As I mentioned in my first post on this method I decided to do some experiments with scents. I started with essential oils because that is what I use in most of my bar soaps. My recipe was 90% Olive Oil, 10% Castor Oil and I substituted Glycerin for the water. I diluted using 1 part soap paste to 2 parts distilled water. I took 1 ounce of diluted soap and added 1% (0.01 oz) essential oil. My
notes are based on immediate reactions, after about an hour and one
week later. They all sat, covered, on my kitchen counter for the week. I also didn't notice any of the scents changing. Here are my results:
 |
| Lavender & Eucalyptus |
Lavender French: turned into cloudy jello, after a week, still jello but clear. I'm going to try thinning this out later and see what happens.
Eucalyptus: turned cloudy and thick. After a hour it was clear and a bit thinner. A week later it had a clear, thick layer on top with thinner soap underneath.
 |
| Orange & Peppermint |
Sweet Orange: First it turned cloudy then clear and seemed like it was going to be thin. After a week it is a light orange colour and is the same thickness as the base soap. Surprise! Usually orange EO thins liquid soap and so far it hasn't. I will definitely be watching this one.
Peppermint Japanese: this one turned thick and had lots of tiny bubbles suspended in the soap. The bubbles have gone away and it is now clear and thick.
 |
| Spearmint & Citronella |
Spearmint: At first cloudy and a bit thicker, it has now cleared and is thick, much the same as the Peppermint.
Citronella: As you can see in the picture it also turned cloudy and a little thicker. After a hour it was clear with tiny bubbles suspended in it. It is now thick and clear after sitting for a week.
 |
| Lemon & Rosemary |
Lemon 5 Fold: This EO turned cloudy and didn't seem to want to mix in very well. I had to mix it again after a hour it looked like it had separated. After a week it is clear and slightly thicker than the base soap.
Rosemary French: This behaved almost the same as the Lemon except it got thicker and had cloudy pockets. After a week it has cleared up and thinned out.
 |
| Anise & Patchouli |
Anise Star: Started out cloudy then turned clear and thick with tiny bubbles. Now the bubbles have gone away but it is still thick.
Patchouli Light: Let me start by saying "This smells like dirt!" I'm sorry I know lots of people love 'Patch' and I don't know if it is supposed to smell that way or if it is because it is Light. Anyways this clouded up like the rest, but it is now clear and the same consistency as the base.
 |
| Vanilla |
Vanilla 10 Fold: I figured vanilla would discolour to brown but I wanted to see how it would affect the thickness of the soap. So here you go brown, very thin soap. I think it would work great in foamer bottles.
Now I am going to put these away and check on them in a month to see if there have been any changes. If you would like to see more (or bigger) pictures check out my
Flickr photostream. If you have any questions please leave them in the comments and I will try to answer as best I can. Coming up next, Fragrant Oils.
