Does fragrance increase superfat?

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I've recently noticed something...

If I formulate a recipe on SoapCalc which doesn't use any added fragrance oils, and then formulate the exact same recipe with added fragrance, both recipes come out being exactly the same. (Same water amount, same lye amount, etc.) This seems to indicate that SoapCalc does not consider the fragrance oils when determining the total saponification requirements.

Does this mean a scented 5% superfat soap recipe actually produces soap with a higher superfat. This seems to make sense, as no additional lye is called for to saponify the fragrance oils.

Am I correct, or am I just missing something?

Thanks!
 
I suppose it's possible. The aromatic components of fragrance oils are usually diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. If you happen to be lucky enough to choose one with vegetable oil, then theoretically, yes, it would have a higher super fat.

I don't suppose its a large enough discrepancy to make a difference though.
 
girlishcharm2004 said:
I suppose it's possible. The aromatic components of fragrance oils are usually diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. If you happen to be lucky enough to choose one with vegetable oil, then theoretically, yes, it would have a higher super fat.
Click to expand...


IrishLass said:
Although fragrance oils are oils, they do not contain triglycerides. Therefore, they will not add to the superfat of your soap
Click to expand...

Oh, that's interesting. I automatically assumed that the "carrier oils" were triglyceride-based, and so I added the quantity of FO used to my superfat total!
 
IrishLass said:
Although fragrance oils are oils, they do not contain triglycerides. Therefore, they will not add to the superfat of your soap.


IrishLass :)
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for clearing that up, IrishLass. I figured I had to be missing something, and had wondered about the carrier oils used in FO / EO. It's true; you learn something new everyday! Cheers!
 
I believe they are composed of solvent and carrier component, i.e organic solvent not soluble in water. I remember the old day, in chemistry we synthesized a banana flavor, which was an ester. Most fragrance oil, may be the pure form of the odor molecule in addition to a solvent to have it in a liquid form. The reason it is added to the oil phase is that organic solvent will mix with the oil phase.

If diluted you may have some triglyceride, but i believe most are purchased undiluted. As such, they would not could in superfating. It is also possible that the solvent or more volatile component will evaporate.
 

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