Fragrance in HP?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

FloridaSoaper

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2010
Messages
188
Reaction score
3
Location
Jacksonville, FL
I usually do .5oz per pound of oils for cold process, but with hot process, does this amount need to change? You should be able to add less right?
 
Ok, so it should be pretty close to cp then - 'cause I've used the sage fragrance calc before too. I was just thinking it would use less fragrance...but I guess it just depends on how strong I want to smell the scent. :) I've only used one of the fragrances they sell, the Bella one, and I LOVE it!! It smells amazing - floral and yet sort of sweet. Anyways, thanks for the input and have a great night!
 
Ok my soap finished cooking around 11:40 last night and I just unmolded it a few minutes ago. It turned out looking really nice! I just love how easily hp pops out of my mold. Anyways, I'm not sure if I added the fragrance while the soap was too hot though, because when I dumped my lavender eo and started stirring I got this huge wave of fragrance in the face and it smelled REALLY strong for about a minute...like throat-burning strong...it was really strange. This morning the fragrance isn't very strong at all. I have to stick my nose really close to smell it. I added the fragrance when the soap had cooled to about 175-180...which is the same temp I used my fo fragrance last time and that worked fine. Any thoughts? Also, do I need to cover my soap when it's in the mold. I used a cutting board to make the soap smoother on top, though that really only managed to push the soap off the edge of the mold. I cover my cp with saran wrap to keep ash from forming, but the past two hp batches I've just left it uncovered to firm up and cool down. It seemed to work out fine?
 
Ok, well I just found the answer to one of my questions! I didn't realize the flashpoint for lavender eo 40/42 was so low, but it's 156F. Guess that explains what happened last night...that was interesting! :) Well I will make sure I don't mix until the soap is down to at least 140 next time. And that also explains why my soap doesn't smell very much...I should've checked that before I mixed yesterday...go figure. :)
 
I don't think that's what the flash point is for. How much eo did you use ppo?
 
I don't the scent is very strong with EOs and prefer to work with fragrances. I have heard there are clever ways to blend them for more staying power but I don't have time to experiment.
I always dump the scent in when it is hot. If you wait to cool, the soap will be difficult to get into the mold. Ash is never a problem with HP.
 
Ok well today when I make another batch I'll just try to use more eo and see if that stays better...maybe closer to .75 oz ppo. I know that lavender is a top note and goes away more quickly anyway, so adding more will probably fix this. Fingers crossed! :)
 
oh god, someone correct me if I'm wrong please... here I go.

The flash point is supposed to be mostly for shipping purposes... I think it's the temperature at which, if exposed to an open flame, the substance would ignite. And not that it will evaporate at that certain temperature.

am I right?! I feel like it's a test question, lol, will someone grade me!
 
No, I think you're right...somewhere between all my posts on this thread I read about flashpoint on another thread...and it makes total sense. So I think what I was dealing with was just evaporation...will try to cool it down a little more tonight and try with more eo. Thanks for the input! Don't worry, you're not being graded, haha! :)
 
Well, several kind soapers here have explained that flashpoint is not important when adding the FO, however, you can still get evaporation from adding your FO to something very hot. When doing HP, I wait until my soap cools to around 140 -145 to avoid the evaporation. Others may have different ideas though.
 
Update from last night...I tried so hard to wait until the soap got down to 140-145 but it took sooo long! I think I waited at least 15 min. for it to cool off with the lid on on the crock because I didn't want the soap to dry out, and it was taking soo long, so I got impatient and added the eo's at 160-165. It didn't evaporate like it did the other night, I mean I'm sure it did a little, but not near as much. Also, even with an 80/20 lavender/lemongrass blend, I still only smell lemongrass! I put in 5 grams of lemongrass and 20 grams of lavender, and all I smell is lemongrass - that stuff is soo overpowering!
 
flashpoint is for when it ignites, no need to wait, i always add fo or eo right away, it will smell strong, i just turn my head while stirring. If you wait too long your hp will get dry and not stir as well. I use .5 for hp, 1 oz pp for cp. Although lav is pretty srtong.
 
Hey honor, thanks! Can I ask if your lavender is fo or eo? I don't know why but I'm having the worst luck with lavender. I've been using it .5oz ppo for hp and .75oz ppo for cp and when the soap cures I can barely smell it? And thanks for the advice about when to add fragrance...I noticed that it does smell very strong, but only for about 30 seconds, then it's bearable...I just don't have the patience to wait 20 or more min. for the soap to cool down...and then I don't want it to dry out too much either...guess it will be trial and error until I find the right temp for me. :) Thanks!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top