EOs/FOs that do not accelerate trace?

[nframe]

I have had my worst soaping experience today. I made a nice recipe which I found on the forum:

Castor oil 6%
Coconut oil 27%
Apricot kernel oil 12%
Olive oil 35%
Mango butter 15%
Cocoa butter 5%

I added some sugar, salt, sodium lactate and vitamin E oil. Then I decided to add fragrance and I think this is what caused my problems. I added fennel EO, rose EO and sandalwood and rose FO in equal quantities. The whole thing seized up immediately. I had this happen to me before but this time it had what looked like lumps of a lighter colour in it. I was not sure if it was a false trace or a real fast trace so I decided to cook it and do HP. This was my first HP experience – very traumatic! The end result is very disappointing: coarse, flaky and not nice at all. I fail to understand how some people can like HP! Unless I am doing it badly of course, which is a real possibility. I would have read up about it beforehand if I had known.

Anyway, all this leads me to ask whether there are any EOs/FOs which do NOT accelerate trace – apart from lavender. My husband tells me just to use lavender from now on but this would be too boring. Surely there must be other FOs/EOs which behave! I am not sure where to look and would appreciate people's experiences on the subject. Thank you.

 

[dixiedragon]

Generally I find EOs to be be less problematic than FOs. Rose EO is shockingly expensive - are you sure that's what you were using?

EOs that I have used with no problem - lavender, lemongrass, rose geranium, patcholi, cedar, spearment, peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus.

Clove causes extreme seizing. Cinnamon isn't is bad as clove, but it's not an easy one.

Citrus EOs actually slow trace and make your soap stay soft for much longer. Also, they tend to fade quickly in CP soap. I stick to lemongrass rather than actual citrus EOs for the most part.

Years ago I got a "sandalwood blend" from EO University and I really like it and it's very well behaved.

 

[shunt2011]

Florals can cause things to speed up quite a bit. You said you used Rose FO so that's probably the culprit. You need to soap really cool and move fairly fast with florals of any kind.

 

[lsg]

Check the reviews furnished by the companies from which you buy essential and fragrance oils.
Nature's Garden gives info with each fragrance oil. Wholesale Supplies Plus furnishes a review with each fragrance and essential oil along with questions and answers.

 

[dixiedragon]

Re: FOs - I prefer to buy from companies like Brambleberry that let customers rate the FO and post reviews. Brambleberry is good about saying if an FO is not suitable for CP, if it fades, discolors, speeds trace, etc, but I also like to read the customer reviews. I'm sure there are other soap companies that also do this, BB just happens to be my particular favorite.

You added a lot of stuff to this soap - "I added some sugar, salt, sodium lactate and vitamin E oil. Then I decided to add fragrance and I think this is what caused my problems. I added fennel EO, rose EO and sandalwood and rose FO in equal quantities." Did you have these items pre-measured? I have found that with some problem FOs, if I have everything premeasured and all I need to do is dump it in the pot, that really helps, b/c I can keep gently stirring the soap right up until I pour, and that seems to keep things workable.

 

[nframe]

Thank you all for this. The problem is that I live in the UK and the suppliers you mention are in the USA. I will have to be more careful in future. I think that Gracefruit gives some sort of description so maybe I should stick to them. Also, I did not have everything measured and ready but I had added the FOs/EOs before the lye mixture. I thought that would be enough. It is all very frustrating... Thank you again.

 

[Andrea]

I don't know if this will help you but it helped me so... what I've been doing with FO's recently (after many frustrated batches) is measuring it out and then adding a teeny amount of my batch to the fragrance oils in a smaller bowl (maybe a couple of oz?) then I gently blend it up and once I see if it looks okay I'll pour a bit more of the main batch in and blend it in (still gently by hand), then if I'm quite happy that it is going to behave I'll pour that mixture back into my main batch and give it a good but gentle mix. I feel very comfortable with this approach because I'm only chancing a bit of the mix at a time instead of crossing my fingers with the whole batch. I did try to add the FO to the oils pre lye once and I really liked the thought of it but the batch went bad for me (not sure if it was to do with the FO that time) but since then feel a lot safer doing mini-batch FO trials ahead of time (to check acceleration as well as discoloring) and then when it comes to the main batch just continuing to add the mix to the FO until I'm satisfied it will behave.

