Is making soap included in your hobbies? Or perhaps you make various handmade soaps and make it as a business? Whatever you are into, adding fragrance oil can make your soap smell unique. Even better, fragrance oil comes with many benefits for soap making. But how much fragrance oil per pound of soap? And how much should you add fragrance oil to your soap? Let’s explore more!
Why Do We Use Fragrance Oil for Soap Making?
Before we dive into the calculation of fragrance oil in soap, let’s know the reasons to use it for soap making. Well, there are different reasons why people use fragrance oil for making soap in soap boxes wholesale.
Have a look below for the top reasons!
Get a Wide Range of Pre-Mixed Scents
Fragrance oil provides a wide range of pre-mixed scents in soap making. For example, if you want to make strawberry-scented soaps, you surely need to add fragrance oil to your lovely soaps.
Fragrance Oil Is More Sustainable and Cost-Effective
If you haven’t known yet, fragrance oil can be more sustainable and cost-effective than essential oil. The main reason is that this oil does not require a large amount of plant matter to produce.
Last Longer with a Stronger Scent
Fragrance oil can last longer and have a stronger scent when you add it to your soaps.
How About Essential Oil?
Meanwhile, mostly, essential oils are extracted from plants and trees, but not exclusively. These oils were made through steam distillation. In addition, it will take a huge quantity of plant material to produce relatively small quantities of essential oils. Therefore the process is extremely demanding of the raw materials needed. Well, this is the main reason that makes them very expensive.
What Percentage of Fragrance Oil Is in Soap?
On average, the fragrance oil in soap should be at a concentration of 5% to 6%. This, as well, if the fragrance has a high safety rating.
For higher concentrations, you can find fragrance soaps that don’t release much fragrance on their own. These fragrance chemicals are also famous as toxins.
However, different soap producers might have different preferences and methods for calculating fragrance oil usage rates they should use.
How Much Fragrance Oil per Pound of Soap?
Typically, the amount of fragrance oil per pound of soap depends on the type and strength of the oil. Plus, it also depends on your personal preference. To use this oil properly, you will need around 0.8 ounces of fragrance oil per pound of soap. This will give your soap a strong scent.
How Much Fragrance Oil to Add to Soap?
Now it comes to decide how much fragrance oil you should add to soap. It also depends on some factors, such as:
- The type of soap you are making
- Type of fragrance oil you are using
- Your personal preference
Here are some guidelines you can follow!
For Cold Process Soap
You should add a maximum of 0.7 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of soap. Keep in mind that this is a medium-strength scent. However, you can adjust it according to the strength of the fragrance oil and your preference. Just remember that some fragrance oils can be very strong.
For Melt and Pour Soap
You should add not more than 0.3 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of soap. Yes, this is also a medium-strength scent. But, of course, you can adjust it depending on the fragrance oil and your preference as well.
How Much Essential Oil to Add to Soap?
We know that there are different methods and types of soap making. Accordingly, the amount of essential oil to add to a soap might vary. Yes, it depends on the process and the soap base.
Well, here’s a scoop you can take: Use 1-3% essential oil of the total weight of the soap base. In simple words, if you are using 1 pound of soap base, you should use 0.2 ounces or 6 ml of essential oil. Don’t worry, you can use a digital scale or a measuring spoon when adding the right amount of essential oil to your soap.
What Should You Note When Adding Oil to Your Soap?
To make your soap smell nice and perfect, you should note some things when adding fragrance oil or essential oil to it.
- Temperature flash point
Do note that each fragrance and essential oil has a flash point. You need to consider this flash point to determine shipping restrictions. Why?
Because if the oil is heated to the flashpoint and comes in contact with an open flame, it can ignite.
Well, there is no case of any substantial fading at higher temperatures so far. But it is something you should take note of. So, if you’re using a low flashpoint scent, you can use lower temperatures. Also, you should avoid the gel phase to be extra careful. Moreover, if you make hot process soap, you need to stick to high flash point oils.
- Storage rules
To make sure that the scent stays strong, you should store your soap in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Or else, you can also dip a cotton ball or balled-up paper towel in the fragrance oil and then place it by the soap. This way, it will help your soap to absorb some of the scent.
- Make sure the fragrance oil is tested and approved
To get the best results, make sure the fragrance oil you are using has been tested thoroughly and approved for soap. Eventually, you can also experiment with blending and usage rates of the oil until you find the best option for your soap-making recipe!
Final Notes
Undoubtedly, adding fragrance oil can make your soap smell unique. Even better, fragrance oil comes with many benefits for soap making. However, you should also note that there are rules for how much fragrance oil you should add to your soap. Also, you should consider some points like temperature, storage, and the type of fragrance oil.
So, are you ready to make lovely scented soaps?
Happy soap-making!
