Beginner Questions

[Till209]

Hello everyone,

I have a few questions: I'd like to add colloidal oatmeal to my soap base. How much is recommended? I saw one recipe where 1/2 cup was used.

When it comes to scents, which one lasts without fading / has more staying power between essential oils and fragrance oils?
*Also, how do you measure out EOs and FOs? For example, according to a fragrance calculator, I should use 0.28 oz of fragrance oil per pound of soap base. Do I place the FO on a plate on a food scale to measure?

Which colorant do you prefer using? I've read some of the powder ones don't dissolve completely and can leave color specks in soap.

Thank you in advance

 

[Zing]

Welcome!
I haven't used colloidal oatmeal but you may want to search Soap Queen or Bramble Berry for articles.

I only use essential oils and have not tried fragrance oils. My understanding, though, from comments here and elsewhere that fragrance oils last longer. I get my usage rates from Find Free Essential Oil Blends - Modern Soapmaking and use their medium to high rates. My soaps still smell good at 12 months. I use a small mason jar (jelly jar) to measure my essential oils and use a food scale. Pouring essential oils was a learning experience for me when I started! Now I put a skewer or a chopstick over the jar and then tilt the jar and the essential oil will drip neatly down the chopstick.

You should use a food scale to measure all of your soap ingredients.

Colorants are a personal preference. I like to use micas because in most cases I can just sprinkle the mica into the batter directly. But there are also oxides I like and titanium dioxide that I will first disperse in a lightweight oil (1 tsp oxide in 1 Tbsp oil) to get rid of clumps before adding to the batter.

Good luck to you!