Scent Retention in Long Cures

[makemineirish]

I am planning ahead for Christmas. (I should be ashamed to admit this, but other posts have assured me that there are some of my kind among you.) I am hoping to try a variety of recipes and scents as gifts. Several of you have spoken out about the importance of "seasoned" soap, suggesting cure times from six to eighteen months for salt bars, castille, and bastille recipes. However, fragrance dissipates over time.

If you are planning on a long cure time, do you still cut your soaps immediately after saponification and dry them on a rack for greater airflow?

or

Do you leave them in a loaf or slab (except salt bars, of course) to allow for greater scent retention, and cut before gifting?

 

[cursivearts]

Following, because I'd like to hear this too.

 

[Candybee]

Castile soap can get really hard so I would cut that baby as soon as its hard enough to handle cutting. Be sure to turn them weekly for a couple of months. Then you should be able to wrap them in wax paper and put them away. Maybe in a box that can 'breathe'.

Some scents survive for months while others can fade in a day, week, month, etc. You just have to use tried and true scents for soaps you plan to make months ahead of time.

 

[mel z]

Cut as you normally would, as soon as the soap can be cut.

To retain scent for long term storage, once it is off the drying racks, you can put it in a box with a cotton ball that has some of the FO on it in with the soap. The soap will keep the scent from the cotton ball fragrance If EO was used, I would only add the cotton ball method a few days before bringing out to use or sell for those that sell.

 

[dagmar88]

You just have to use tried and true scents for soaps you plan to make months ahead of time.

Yup, testing is everything.
People tend to hold on to soap for a while (the "to pretty to use" thing I guess...) and I wouldn't want them to be disappointed when they finally use it.

 

[makemineirish]

Castile soap can get really hard so I would cut that baby as soon as its hard enough to handle cutting.

I have a wire cutter. Would you still do the same with those soaps that do not harden as much?

You just have to use tried and true scents for soaps you plan to make months ahead of time.

I am a newbie and therefore do not have a wealth of experience to draw from. However, I do have access to the fragrance reviews on the Scent Review Board to guide me.

I will only purchase those rated as "stickers". I still wanted to provide as much scent longevity as possible and hoped to plan for the best possible outcome.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will now put a hex on your ash gremlins for the help :twisted:

 

[dagmar88]

I am a newbie and therefore do not have a wealth of experience to draw from. However, I do have access to the fragrance reviews on the Scent Review Board to guide me.

Save a bar from each different batch for at least a year, give it a batch number and take the time to write down every little detail.
It'll help you a lot in the long run.

 

[Lotus]

I have a wire cutter. Would you still do the same with those soaps that do not harden as much?

:twisted:

Hey, I don't know. But, my local natural food store, sells soap by the pound. you can cut off your own bars, any size you like. And then they sell it to you by weight. I always thought this was an interesting practice. Because of this, I imagine you could if you wanted.

 

[melstan775]

I have a wire cutter. Would you still do the same with those soaps that do not harden as much?



I am a newbie and therefore do not have a wealth of experience to draw from. However, I do have access to the fragrance reviews on the Scent Review Board to guide me.

I will only purchase those rated as "stickers". I still wanted to provide as much scent longevity as possible and hoped to plan for the best possible outcome.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will now put a hex on your ash gremlins for the help :twisted:

How do you get on scent review board? There are people who have been tryin for months but can't find signup or contact links.

 

[makemineirish]

How do you get on scent review board? There are people who have been tryin for months but can't find signup or contact links.

I had this problem myself and was quite stymied. Luckily, I am a research phenom (and a persistent ass). While not explicitly stated, all registrations are being handled manually.

Read the "Before You Register" section carefully and then email the administrator.

The email address is somewhat hidden, but possible to figure out. If you scour the extensive FAQ's, the board administrator's email is provided a number of times as a last ditch solution. I will save you the Holmes act and just give it to you:

[email protected]

Email from your paid email account. (I had to set mine up as I have never used it before.) Give the administrator a quick note as to why you would like to join that sounds reassuringly human and non-bot-like. Provide her/him with what user name you would like to use.

S/he will email you back with a short questionnaire about your primary soaping technique and a generic, temporary password. Answer the questionnaire and you are in!

Sign into your account, change the password, and start researching

 

[Candybee]

I heard that the signup was deactivated due to too many spammers. Don't know if thats true but thats the poop I heard about it.

makemineirish-- don't worry! the knowledge will come with time. It may help you to read a bit of the fragrance forums to find some good long lasting oils. I find that patchouli, sandalwood, amber, pine/eucalyptus, peppermint usually last for months even years in my soap. Also a lot of cologne type fragrances I get are strong and lasting especially men's scents. Often I can smell a scent OOB and pretty much can tell the ones that will last. You just get a sense for it but only when you have several batches under your belt will you be a better guesser. To be sure you just have to test.

For Christmas I would go with a Christmas Tree, Mistletoe, or Balsam type, also Frankinsense and Myrrh, Peppermint. These are usually strong and lasting. If you can't find a good pumpkin scent, make a pumpkin soap and put in whatever fragrance you like. I make a buttermilk & pumpkin castile type soap for sensitive skin and scent it with a honey FO.

 

[soapguy]

I use Orris root in the recipe and store the soaps individually rapped in freezer paper or clear plastic.

 

[newbie]

You could never do what they do at the stores- the loaf from which people cut their own bar- with a castile or really high OO bar. They become so hard that you would be unable to just slice off a bar.

 

[Marilyna]

I cure in open air for 4 weeks, then put them in Rubbermaid boxes with lids or store in cello bags. I don't feel they need to breathe. The scent will stay long-term that way. I still don't think I'd want to make Christmas soaps yet, though.