Fragrance Experiment

[scouter139]

Here is an experiment I've been doing the last month or so...read it on the SMF board somewhere and decided to give it a try. Made a double batch of the single bar recipe, brought it to a light trace and divided it up into 1 oz each inside either styrofoam or plastic cups. Marked them with the name of the FO or EO and then added I think 28 drops of fragrance for the FO's and about half that for the EO's. Don't ask how I got to that number of drops, I was trying to figure 1oz ppo. I really just wanted to see how the fragrance changed from out of the bottle and how it bloomed over the next several weeks. There weren't alot that accelerated, it was hard to tell at the end of the batch anyway the thicker the trace got but it was very interesting watching the discoloration and smelling the changes in the fragrances. It really wasn't difficult to do and sure is saving money not making up bigger batches of soap my family doesn't like. I got about 11 or so out of a double batch. Below are some pictures I took before my family laid claim to their favorites. No titanium oxide in these and you can see the wide range of discoloration from the same recipe. Really did help me alot with the way the different fragrances change with time.

The dark one below is a pink sugar...it got the darkest.

Just showing the contrast of another sample

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[PrairieCraft]

Nice. What a great experiment. Thanks for sharing.

 

[soapbuddy]

It looks like an interesting experiment. Thanks.

 

[Lindy]

Very cool experiment. Would you mind sharing your findings with us?

Huge amount of work that you did though!

 

[ChrissyB]

Have you had any trouble getting the soap out of those paper cups?

 

[Hazel]

What a good idea! I'll have to try it.

 

[scouter139]

I'll post some of what I found later tonight but mostly it was done to find out what I liked and didn't like. It's going to be a matter of taste, what I didn't like at all, others will just love.

I didn't have any trouble taking the soap out except for sage and lemongrass and that one ate through the styrofoam when I added it to the soap and stirred it. There were a couple of fragrances that affected the styrofoam a little, that one ate through it right away. I just had to peel the styrofoam away from the top and then it came off the bottom. The other little soaps are pulling away from the sides on their own as they cure.

It is well worth the time and a few hours to try this especially when all you have to go by is a description of the smell and the suggestions of other soapers. I'll bet we all have alot of unused 1 oz bottles of fragrances around that we'll never use. I would suggest though, make no more than a double batch at one time, it does take some time to do the set up. I picked out the fragrances I wanted to try, had them all sitting out with tops behind them. I cut straws into 3 pieces and used them as pippettes and then stirrers. I marked all the cups with the names in order I had the smells sitting on the counter. I had my book there with me with the names of all the fragrances written. If you have the time, do a batch, add the fragrances, then make another batch and add the fragrances and so on. I actually cut the cups down into about 3 inch mini cups and had my scale right there. I would put a mini cup on the scale, scoop in about an ounce and then line them all on a tray. Then I would add the fragrances, stir well, watch for acceleration, note it, watch for discoloration, note it. My family had a blast going through them every week. Some fragrances were very surprising, things I didn't think I would like were wonderful, others...blah!

I'm just thinking I'll put up for sale all the fragrances I didn't like. I also bought some lots of fragrances from other soapers who stopped soaping or didn't like their fragrances so some I have are more than 1 ounce bottles but that's down the road. Too bad we can't cut them and divy them up...instead of a sample of sniffies, send a sample of soap with the fragrance.

A note, the recipe is the one with olive oil, coconut oil and palm, I think it's listed as a one bar soap recipe. A double batch makes about 11 or 12 little cups.

 

[ToniD]

I did an experiment similar to that--i was determining superfat levels and additives like Vit E or whatever.

Anyway, how did it work for you with the thickening? I could not get mylast couple of samples mixed in well and I just did 12 little bars.

 

[soapbuddy]

Styrofoam and EO's or FO's don't mix well. They will melt it. I would have tried plastic or waxed cups like Dixie cups.

 

[scouter139]

I did do some plastic in my last batch and they worked fine but surprisingly, only the one melted the styrofoam that bad.

I brought the batches to a very light trace, since a double did about 11 little soaps, I didn't have much trouble. You could also do it in single batches and that would work even better.

 

[scouter139]

Wasn't sure if this would bump back to the top of the list when I added the addition of the names of the fragrances used so I'm just adding a note.
I expected the pink sugar to go dark because of everyone else's comments but for some reason I did not expect bayberry to go as dark as it did.

 

[dcornett]

Very cool experiment!! But you know that where you get the fragrance oil from can make a difference not only in the scent, but with discoloration as well. For example the pink sugar from soap supplies will not get this dark (I've tried both) and my bayberry from NG smells heavenly, but it didn't discolor like yours did. That's what frustrates me...not only figuring out which scents I like best, but also which supplier to buy them from. :?

 

[PrairieCraft]

Just did this little experiment for the first time and it was so much fun. What a time saver. I've been trying to wade through all of my 1oz bottles of FOs by making a pound at a time. It was taking forever and a some of the batches I ended up not liking much. I just did 16 of these and I am letting lye cool to do 16 more. Sometime in the near future I will post results on the SSRB.

 

[falldowngobump]

Wow! I am loving this experiment! Thank you so much for posting! I hate it when a fragrance does something I never expected it to do--this is so cool!

 

[dcornett]

Wow! Looking forward to your results!!!!

 

[nursenancy]

I love this idea! I'm definitely trying this! Thanks for posting it.

 

[scouter139]

Cool Prairie,
Can't wait to see your results. I just packed all mine into sandwhich bags marked with the name, not completely closed...I'm guessing it's 5 to 6 pounds worth.
Experimenting like this has saved me a ton of money. I don't buy more than an ounce to try it, then when I find ones I like, I buy a larger bottle.
Once you've done it once or twice, it's really easy. And it's just too cool with all those little soaps curing at the same time.

 

[judymoody]

scouter 139 and prairiecraft, how did manage to count out 28 or 30 drops out of each straw pipette? I'm imagining it all falling out in a whoosh. Did you hold it horizontally or at a shallow diagonal? I would love to try this. I have far too many sample sized bottles!

 

[PrairieCraft]

Judy- I cut the straws in half and the first time stuck it all the way in the 1oz bottles to get as much as I could and then counted the drops right back into the bottle. Make sure the cut side is down so you can get a good seal against your finger and then just move your finger the smallest amount possible off the edge of the straw so you don't release it all at once. After I counted the drops back into the bottle I realized that what I could draw up out of a 1oz bottle with half a straw is almost exactly 30 drops, I just filled the straw up and dropped it all in my cup. It's awesome and even with a bigger bottle 30 drops is about all you can get into half of a straw. Perfect!!

 

[judymoody]

Thanks, I just used my silicone mini muffin pan. Twelve little fragrances just waiting to discolor. They were almost disappointingly well behaved. Only two sped up and none did anything dramatic.

Peak: Asian Sandalwood and Ocean

Adobe Soap Works: Herbal Hemp, Fern, Sweetgrass

Southern Soapers: Veldfire, Blue Musk, Bossa Nova

SGS: Green Tweed, Black Vetiver Cafe and the ever popular discoloring Pink Sugar

Elements B&B - Dragon's Blood

Oops, forgot my control cup! Next time!

I did 90% OO and 10% Castor.