Attempt to keep the soap smelling so nicely

[Happysoap]

Hi everyone,

So, I have been having the common soaping problem - soap that looses scent due to essential oil evaporation. I am trying to figure out a method of keeping my soaps fragrant without shelling out extra bucks for more EO. I have tried cornstarch and arrowroot powder to ground the scent without success. I don't want to use FOs. I would love your input on this train of thought.

In my experience HP soap retains scent much better than CP soap but I don't like the texture or the colour of HP GM soaps. So I am thinking to HP my soap with water. Once its done I thought I would add some GM to water it down and get the creamy pourable texture, then add EOs and let the soaps dry for a while in a large cardboard box with a EO scented cotton swab. I am not worried about cure time just keeping the EO scent. My train of thought would be that in this way the EOs would not be subjected to the harsh soap environment and therefore the scent would last longer after sales.

I would appreciate any comments on this. Good, bad, all is welcome. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it worth the effort or do I just stick to the tried and tested CP method?

 

[Second Impression]

Which EOs are you using and how much of each?

 

[seven]

this guy is using benzoin tincture for his soaps (i think he only uses EO too). now, i dont understand the language, but mr. google helped me out, and if i understand it correctly, he said it was to keep the scent together? i haven't test it myself, but i'm very curious. like you, i understand how expensive those EOs can be, and some scents don't stick like i wanted them to be.

 

[judymoody]

Same question - which EOs and how much per pound of oils?

Yes, HP is less damaging to EO strength because you are adding after saponification and you can also use less. Regarding the water/goat's milk strategy you are contemplating, I have no experience with that, sorry!

 

[Happysoap]

I used 1% of EOs /lavender, peppermint, rosemary 1:1:1/. I know its on the low side.

 

[judymoody]

1% of each or 1% total?

I typically scent at 3% of EO (total) to my soaping oils weight and the scent lasts fine.

You could try adding a base note like patchouli or vetiver to prolong the scent of your soaps. You don't need much.