Questions about fragrances for soap

[Homeslice]

Brand new to this. I went to youtube and searched for soap fragrances or something similar. I expected the videos that came up to have like soap specific type fragrances. But I've watched a few, and they seem to be talking about colognes/perfumes! Like, not soap specific at all, just dump regular old colognes/perfumes in your soap.

Is that right? Not a bad thing by any stretch! Just news to me. Can any cologne/perfume be used pretty much? And most of those cost a good bit, if I want to try and buy the ingredients (oils and what not) that make up THOSE, what are those called and where can I find them? I know there are "essential oils" for soap making, which are actual plant extracts and what not, but then there are also fragrance oils. Is there a good place to get the ones that the perfume/cologne companies use to come up with their products, so I can experiment with my own and what not?

Thanks!!!

 

[ChemicalPyros]

Hello Homeslice,

There is such a thing such as soap fragrance/perfume, but they are usually custom made in Houses of Perfumes according to customers requirements, usually they are sold in bulk and are exclusive to big soap manufacturers. So usually soap makers do not have access to them (at least not easily or cheaply).

Fragrances and perfumes may be tricky to deal with when making soap, they may cause a wide array of trouble, from color changes (when the frag is rich in vanilla for example), to ricing or overheating. So I would recommend you keep detailed notes for every frag you use, and always keep samples under observation for long periods of time ( 1 to 2 years) so you may know what changes may occur with time, whether visually or olfactory.

Commercial perfumes contain Ethanol and other additives such as fixatives, stabilizers, UV-absorbents, .... So it will be difficult to make soap with a commercial perfume. The best way is to go to a fragrance supplier and ask for fragrance oils, usually they have a wide array of original fragrances or knock offs. You can always go with essential oils but keep in mind that any fragrance-type additive will affect the trace and alter the soapmaking process, especially when they are made via cold process.

Personally, I have some difficult fragrances, that made me change the formulation just to accommodate them, other fragrances rich in vanilla are limited in colors, I can only make dark colors when using them. So prepare to be extremely flexible when it comes to fragrances.

 

[Homeslice]

Thank you ChemicalPyros! Much appreciated, and hello to you in Lebanon from Texas! What you wrote makes complete sense to me. I went back and did my youtube search again, and wasn't finding the same results I saw before. So I started tweaking the search terms again and found what I found before - it was men's fragrances (cologne) that SMELL soapy, not fragrances to be used in soap making haha. All is now right with the world.

Any places online where you prefer to get fragrances for soap making?

Thanks!!!

 

[ChemicalPyros]

You're most welcome Homeslice,

Hello to you in Texas from Lebanon, too. I hope to visit it one day just to learn how to make brisket.

I buy my FOs from local dealers, so sorry no websites to recommend, but I can recommend the manufacturers but you have to look for local dealers in your area or state. If you want quality but a little bit on the expensive side, you can look for a Symrise (www.symrise.com) dealer, they have the best FOs, for a more cheap option you can look for an SK France (www.skfrance.fr) Dealer, they have pretty good FOs, but they tend to be citrusy and they maybe a little bit generous with the vanilla. My personal favorite is Moellhausen (www.moellhausen.com), this fragrance house is top notch, I use their FOs for clients who are willing to pay top dollar because they are very expensive, but they never disappoint.

I have found a website (I have never actually used it) so I'll leave it to your convenience to use it or not for fragrances, they have also other soap accessories. The website is: Магазин мыловарения и компонентов для натуральной косметики

 

[Homeslice]

Thank you very much ChemicalPyros! I'll take a look.

And yes, Texas brisket is the best tasting meat on the planet.

 

[Ateftabet]

Hello I am very new to this platform.

Trying to get a receipt for Alovera soda with fragrance of lemon grass , using olive oil 80% and coconut plus castor and Arian oil …how to use the Noah to alovera ice ratio , using calcium hydroxide or Noah