Teach Soap

hello ladies!

i am starting to move into production. slowly, surely, and cautiously.
i hate to waste materials especially if i don't know if they will sell or not.

waste not, want not. an old german proverb?

anyways, in mid May I made my daughter's teachers some lovely gift baskets. i used peach mango salsa, coconut lime verbena, and peppermint essential oil. i am lavish with the fragrance oils and the eo's. who wants products that barely smell, right?

anyways, i left some leftover glycerin soaps out on my kitchen counter...i am embarrassed to say....about 6 weeks.

let's just call it an experiment. right! anyways, after 6 weeks the peach mango salsa still had fragrance, but that is an unusually strong fragrance anyways. the coconut lime verbena had NO fragrance left on the outside of the product. and the peppermint had barely any, although it was detectable.

my question is this...if color can migrate in m&P, fragrance obviously can also, right? And, is this slowed down by covering the product loosely, or should it be covered air tight?

As all of us move into production mode, should we not stockpile product for this very reason; will they all diminish with time or is that just surface area dissipation of scent throw? Or is the answer found in shrink wrap

with the coconut lime verbena, i just melted it again and added more fragrance, so nothing lost but fragrance and time.

is there a scientific answer for this? none of the book I have address this subject at all.

Though I haven't yet moved into sales, I have found that the scent in my soaps haven't always dissipated. I do, however, wrap they tightly in plastic (cling) film, I do find that this helps. I keep all my soaps in a plastic box with a snap shut lid and boy, the scent is fantastic when I open it so the answer could lie in your wrapping.

What % of FO's/EO's do you put in your soaps? In the EU, you have to be safety assessed as soaps are considered a cosmetic - I've just been safety assessed (and passed Yay!) and can add up to 2% only.

_________________
|

It depends what the % of fragrance you use. Some are stronger than others. Also the stuff that you can buy in the craft store is not a very good quality. Stick with good vendors like BrambleBerry.

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

It does depend on how much fragrance you put into the soaps but if you want the fragrance to stay even longer, you need to wrap it! Shrink wrap it, cling wrap it, or use a compress sealer (not too sure what they're called but they work great!) The soaps can dry out and the fragrance can evaporate off if you just leave them out for a long period of time.

_________________
Come check out the shop!
http://www.amplifyme.etsy.com
and the blog!
http://www.amplifymesoapco.blogspot.com

thank you for all the great feedback! i always just squirt a squirt into the soap...how is that for accuracy ...i know. terrible.

and i have also noticed that the soap does dry out. i am using a low
sweat base due to we live in the tropical humid south. and it is really
high humidity.

i saw somewhere....who was it. a commenter on Anne-Maries' blog sells shrink wrap or cling wrap that she says you can smell through.
i have always wanted my customer to be able to smell the soaps. i even thought about putting a drop of fragrance oil on the bow that wraps the soaps to help with that problem. or, hole punching one or two times the shrink wrap to allow air to escape a little.

has anyone ever tried that?

I believe it's on www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com or maybe it was www.southernsoapers.com (pretty sure it was southernsoapers) for the smell through wrap. I think they also have biodegradable wrap also.

_________________
Come check out the shop!
http://www.amplifyme.etsy.com
and the blog!
http://www.amplifymesoapco.blogspot.com

Ah yes! I found it on southern soapers! Here: http://southernsoapers.com/cart/smell-t ... p-842.html you can smell through it (so it says, and I'm sure it doesn't lie! I love southernsoapers!) Hope I helped.

_________________
Come check out the shop!
http://www.amplifyme.etsy.com
and the blog!
http://www.amplifymesoapco.blogspot.com

The thinner the gauge of the shrink wrap the more you will be able to smell it. Try your local restaurant supply place.

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

I found some soaps during my move that I made a year ago, when I was first making soap. I had packaged them in the brown paper Kraft boxes, and tho' a bit dry, still stunk up a storm. Lately I have been using those (oh, heck, what's the name......) organza bags because at craft fairs people can smell, see, yet not get their grubbly little fingerprints on the soap. Which I thought was a stroke of genius, til now, because of the drying out issue. For selling on Etsy, I stll use the Kraft boxes, because labeling is much easier.

Here I go again, once again! I've been cruising this board for the past couple hours, and I'm back to worrying about shipping prices and packaging, lol! Rather just make the soap

_________________
Peggi

http://www.klamathriversfinest.etsy.com

Y'all are wonderful ladies!
Now, why did it take me so long to get in here and start
using this valuable resource!

I appreciate your help and hope that someday I might
be of some kind of encouragement or help as well!

Blessings,
Kelly Ann Taylor
www.CassiasKitchen.etsy.com
www.CassiasGarden.etsy.com
www.cassiacandlefragrance.com
http://CassiasKitchen.blogspot.com