novice to melt & pour Mother's Day gift

[WildIris]

Could someone please direct me to a resource(s) on how much essential oil/fragrance and hydrating oils I can add to a melted base. I see 6%, but 6% of what? Obviously, I've never done this before.

I want to make a super hydrating soap for my elderly mother for Mother's Day. Her skin is very dry and paper thin. Can I add more oils to a soap base? If so how much?

Links are most welcome!

Thanks

 

[dixiedragon]

Not a melt and pour person, but Majestic Mountain Sage has a fragrance calculator:
https://www.thesage.com/calcs/FragCalc.html

The percentage they give you is weight. So, for example (to make the math easy), if you have 100 ounces of melt and pour, and you want to use 6%, that would be 6 ounces.

So is not a leave-on product. It is not hydrating. Handmade soap will typically be less drying than commercial soap because of the amount of glycerin present. Big commercial soap companies remove the glycerin from soap and sell the glycerin to lotion companies. Soaps with out this removed are less drying.

If your mom has very dry skin, you may also want to make her a lotion. Lotion making is very simple. Most of the places that sell M&P will also sell lotion making supplies.

 

[WildIris]

Not a melt and pour person, but Majestic Mountain Sage has a fragrance calculator:
https://www.thesage.com/calcs/FragCalc.html

The percentage they give you is weight. So, for example (to make the math easy), if you have 100 ounces of melt and pour, and you want to use 6%, that would be 6 ounces.

So is not a leave-on product. It is not hydrating. Handmade soap will typically be less drying than commercial soap because of the amount of glycerin present. Big commercial soap companies remove the glycerin from soap and sell the glycerin to lotion companies. Soaps with out this removed are less drying.

If your mom has very dry skin, you may also want to make her a lotion. Lotion making is very simple. Most of the places that sell M&P will also sell lotion making supplies.

Thanks for clearing up my confusion. Lotion sounds like a good idea too.

 

[dixiedragon]

Wholesale Supplies Plus is having a sale tomorrow. They carry essential oil, fragrance oils, M&P and lotion making supplies. Regarding the lotion: you may enjoy a kit.
http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/starter-kits/bath-body-kits/lotion-making-kits.aspx

You can make lotion from scratch, or you can use a base. If you don't care for the kits, you can order the base by itself and order the fragrance you want.

 

[lisamaliga]

WildIris,
You can buy a melt and pour soap base with shea butter, cocoa butter or hemp seed oil already added. Those 3 oils/butters are usually good for all skin types. Evening Primrose oil or rosehip seed oil is nice for mature skin types. If you make a few bars of soap, you can add about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon per pound. Many soap bases are sold in pounds so that usually makes about 4 bars. My rule of thumb is to add up to 1 Tablespoon of additives per pound which will include any fragrance or essential oil.
Hope this helps!