Teach Soap

I have some FOs I want to blend. I have read about putting drops on cotton balls, etc. Tried it. But now that I have actually experienced how an FO can change from out of the bottle, to final cure - can you really get a good idea of how a blend will smell with the cotton ball method?

Hmmm - I am a little skeptical. If an FO is extremely strong OOB, but mellows in an CP soap after weeks of curing (or fades), how can using the cotton ball method be useful? One particular FO may be overpowering in the cotton ball test, but how will it be weeks later? And could there not be a reaction - a synergy - between the two chemicals?

My thinking is, the only way to really know how a blend will work is to DO IT - very precisely (in grams) and documenting the amounts you used accurately. Like many things with soapmaking!

Opinions? Have any of you tried putting drops of FOs on cotton balls, sealing them in a baggie, sniffing them later - made soap based on the cotton ball sniff - and found it to be what you predicted?

Or do ya just have to Do It?

Some fo's will smell exactly the same after you've CP'ed it or done whatever with it. But then some don't.
There are some sniffy blends I've made that do end up smelling almost exactly like they do in the soap. But then there are the fo's that morph and end up not being anything close to what I was expecting.

Also, I do my blend and wait at least 24 hours before sniffing it for the first time. Then I sniff again after another 24 hours. I continue doing that for about 2 weeks. By then I can usually tell if one of the fo's I've used is a fader, because I usually can't detect it anymore in the blend.

When you're doing all that though, make sure you're taking notes on how everything smells.

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Genny

I do pretty much the same thing as Genny. I've had 3 different blend jars sitting on my counter for over 2 weeks now. The one I really liked at first isn't so nice now and another one mellowed into a terrific blend.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Thanks guys...

Sounds like a little more patience is helpful. But for one blend...think I'm gonna just go ahead a try it today (fresh ginger with lime-cilantro). I've used the second FO in a soap that's 7 weeks old and its holding pretty well - but fresh ginger has faded a bit so maybe I will try 70% ginger 30% lime-cilantro and wing it.

Fingers crossed! Neither, alone, accelerates trace so hoping the blend behaves as well.

Good luck with your blend. I make little soap testers in dixie cups.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.