Teach Soap

Hi, I'm semi new to soaping and normally use a ready made recipe. I've used Brambleberry FO's and use their Frangrance Calculator. I bought some FO's from Wholesale Supplies but they don't have a Fragrance Calc. I understand the rule of thumb is .5 -.7 oz of fragrance per pound of oil. What I don't understand is that this doesn't "seem" to be the rule for every fragrance or, it could be that I'm just not understanding how it all works. For example, on BB's fragrance calc there are different amounts to use on the pumpkin scents. Assuming you want a strong scent, the different pumpkin fragrances range from 1 tablespoon to 5 tablespoons for 3lbs of soap. So I'm a little afraid to use the .5-.7 oz ppo rule for the Pumpkin Crunch fragrance oil I purchased from WSP. (I've also purchased several scents from Nature's Garden Candles so I really need to understand this fragrance oil stuff since they don't have a FO calculator either.) If I'm understanding the usage rate, it seems to be 6%; however, I'm not sure if that is just a general percentage because I selected three random scents and they all said 6%.

My oils are 2lbs so my calculation is that I can use 1.4 oz of fragrance for my 3lb batch of soap. This converts to roughly a little over 2 tablespoons of FO.

I love to make soap, but all the math confounds me and so I find it easier to use ready-made recipes, at this point. I plan to read the links for newbies again so that hopefully some of the math will sink in. I'd love to make my own recipes someday but find it difficult to understand the lye calcs and other helpful calcs. Any suggestions? Is there a "Soaping For Dummies" book out there? LOL I have read quite a bit of information on the 'net so I'm thinking I'm being impatient and maybe reading too fast to thoroughly comprehend it all.

Also, I read that you shouldn't use glass for CP soap! I've viewed many of Ann-marie's videos and she uses glass. So is it true that you shouldn't use glass? I know you're not supposed to use glass for the lye water.

Sorry this is so long. Any help you all can provide would be much appreciated.

Welcome!
Different fragrances have different safe usage because of the ingredients used. Some spices, for example, can only be used at a small amount because they can be irritating to the skin.
I prefer to go by weight instead of teaspoons as I find the teaspoons inaccurate.
BrambleBerry has some soapmaking books that you might find helpful. Alicia Grosso has an excellent soapmaking book. It's available on amazon.
Take your time and do your research. Each oil or butter adds a different component to your soap recipe.
You might find this sticky that I posted helpful. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3800

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

Thanks for the welcome and the info, Soapbuddy. I have been re-reading and brushing up on the basics which is helping my understanding with percentages, etc. I will continue to dig in and learn, learn, learn. Math has never been a strong point of mine but I can usually figure it out, eventually.