Okay... the "NEW" method is one of my own invention, derivation, thought process, craziness, scrambled brain cells from the 70's! Maybe it isn't new, but to me it is. It really seems to work so far.
I apologize if I came across crabby... I am not new to soap making, just this forum. Of course considering how long some of the main members of this forum have been making soap compared to me, I guess I would be a newcomer, so to speak. Some of them have a lot of experience, especially in the retailing / marketing end of things.
The method is where I add the fragrance oil to the warmed & melted oils prior to adding the lye water solution prior to stick blending. Basically doing it in reverse rather then adding at trace. I also add the Kaolin clay and Titanium Dioxide to the somewhat cooled lye water and let them rehydrate before the blending process. The process works well from what I have observed. I know some will disagree with me, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Regarding clays, to me it doesn't make sense to add them to the oils since clay are a product of water and wind erosion. Therefore, rehydrating in water makes more sense to me.
I will admit, so far it seems to be working well for me with the caveat that the trace will occur quicker than normal, around 2 - 3 minutes or so. The nice thing about this is the fact that I use mostly fragrance oils, of which some are notorious for warp drive tracing! So far with the two batches I've made using this process the trace is more controllable. I just have to remember to stop blending when it gets to the thin gravy stage and then pour into my loaf mold. Checking the mold about 3 minutes later and that critter is setting up quicker than a Missouri mule on a sit down strike! LOL!
This process doesn't give any fudge time for adding colorants post-trace or swirling or fluffing and so forth.
Regarding fragrance oils, I have found the the ones supplies by Paris Fragrances seem to not be so finicky and quick to trace compared to others I have used.
Also, the Kaolin seems to really add to the "scent life" of the soap compared to previous times not using it. Time will tell though.