using Essential Oils for scents

[angelapferr]

Hey guys,

I have noticed that whenever I give someone a bar of my soap, the first thing they ever do is smell it. The thing is, my soaps do not smell like anything ! I use essential oils for fragrance because I want to only use natural products for soap making, but the scents only last maybe a month, and some EO's loose the scents in a couple of weeks
I leave my soaps out for a month or 2 before giving them out, but by that time, all the scents are completely gone. I am adding the essential oils after I have already hit trace, and I use about 20-30 drops for 15 bars.

Am I putting the EO in at the wrong time ? are there only certain EO's that work ??? do I need to not use EO for fragrance ? are there any other ways to scent soap in a (more) natural way ?

Thanks guys !

 

[judymoody]

I use mostly EO to scent my soap.

You aren't using enough. General recommendation is 2-3% per pound of oils. For a 900 gram (oil weight) recipe that yields 9 bars of soap, I use 27 grams, about 1 ounce of EO.

 

[Eve]

With the first bars of soap I made I also measured my EO in drops, like I did when making perfume. One drop in a burner scents an entire room, so why not? Turns out you actually need a ton of oil, like an entire bottle (the small 5ml ones you'd get in a health store, for example) for a couple of bars.

 

[lsg]

I have soap that is over two years old that still smells good. Citrus essential oils are notorious for fading. They need an anchor like litsea or patchouli. I also use a little cosmetic clay for scents that fade. I use from .5 oz to 1 oz ppo, depending on the essential oil. Some EOs like peppermint or spice EOs are very strong and can cause irritation if used in too great an amount.

 

[Miha Engblom]

what kind of clay do you use and what does " ppo " mean?

 

[Obsidian]

Kaolin is a good clay and ppo mean per pound of oil.

 

[dixiedragon]

For citrus or citrus-like EOs (like lemongrass), I soak dried, powdered citrus peel with the EO for a few days. I think the citrus peel helps the scent stick more, plus it is a source of scent itself.

 

[angelapferr]

Thanks you guys for the feedback. wow, I had no idea I needed to use so much essential oils for one batch of soap. That really makes the soap a lot more expensive !!

Thanks soo much

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Adding EOs at trace won't help the scent to last - it's still in there for some time with a lot of raw lye. It does help reduce some side-effects from certain EOs such as a faster trace or seizing batter, though. Adding it after the gel phase in Hot Process can help, but in Cold Process you'll always have EOs and lye together at some stage.