Scent and PA's MP receipe

[blacktieaffair]

I made PA's mp receipe today that she shared with us on the other thread. I loved it, leaves your hands so soft and non greasy, but I do have a question.

I didn't/don't smell the FOs I used ( we used 6 different ones ) and the only one I really smelled was a campfire smoke and gentleman's bay rum ( bf picked these out, not me LOL ). I have waxed both of these , along with the other four we poured, and they throw like a bomb in wax.

Im wondering if I didn't put enough FO in, If they need curing to bring out the scent more, or if I just have soap nose because what I smell mainly, is the soap itself. We used the equiv o 1 t per pound of soap, so if I just did half a pound , we used 1/2 teaspoon.

Is it possible the addatives of the shea, cocoa, jojoba, honey, goats milk etc, is overpowering the scent? Is it safe to add a little extra..

Help?

[HorseScentS]

I think they use a lot more FO than that. I could be wrong, but I thought Candybee said she uses 2 T (capitol T is tablespoons) of FO p.p. Fortunately, you can remelt it and add more FO if necessary.

Edited January 29, 2012 by HorsescentS

[blacktieaffair]

Thanks HS. I've been kind of worried, I've got books and videos that say t and a few that say T and Im like uhhhhh ???

[jackbenimble]

Yes I use half and ounce per pound of FO

[blacktieaffair]

Well, I might have screwed up on the scent, but I did a pretty decent swirl if I do say so myself LOL ( ok, its not HORRIBLE for a very first try, lets put it that way LOL )

[Candybee]

I use 1 TBS FO pp of base. Thats equivalent to 3 tsp pp. This works for me with most FOs. PA's recipe has a lot of additives in it so you have to account for the added weight and volume of the milk, oils, etc. So if the recipe batch you are making is the equivalent of 3 lbs add 3 TBS of FO; 2 TBS for 2 lbs; 1 for 1 lb, etc.

[blacktieaffair]

Any of yall ever felt like just burying your head and going DUH at yourself LOL But, in my defense, I did find a few places last night where iet said teaspoon per pound so I felt a little vindicated !

[Candybee]

The 1 teaspoon per lb is what works for EOs. For FOs I generally use 1 tablespoon per lb. But there are some FOs that I use as much at 1.5 - 2 tbs per lb. Just depends on the strength of the oil. Same with EOs, sometimes I use as much as 2-3 tsp per lb.

[HorseScentS]

Thanks HS. I've been kind of worried, I've got books and videos that say t and a few that say T and Im like uhhhhh ???

Yep, it's confusing. Traditionally, T is tablespoon, and t is teaspoon.

[HorseScentS]

The 1 teaspoon per lb is what works for EOs. For FOs I generally use 1 tablespoon per lb. But there are some FOs that I use as much at 1.5 - 2 tbs per lb. Just depends on the strength of the oil. Same with EOs, sometimes I use as much as 2-3 tsp per lb.

Can ya tell while you're still mixing when you've added enough FO? Or do you have to wait until the soap hardens in the mold and actually wash with it to tell if you've added enough FO?

[blacktieaffair]

LOL so far, Ive found both to be true !!! Last night, mother said it wasn't strong enough.. but bf washed with it this morning and said it was. ( same batch of soap, same type of mold, all that ) . I personally couldn't smell that much of it as I mixed it. But who knows LOL

[Candybee]

Can ya tell while you're still mixing when you've added enough FO? Or do you have to wait until the soap hardens in the mold and actually wash with it to tell if you've added enough FO?

The great thing about M&P is you can smell it while its still melted. If you can't smell the FO once you've stirred it in it will most likely not have any scent when its cooled & hardened. I use my nose to tell me if my soap smells good right after I add scent. But start out with 1 tbs pp, if you can't smell it once you mixed it well together, try adding some more until you can.

I have only had maybe one or two FOs that just didn't work in my M&P no matter how much I used. If I can't smell it at one full ounce per pound I won't use it again for M&P.