1. Using ordinary perfumes or colognes. You need to use fragrances suitable for soap making.
2. Using candle making or craft fragrance. See number 1 above.
3. Using rancid oils.
4. Too much superfatting. Too much added fat won’t make your soap smell nice.
5. Incorrect measuring of ingredients (if using the cold process method). Your soap won’t saponify (crucial to your soap making success) if you haven’t used enough lye or you’ve used too much oil.
6. Using scented oils. See number 1 above.
7. Using flavored oil (eg for lip balm). See number 1 above.
8. If using the rebatched/hand-milled method, using a scented soap for your soap base.
9. Using fresh herbs or flowers if using the cold process method. These ingredients can react badly to lye.
10. Diluted oils that contain a high amount of sodium. Too much sodium in the oils can ruin your batch of soap. These oils cost less than the genuine undiluted oils.
11. Using too much citrus oil. Too much of this acidic oil will react badly with the lye and you’ll end up with curdled soap. I use 35% or less citrus oil.
As you can see from the list above, the most common culprit of horrible smelling soap is the fragrance used. If you use a fragrance that’s not suitable for soap making, you’ll more than likely end up with stinky smelling soap. Before buying any fragrance, make sure it’s suitable for soap making. One of the easiest ways of doing this is to buy from a retail soap making supplier who sells soap making ingredients.
So now you know what to do fragrance wise, why not get started on your next batch of soap today?
