You now have lots of advice
@Fernando Sage, and the most important thing going forward is not to change what is already working for you! Change or modify only one thing at a time in your soaping formula, or nothing at all. I asked questions instead of giving advice because, aside from DOS, you are clearly making beautiful soap!
Water to lye ratio
I didn’t know such a low ratio of water to lye could be used and still have an opportunity to swirl the soap, so I learned something. Since
@Mobjack Bay, a great soaper, says she has success with 1.5:1 water to lye ratio, I may try lowing my own ratios.
Please read up on
the difference between % of water to oils vs % of water to lye as far as the math is concerned on @DeeAnna’s website. You are already computing your recipes with the water to lye ratio, so stick with that even if you experiment with changing the ratio.
Essential oils
My experience has been that many EOs will fade or disappear quickly in CP soap no matter what we do. Even if we get the scent to stick through the cure process, it will fade shortly after that. I’ve been combing through threads here on SMF with posts by the most experienced members to find single note EOs that stick 6 months or longer. Patchouli and lemongrass EOs have worked for me and seemingly everyone else without fail. Soaps are still fragrant a year later. They are all I really have on my list so far. I’m disappointed I have not found lavender EO to really stick past the 6+ month mark. Perhaps other members can advise on single note EOs that stick? (Looking at you
@Zing and
@KiwiMoose)
I don’t *test* blends because some EOs will disappear entirely from the blend leaving only stable EO fragrances, so they may still smell nice, just not the same as the original blend. With CP stable EO scenting you may develop good blends that morph into something similar past the 6 month mark. For example, with Patchouli Orange soap the orange will fade, but it you boost the orange EO with lemongrass, the aged soap would still have a patchouli citrus scent.
Many fragrance oils (FOs) are formulated with all natural ingredients. There are only a few fragrance houses supplying the vendors we buy from. One is Lebermuth. Take a look at the number of
all natural fragrance blends they offer vendors. They are ingredients found in nature, not EO blends. Vendors we love may change the names of these natural fragrances, but we can learn the original name if we have the product number. Your customers may buy natural FO scented soaps with names that sound fresh and natural such as orange blossom.
DOS
Except for the aluminum cookie sheets with parchment paper that I was moving soap on, my drying racks are restaurant dishwasher racks or plastic shelving from the discount store. The dishwasher racks worked perfectly for the new drying system I set up. Before that I had also looked at the plastic bread racks that you see in grocery stores. Depending on your set up, they may work better for you. Or if you’re handy, it might build wooden racks as others have done.
I grew up in Colorado and know that the conditions that the climate where @Zany_in_CO
soaps is not conducive to the formation of DOS, unlike the climate where I live now in Massachusetts with an unusually rainy summer and natural open-window cooling. Wintertime here isn’t an issue because central heating drys humidity from the air in my home. And climate here is very different from the 4 years I spent in Houston, TX, where we had air conditioning.
@KiwiMoose ’s advice seems a good match for soaping conditions in your climate
@Fernando Sage.
I enjoyed reading your replies to everyone who jumped in to help you. And I’m now inspired to trial a 1.5:1 ratio on GMOH test batch this afternoon.
