Hello Fellow Soapers, I have been cold process soaping for about three years now. I do keep detailed notes with the recipe in a notebook of every soap I make. My ingredients are always fresh and not expired, and I am careful to measure out everything carefully. My recipes are very basic, usually some variation of Olive/Coconut/Palm/Castor with distilled water (no milk, beer, etc.). I do use powdered oxide colorants and fragrance oils from reputable companies, like Brambleberry or Wholesale Supplies Plus. Still, on occasion, some of my soaps cure out with a distinctly "chlorine" smell. It isn't a matter of me disliking the fragrance. Some of the fragrances I have found that seem to have this weird odor are Grapefruit Bellini (which is fantastic smelling in the bottle!), Green Tea, and Sweetgrass. From Wholesale Supplies Plus, the fragrance dupe of VS Bombshell smelled exactly like the store fragrance out of the bottle but cured to this weird chlorine smell. Again, I am using distilled water (from different grocery stores, so not always the same one) so I don't think it's the water influencing the smell; as in chlorinated water. The bars come out looking just fine and curing out nicely. Also, once in a while different soaps will have a "fishy" smell. I can't narrow it down. Even my tried and true fragrances sometimes cure out this way. Again, I do my best to always use current, non-expired or off-smelling ingredients. 1. Can it be common components of those fragrances? 2. Can it be some curing chemical process? Like overheating? Your input is appreciated. Thanks, Soapers!
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