Make Soap in Your Favourite Scent
Here are 5 easy tips to handcrafting your very own signature soap
To make your fragrance last throughout the day, a little-known trick is to use body soap in a complementing scent. But it’s not always easy to find perfume and soap that match your needs exactly, so here’s the next best thing: Make your own soap!
If you’re new to soap making, here are five tips to get you started.
Tip 1: Pay attention to your perfume
Keep in mind the fragrance you use when you make soap. Make sure it will not clash or compete with your perfume.
For example, most perfumes usually go well with floral-based soaps. But if your perfume is already sweet, you might want to use soap that isn’t too aromatised.
On the other hand, if you want to enhance your perfume rather than compliment it, use something from the same family. Citrus-based perfumes, for instance, work well with clean body soaps like lemongrass or sandalwood.
Tip 2: Use your hands and wrist as a palette
How can you tell if your perfume and soap will work well with each other? Easy. Use your hands and wrist as a tester.
Take your soap. Lather your hands and wrist, rinse and dry it, and then spray perfume on your wrist. Let it sit for 15 minutes. This will allow you to get a feel for how well they go together.
Tip 3: Avoid mixing too many florals
Floral notes make for great scent bases, but they tend to compete with each other when combined.
Don’t mix floral notes like lavender, sweet pea, and rose, because you will end up with a weird, overbearing flowery scent. Instead, pick one note and use that as a base, and build your scent on that foundation.
Tip 4: Create strong fragrances that last longer
Why shy away from creating strong fragrances? They’re your best chance at smelling good all day. Lavender and rosewater-based notes, which are more potent, will give off an intense initial fragrance for about 10 to 15 minutes. After that, they will leave you with something called a “medium note”, which is more subtle but will sit well on your body for the rest of the day.
Tip 5: Know how much essential oil you need
The amount of essential oil you need for a block of soap depends on what you want to achieve. Generally, the rule of thumb is you want around 0.16 to 0.44 ounces of essential oil per pound of soap. Going with 0.16 ounces will create a milder scent, while 0.44 ounces will create a stronger, more potent smell.
If you want to know exactly how much you need for a specific concoction, try this fragrance calculator.
Learn these easy techniques and more at the next online soap making workshop by Soy Candles. Also come away with a soap making kit with everything you need to get started, including a soap base, an array of ingredients to choose from, and an instructional e-book to keep the soap making fun going.
