Creating Fragrant Cp Soaps: The Right Fragrance Oil Ratio

When making cold process (CP) soap, the amount of fragrance you add is important. The general rule is to add 0.7 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of soap. However, this can vary depending on the type of oil used and the desired strength of the scent. For example, Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil is a strong fragrance, and the maximum recommended amount is 0.2 ounces per pound of CP soap. Some sources suggest that 3-4 ounces of fragrance oil is needed for a 12% fragrance load, which may be too high. It's important to calculate the correct amount of fragrance to add to your CP soap to ensure the best results.

How much fragrance oil to use in CP soap

When making CP soap, the amount of fragrance oil you use will depend on how strong you want the scent to be. For a strong scent, you can add 0.7 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of cold process soap. For melt and pour, you can add 0.3 ounces per pound. This number will vary based on the oil you choose. For example, Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil is very strong, so the maximum recommended amount is 0.2 ounces per pound of cold process soap.

Some sources suggest that 12% fragrance oil will work out to 3-4 ounces for 40 ounces of oil, which is a lot. If you're using a blend of essential oils, you can calculate the maximum usage of one and add that to the others. For example, if you're using bergamot and cedarwood, bergamot has a rate of 0.70 oz PPO and cedar is 0.40 oz PPO.

How to measure essential oils for CP soap

To make CP soap, you will need to add essential oils to your soap recipe. The amount of essential oils you add will depend on the strength of fragrance you want. For a strong scent, you can add 0.7 ounces of essential oil per pound of cold process soap. For melt and pour, you can add 0.3 ounces per pound.

If you are using a blend of essential oils, you will need to calculate the total amount of each oil and then multiply to get the percentage of each. For example, if you are making a batch of soap with 32 oz (2 lbs) of oil, you could use 40% lavender, 40% cedarwood, and 20% fir needle.

You can also measure essential oils by the drop. For every pound of base oil, add 5-10 drops of essential oil.

Once you have created your desired scent, add the essential oils to your soap base. If you are using a melt and pour soap base, melt the base first, then add the oil.

For best results, use your oil blend within six months. After this time, the fragrance will start to fade.

How to calculate fragrance oil percentages

To calculate fragrance oil percentages, you need to know the weight of your wax and the fragrance load. This will allow you to find the fragrance oil weight. The formula is: f/100 x W = F, where f is the fragrance load, W is the wax weight and F is the fragrance oil weight.

For example, if you are making a candle with a wax weight of 17.82 ounces and a fragrance load of 0.7, the calculation would be: 0.7/100 x 17.82 = 0.12474, meaning you would need to add 0.12 ounces of fragrance oil.

The amount of fragrance oil you need will depend on the strength of the fragrance and the type of product you are making. For instance, if you are making cold process soap, you can add 0.7 ounces of fragrance oil per pound of soap for a strong scent. However, if you are using Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil, the maximum recommended amount is 0.2 ounces per pound of cold process soap.

If you are making a product with a base weight of 40 ounces, you may want to use a total of 3 ounces of essential oil for a strong scent. This would be a total EO percentage of 7.5%.

How to prevent scent fading in CP soap

When making CP soap, the amount of fragrance oil or essential oil you use will depend on the strength of the oil and the desired strength of the scent. For a strong scent, you can add 0.7 ounces of fragrance or essential oil per pound of cold process soap. For melt and pour, you can add 0.3 ounces per pound. However, some oils, like Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil, are very strong, and the maximum recommended amount is 0.2 ounces per pound of cold process soap.

To prevent scent fading in CP soap, there are several things you can do:

• Work at low temperatures (around 30°C) to prevent the scent from evaporating.
• Choose oils and butters that are not sensitive to oxidation, such as hemp seed oil, evening primrose oil, or rosehip oil.
• Add some vitamin E, an antioxidant, at 1% of the total weight of oils and butters.
• Increase the ratio of water to sodium hydroxide (between 1.75 and 2.25) if one of your chosen essential oils or aromatic essences accelerates trace. This will make your soap take longer to dry, but it will help to retain the scent.
• Add 1-3% clay to your essential oils when you reach trace. All clays will work, but white clay will have the most subtle effect on the final colour of your soap. Clays will trap scents, making your soap smell lovely for longer, as well as making it creamier and increasing the lather.
• Always put base notes in your recipe. They will help to anchor the middle and top notes, which fade more easily, and your cold process soap will keep its scent for longer.

Essential oil usage rates

It is important to note that some essential oils have maximum usage rates, such as Cherry Almond Fragrance Oil, which is recommended at a maximum of 0.2 ounces per pound of cold process soap.

When calculating essential oil usage rates, it is recommended to use a scale for accuracy. Some sources suggest measuring by the drop, but this can be unreliable for consistency.

If you are using multiple essential oils, you can calculate the maximum usage rate for each oil and add them together to get the total amount of essential oil for your soap. For example, if you are using bergamot, cedarwood, and lavender, you would calculate the maximum usage rate for lavender and add it to the usage rates for bergamot and cedarwood. Bergamot has a rate of 0.70 ounces PPO, while cedar is 0.40 ounces PPO.

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