Teach Soap

I just made soap queens pumpkin puree cp soap recipe. I didn't do the two color process. I used annato seed oil infusion for color in whole recipe. I mixed oils and lye at 125 degrees. Then I added pumpkin puree. As soon as I added the fragrance oil it traced immediately then looked like it started to get lumpy. I used Wellingtons pumpkin pie fragrance oil. What went wrong? I usually add lye to oil at 100 degrees but decided to follow what the recipe said.

Well, I have no experience with that particular fragrance oil, but I do know that some FOs do accelerate trace, which is what you seem to be describing.
Spice oils in particular, have a reputation or being prone to this behavior.

Keep in mind, her recipe did specify a particular brand of fragrance oil, so using a different one will always be a bit of an experiment.
I also recently made a soap with pumpkin puree, but I used one of my own "tried and trusted" recipes, and just added the pumpkin and FO of my choice.
But I had never used this FO before, so I was just lucky that the one I had did not accelerate trace.

Im wondering if you cant just put the fragrance in with the oils before you add the lye solution? Then you might not be surprized with such a quick trace? Would the lye "cook" the FO too much and is that why it is added at the end?

_________________
Kristen D. Vineyard
visit my blog http://washwithvegetables.blogspot.com

Sounds like a finicky FO. I follow soapbuddy's tip and always add my fragrance to my cooled melted oils before adding the lye solution. That way, I won't forget it and the base oils may provide a bit of a buffer if a fragrance oil is temperamental. I personally don't think it matters much if you add the FO/EO at the beginning or at the end. The lye is active throughout, so it's just easier for me to not have to remember to add stuff at trace.

Sorry about your pumpkin soap, Beadgrl - what a bummer!

_________________
- Jenny -
My soapy blog:
Follow me on my

I have not have good luck with that particular vendor. Most of the batches I made with their fragrance oils ended up in the trash. YMMV. I stick with BrambleBerry as I know they test their oils.

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

Thanks everyone! I'm still fairly new to soap making. If some fragrance oils accelerate trace, is there something you can do to slow down the trace, or do I just have to work faster when getting it into the mold?

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

This is what I have learnt over the last two years: do not discount your water - use the max recommended: use cooler temps (I will do 95 to 100) : use a recipe you know will "behave" : up your olive oil content in the soap - this usually takes longer to trace: Pour at a thin trace : Use FO from trusted vendors. Always be aware that florals and spice scents have more of a chance to do this. And this is one of my favorite tricks- If I have a FO that either does not hold up in CP or causes ricing or separation I will use it in M&P and swirl that into my CP soap - just to get that scent I want!

_________________
Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!