Percentage of FO to oils

[Dutchie]

Hi all, I am a returning newbie to soap making. I made a few batches a few years ago, then moved to MP soap and then stopped making soap for a while, but like with all my hobbies, they get my interest back after a while

I made some bathces last week and ordered some new FO's which are great and now I want to soap them up! :mrgreen:

But I can't find how much FO to use again, so hope you can help out!

What's the percentage of FO to oils you use?

If it helps, the FOs I have are from Sensory Perfection in the UK I think, I bought them at a Dutch supplier, but their website stated they are resellers of that brand.

 

[cmzaha]

Check the IFRA on the site of the fo you purchased. From the few I checked at Sensory Perfection they have the IFRA available for their fo's. Here is one fo they have that have the IFRA listed http://www.sensoryperfection.co.uk/ourshop/prod_3597738-Black-Linen-and-Amber-50ml.html

 

[shunt2011]

Hi all, I am a returning newbie to soap making. I made a few batches a few years ago, then moved to MP soap and then stopped making soap for a while, but like with all my hobbies, they get my interest back after a while

I made some bathces last week and ordered some new FO's which are great and now I want to soap them up! :mrgreen:

But I can't find how much FO to use again, so hope you can help out!

What's the percentage of FO to oils you use?

If it helps, the FOs I have are from Sensory Perfection in the UK I think, I bought them at a Dutch supplier, but their website stated they are resellers of that brand.

Hello and welcome. You will need to contact supplier and request the IFRA to see what the safe usage rates are on each fragrance. That's hte only way to really know.

Unfortunately, some fragrances are good at 1% and others at 5 or higher. Though I've never gone over 6%.

Most companies have the IFRA sheets available on their site when ordering.

 

[DeeAnna]

I second Carolyn and Irish Lass' suggestions about learning what the IRFA guidelines are for the maximum possible % of the fragrance one could use.

I want to add that people sometimes get confused by how to interpret the IRFA percentages. The maximum amount recommended by IRFA for use in soap or lotion is not always the desirable or sensible amount of the fragrance to use in a soap. Like IL, I seldom go over 6% of fragrance in my soap even if the IRFA guideline might be much, much higher. I've found that using more than about 6% fragrance affects the softness of the soap, so if I can't get a good, lasting scent with 6% max, I probably need to look for another fragrance that works better rather than using more and more of the current one.

One of my fragrances has an IRFA guideline of 100% in soap or lotion. That percentage is silly for all practical purposes, but it does mean I can use this fragrance with a free hand.

Other IRFA guidelines are quite low however -- I have one fragrance that has a 3.5% max for use in soap or lotion. In that case, I will use up to 3.5% of that fragrance, but I will not go over that limit.

 

[Dutchie]

Thanks both! I will contact the supplier, for now i took 5% of the total weight of the raw soap, which seems a bit much i think, but i made only a small batch, so if i overdid it, it's not that bad.

 

[cmzaha]

Sorry, I did forget to mention I fragrance between 6-7%. Usually 6% but I have a few faders that work at 7%. I do not purchase fo's that cannot go over 3.5%, they usually do not fragrance strong enough for my customers. I do not know about the UK but here in the US IFRA guidelines are not mandatory.

 

[Dutchie]

So you guys are talking % of oils and not total soap weight right?

 

[MySoapyHeart]

So you guys are talking % of oils and not total soap weight right?

Yes.

If someone ever calculates fragranceoil/essential oil using the total of the batter (meaning all the water + oils + additives etc) then you would have a soap at the end of the cure that had way too much fragrance since the water evaporates, leaving only a small procentage of water left, hence making the fragrance much more concentrated.

Calculating the safetylevel of a fragrance by your oils only, you don`t have to worry about things like that.