That's just my way of doing it though I think everyone needs to practice and get down the routine that they find they like the best.

 

[Donna]

Re: Fragrance Oils

I've found that The Soap Scent Review Board has saved me a lot of frustration.
You can check others' experiences with a particular FO. It takes a second to join (it's free)
and IMO is well worth it. It's quite extensive.
Also, there is a Fragrance Review on this forum.

 

[Skatergirl46]

If your HP was "flaky" it may have been over-cooked.

 

[nframe]

If your HP was "flaky" it may have been over-cooked.

Most probably but I thought I had to wait until it looked like vaseline. The problem is that when it did, it was already solidifying. I have never done HP before and this experience has rather put me off.
Thank you for all your comments.

 

[nebetmiw]

I have had my worst soaping experience today. I made a nice recipe which I found on the forum:

Castor oil 6%
Coconut oil 27%
Apricot kernel oil 12%
Olive oil 35%
Mango butter 15%
Cocoa butter 5%

I added some sugar, salt, sodium lactate and vitamin E oil. Then I decided to add fragrance and I think this is what caused my problems. I added fennel EO, rose EO and sandalwood and rose FO in equal quantities. The whole thing seized up immediately. I had this happen to me before but this time it had what looked like lumps of a lighter colour in it. I was not sure if it was a false trace or a real fast trace so I decided to cook it and do HP. This was my first HP experience – very traumatic! The end result is very disappointing: coarse, flaky and not nice at all. I fail to understand how some people can like HP! Unless I am doing it badly of course, which is a real possibility. I would have read up about it beforehand if I had known.

Anyway, all this leads me to ask whether there are any EOs/FOs which do NOT accelerate trace – apart from lavender. My husband tells me just to use lavender from now on but this would be too boring. Surely there must be other FOs/EOs which behave! I am not sure where to look and would appreciate people's experiences on the subject. Thank you.

You will have to do a bit of reading on the various soap EO websites to learn about them. OR you can do what Donna suggested and sign up to the Scent Review Board and get all the information you want right there. All the owners asks is that you post reviews on FO or EO you use. You will find reviews on how a EO or FO reacted and some on how long the scent last. It is very through site.

 

[Skatergirl46]

You could use the same recipe and just HP it.

 

[nframe]

Update (after a week)

After all the things I wrote about the horrible experience of making this soap, it is now my absolute favourite!! It feels lovely, the scent is subtle and it is really creamy and bubbly. I don't know whether it is due solely to the recipe or to the fact that it was HP or to both. Would HP really improve the quality of a soap? Visually, it is not the best but it is wonderful to use.

 

[judymoody]

I have often found that with soap that I have to rebatch. It won't win beauty contests but is often gentle and pleasant to use.

 

[Carmin]

I don't know if this will help you but it helped me so... what I've been doing with FO's recently (after many frustrated batches) is measuring it out and then adding a teeny amount of my batch to the fragrance oils in a smaller bowl (maybe a couple of oz?) then I gently blend it up and once I see if it looks okay I'll pour a bit more of the main batch in and blend it in (still gently by hand), then if I'm quite happy that it is going to behave I'll pour that mixture back into my main batch and give it a good but gentle mix. I feel very comfortable with this approach because I'm only chancing a bit of the mix at a time instead of crossing my fingers with the whole batch. I did try to add the FO to the oils pre lye once and I really liked the thought of it but the batch went bad for me (not sure if it was to do with the FO that time) but since then feel a lot safer doing mini-batch FO trials ahead of time (to check acceleration as well as discoloring) and then when it comes to the main batch just continuing to add the mix to the FO until I'm satisfied it will behave.

That's just my way of doing it though I think everyone needs to practice and get down the routine that they find they like the best.

Thank you for the tips. It‘s difficult to know which fragrances do not speed trace, I wish, here in UK, there was a company like Bramble berry in the States, to specify which fragrances are “well behaved”.