Soap Disasters #2: Fragrances and Essential Oils

I wish to elaborate on the many disasters that have occurred with scenting a bar of soap. First and foremost you really do have to obtain pure scented oils made just for cosmetic use. This is mostly because if you use an oil made for candles, potpourri, and sachets while bathing, the sensitive parts can erupt with rashes, hives, as well as your eyes burning without end, and you could end up feeling less than stellar the rest of the day. . .not so fun for you, most fun for your roommates that kept you up all night!

With that said, there are many kinds of Fragrance oils (synthetically made) and Essential oils (distilled from plant leaves, stems, roots, & bark). One epic failure was to one of my first hand milled batches of soap (Hand Milling Tutorial coming soon) I added a popular cologne spray at the final steps before scooping into molds. Instantly the cologne vaporized due to it's low volatile rate as well as being partly made out of alcohol (pure alcohol can turn to vapor without any heat anyways leaving behind the pure oil; however, if it's hot enough the oil goes with the alcohol). Needless to say the bar ended up looking good, however scentless.

You really have to learn the ropes with these oils, their pretty darn sensitive and moody. One misplaced judgment or misunderstood characteristic and you have a scentless bar! For example with essential oils, not only are they pricier than all the other options, but each can either speed up the saponification process or slow it down, as well as being ultra sensitive to hot soap. So you really need to do your homework before getting started or that bottle of Cinnamon/Clove Blend Essential Oil that cost about the same as a new DVD, has been vaporized and left your batch of soap hardened in the mixing bowl. Fantastic!

Now time and time again it's taken me to learn this next fact. Fragrance oils sold in hobby shops and craft stores that are specifically labeled: Soap Making Oil are NOT user friendly with the Cold Process of making soap. These soap oils are geared towards Melt & Pour soaping and can be used for hand milled soaps. So far they have never stuck to any batch of CP Soap I've ever made. You'd think after the 10th batch of failed soap I'd finally figure this one out.

Alas, I'm not that quick. So basically the point here is to do your homework before hand! Get everything set up and prepare for what could happen if you add the oils at the wrong time! Make sure you have the proper amounts of Essential Oils, and if using Fragrance oils make sure they are made especially for CP Soap, measured correctly. As I mentioned before, a scentless batch of soap is not lost! You can re-mill it and start fresh. Most soaps can be saved and not wasted. More about that in the Hand Milling Tutorial.