Teach Soap

Okay, I made the Whipped body butter! I love the fluffiness, texture and way that it feels on my skin!! However I am not so thrilled about the Lemongrass EO as the fragrance. I only made half the recipe for starters so I will definitely use it up but was curious what other people like to use as a light fragrance in body butters. Or perhaps unscented? I leave my lotion bars unscented. On the Soap Queen video she says to be sure and use fragrances that are oil soluble and not water soluble. Wouldn't all essential oils be oil soluble?

Thanks for your input!!
-Sherri

Lemongrass can be mixed with just a little bit of vanilla. Essential oils are oil soluble and not water soluble. There are some fragrances that are water soluble, but they must say that.

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

Thanks, Irena! Is there a vanilla eo? I didn't see that on Brambleberry's website but they have several different Vanilla fragrance oils. Do you know if these are all oil soluble? I can call the company and ask them. Does vanilla discolor in lotion or body butter over time as it does in cp soap or does it stay the same color as when you add it? Thanks for taking the time to answer questions! This lotion-making is new to me now as I'm stretching out my creativity from the cp soap - which I feel I am continually learning!!
Blessings,
Sherri

You're welcome Sherri. There is natural vanilla absolute, but it's harder to mix in a body butter because it acts more like a resin. It's more $$ though. Yes, you can use any vanilla fragrance oil that's soap/body safe. Depending on the % that you use, it might discolor your lotion slightly. I use it at such a low % in body butter that it doesn't discolor in mine.

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

Sherri, do you have any objections to using fragrance oils?

There's a couple of bazillion (I believe by actual count!) choices available for fragrance oils.

Anita

No, I don't object to fragrance oils, I have only used them in my soaps but am just learning about body butters. I wanted to follow Anne Marie's recipe exactly for the first time (although I cut it in half) to see if I liked the lemongrass eo, it's a bit strong all by itself for me and I should have cut the percentage for that in half again but didn't know. I might like it more with very little lemongrass with some vanilla. Or I might like it in soap mixed with something else. I haven't been too brave yet with combining fragrances. Do fragrance oils and essential oils combine well together? Or do you only combine FO's with FO's and eo's with eo's? What do I need to look out for?
-Sherri

Fragrance oils and essential oils can be mixed.

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

Just be sure to use the proper amounts and to not go over the max usage rate for either individually or combined. You don't want to use a FO at 5% if that is its max usage rate and then add another 3% of EO if that is its max usage rate. So blend wisely!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

I have a question on percentages of fragrances...

If one fragrance i add at 3%, and another i add at 1% isn't this going to change my 100% amount.

Do I list fragrance oil as an additive or keep it in the total amount of the product? (if i were to sell and need to send reports to the health ministry)?

example: (lets just say)

60% water
36% butter
3% fragrance
1% preservative

And for one of the fragrances I add less fragrance oil, it isn't going to balance afterwards...so what would you recommend I do?

If I start to add more water or butter to even it out to equal 100%, can I still list it under the same title : "Body Butters" for the health ministry. (health Canada).

Or is it better to add:
60% water
39% butter
1% preservative

then add fragrance oils as an additive ranging to 3% highest concentration?

Please help, kinda confused!

I am not familiar with Health Canada regulations, so I cannot help you with the legality aspect. However, here in the states, a fragrance is a separate ingredient and must be listed. We do not list the percentages on the label though, we list the ingredients in descending order of amount, just not that percentage. To calculate for your preservative when that is needed, we do go over 100% for the recipe. So the basic ingredients would add up to 100% and the preservative would be an additional 0.5 to 3% or whatever is appropriate for the product.

As an aside, I have never used water in my body butters and therefore, do not need a preservative. If your does though, you are right to add that. But the preservative amount is on top of the 100% of your ingredients. Least that is the way we calculate them here in the US.

Perhaps you should check with the proper authorities there or another Canadian vendor. Sorry can't be of more assistance!

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Wow I learned something new again here. I didn't know the preservative is calculated on top on the 100% ingredient list. I have always included it into my original recipe.

Thank you for your help and advice. Greatly appreciated!

I've always calculated the preservative as part of my 100% as well.

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

According to Susan, your preservative should be a part of the 100% of the formula. http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/s ... servatives

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

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Haven

You are correct Haven, which means that it is added on top of the 100%. I don't know about "Susan", but every other crafter I know, including A.M., adds it to the 100%. They Calculate the total of the batch, meaning 100%, then get their preservative amount. Maybe I am just saying it differently, but this is the way all I know do it. I am fairly certain I have seen a comment from AM on this subject sometime too, and she also said this. I know for certain that the MMS blog answered this question as well this way. So I may be wrong, but I don't think so. You need to cover your entire batch, so it makes sense to not deduct the % you are using in preservative. At least it does to me.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy