Teach Soap

I am having an issue with my scents lasting in my CP soap. For example, I have a bar of soap (which is about 3 months old) that is scented with a blend of Peppermint and Spearmint Essential oil and now the soap doesn't smell like either oil. I only use Essential oils so I add Kaolin Clay because I heard clay helps the scent last longer. I package the soaps in cardboard boxes and store them in plastic totes because I go to a lot of markets and this makes loading and unloading quicker and easier. I am not sure if my issue is with:
1. not using enough Essential Oils
2. not using enough clay
3. packaging them in cardboard boxes
4. storing them in plastic totes
Any suggestion would be appreciated.
Thank you.

How much of those essential oils are you using ppo?

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Genny

I usually use around .7 ounces per pound for most Essential oils. Certain ones I use less, like Patchouli, because I find it to be fairly strong smelling and a little pricey. My soaps start out with a nice mild smell then all of the sudden, the smell is gone. I have noticed that when I start using the soap, the scent will come back, but it is hard to sell soap labeled "peppermint" if the customer cannot smell anything.

Where are you getting your essential oils from?

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Wow, that is odd! If I used .7oz ppo of the peppermint essential oil I have it would be WAY too strong. Maybe your essential oils are "watered" down with carrier oil?

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Most of the Essential Oils I use I purchase from Bramble Berry, Camden Grey and some I get from a local health food store. The Now Foods Essential Oil brand is another one I use. I feel these are good oils to use. I am thinking maybe the plastic totes are drawing the scent out (if that's possible).

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I keep all of my soaps in plastic bins and they never lose their scent.

I wonder what the heck is happening

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Two ideas:
1. Are you adding the E.O. at too hot a temp causing it to evaporate out of the soap?
2. Sometimes I get so used to a scent that I can't really smell it anymore, or it is very weak to me. But to someone else who doesn't spend much of their day sniffing oils and soaps, it still has a fragrance. Has anyone else done a sniff test for you?

Are you sure that customers or people that are not around the soaps regularly can't smell it? I've found that a lot of times when soapers say the scent is gone it's not the case at all, it's just that we've smelled it too long so our brain doesn't acknowledge the smell any longer.

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Genny

My husband said he can smell the Peppermint and the Spearmint in the soap, but I cannot. It could very well be I am used to the smell, therefore I can't smell the scent. Usually the soap has a cooling effect on the skin, but I cannot feel that either. I mix my lye solution and oils between 100 and 110 degrees, but I also force gel which could be a lot of the problem.

If you are using an essential oil, make sure that you do NOT over use it just to get a specific effect, or even in general. Over use can be dangerous. Not only do you need to worry about the eyes, but you don't want any whohaws burning! And, let's face it, when you are showering, most people would not remember to "not" use the bar to wash their face and their private parts. So make sure you check the max usage rate on each eo you consider using. And by the max usage rate I do not mean the fragrance calculator on a vendor site, as some of those are set to a generality. Use the IFRA usage rate (www.ifraorg.org) for the maximum amount and use common sense too. If it smells good under the max use rate, go with that, just don't exceed the max use rate. Soap is category 9, so be sure to check the product category as well. For instance, spearmint in soap can be used at 4% max, but when used in powders and talcs (except baby ones) it has a max use rate of 1.8%. And, fyi, peppermint can be used at 5% in bar soap.

Another consideration is that some scents will fade during curing, but will bounce back at a different point in curing. It is a scent morphing that happens from time to time. Take good notes and you will be able to track those. Sometimes the scent may not appear to return, yet when the soap gets wet it will smell just fine. That is often called "blooming" in the shower. But I think that you probably are just used to the scent and therefore do not smell it as well as other.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

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Genny

Thanks for the link to IFRA. The site is full of a lot of information, but I wasn't able to find the link to specific essential oils and their max ratio in soap. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.

I have a minty soap that I made last spring using EOs, with a bit of citrus, and the scent is still fine. You could try this: get away from the soap and sniff some coffee grounds. That can clear out your sniffer! Then smell the soap.
It happens to me that a balm or soap doesn't seem to have the scent anymore, but it's really just because my workshop space is so full of wonderful scents that my poor nose is overwhelmed!

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Lesli Sagan
Avital's Apiaries
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