truly great soap maker.

I'm out of green tea fragrance oil for now but I've written down all of these suggestions for my next fragranced batch which should be this week. I did rebatch this soap using the oven. It turned out nice but very rough looking bars and a bit too much air whipped into them.

Thank you for your help. I'm glad I found this forum. I'll post my experience with the next batch here.
 
I tried another scented batch taking in some of these recommendations. I soaped at a lower temperature, made sure to add in extra liquid to the unscented bowl to equal what the colored bowls were getting (I dispersed mica in 1oz water) I also took this water from the recipe (adding less with the lye).

In addition I changed to soapcalc and ran my recipe (that I use for everything) through. The recipe came from a book and I had been using Brambleberry's calc. Turns out my recipe looks super balanced, everything within soapcalc's ranges. But I didn't realize the water as % of oils was 30%. I increased it to 33%. (I heard from another soaper 33-35 % is a good range).

When I was done editing my recipe and trying it out, I put the batch in the fridge (because of the milk) to prevent overheating. I really hope it turns out well this time, I really love the color combo and swirl I was able to make. Fingers crossed! I'll post again tomorrow when I check out how it did.
 
I've used the Majestic and Sun (and others) essential oils from Amazon. (people give them to me and ask me to make them soap.

I don't have proof from a lab, but I am beyond highly suspicious that those products are not what they claim. At the very least they're a mix of eo and fragrance....at worst they are pure fragrance oil. Soaps with those brands of essential oils have NEVER acted in the manner that soaps with oils from Edens Botanicals or New Directions acted. The results were drastically different each time, strange colors developing, extreme softness, not being to unmold for up to 2 weeks (my recipe takes on average 36-48 hours to unmold.) and greatly extended cure times....only to end up with a soap that just doesn't really smell like an essential oil soap.

I don't trust them and will no longer use them to make soap for anybody. Nor will I support a dishonest business.

The cost per 4 ounce bottle is very appealing since the price of eo's seems to have one direction only - up. However, you'll have to consider the consequence to the people using the soap who might have an allergy to synthetic fragrance. They'll need that info on your soap label which, won't be there because your supplier lied to you. (assuming I'm correct about these eo's being bogus)
 
I've used the Majestic and Sun (and others) essential oils from Amazon. (people give them to me and ask me to make them soap.

I don't have proof from a lab, but I am beyond highly suspicious that those products are not what they claim. At the very least they're a mix of eo and fragrance....at worst they are pure fragrance oil. Soaps with those brands of essential oils have NEVER acted in the manner that soaps with oils from Edens Botanicals or New Directions acted. The results were drastically different each time, strange colors developing, extreme softness, not being to unmold for up to 2 weeks (my recipe takes on average 36-48 hours to unmold.) and greatly extended cure times....only to end up with a soap that just doesn't really smell like an essential oil soap.

I don't trust them and will no longer use them to make soap for anybody. Nor will I support a dishonest business.

The cost per 4 ounce bottle is very appealing since the price of eo's seems to have one direction only - up. However, you'll have to consider the consequence to the people using the soap who might have an allergy to synthetic fragrance. They'll need that info on your soap label which, won't be there because your supplier lied to you. (assuming I'm correct about these eo's being bogus)

I have not had a problem with the lavender from Majestic Pure but I was suspicious of its quality. So the next time I ordered Lavender 40/42 from Brambleberry. I was so impressed with the results I will never go back! My customers request FO and don't seem to value EO like they should. So price is an issue, and I have quite a few FO bars like Coconut, Oatmeal, and Sea Moss. Until I joined this forum I didn't know where to buy EOs other than Amazon, BB or a local natural food store (very pricey!). Now I'm checking into more suppliers. I'll check out Edens Botanicals and New Directions.

Thank you!
 
I have not had a problem with the lavender from Majestic Pure but I was suspicious of its quality. So the next time I ordered Lavender 40/42 from Brambleberry. I was so impressed with the results I will never go back! My customers request FO and don't seem to value EO like they should. So price is an issue, and I have quite a few FO bars like Coconut, Oatmeal, and Sea Moss. Until I joined this forum I didn't know where to buy EOs other than Amazon, BB or a local natural food store (very pricey!). Now I'm checking into more suppliers. I'll check out Edens Botanicals and New Directions.

Thank you!

Oh I love Sea Moss. I would warn you I suspect it will cause some heating. However I used it in a 100% coconut oil soap so its hard to say how much was the fo, and how much was caused by 100% coconut oil. Mine cracked.

Edens Botanicals is very reputable. New Directions has some products that are not necessarily overtly labeled. Read the fine print on the descriptions to ensure you're not getting a mix of eo and fo. (Unless you're okay with a mix)

Even lavender eo has become quite expensive and I've started mixing with with fo's to keep the cost down. The mints eo are still a good price though.

I've been very happy with the quality of BB's lavender 40/42 - and they clearly state that those percentages are attained with essential oil components, not synethics. Its one of the best prices around too. I also really like their spearmint and fir eo.
 
Oh I love Sea Moss. I would warn you I suspect it will cause some heating. However I used it in a 100% coconut oil soap so its hard to say how much was the fo, and how much was caused by 100% coconut oil. Mine cracked.
.

I used Sea Moss recently with 25% coconut oil and mine cracked also. I was soaping at around 100F, 33% lye concentration. It was insulated and also used a heating pad on low for 20 min:) It wasn't a huge crack, but it went down the entire soap.
 
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