Welcome to another Q&A session about everything soapy and soap related. Check out our previous information product posts all about Nail Polish, Lip Balm, All Things Lotion, Preservatives, Melt and Pour Soap or Colorants. This week’s post comes to us from a few questions we’ve received from customers about maintaining clarity in Clear Melt and Pour Soap. Read on to learn more about these awesome scents that you can use in your bath and body products.
What is a water white fragrance oil?
Fragrance oils are comprised of, in some cases, hundreds of different ingredients that come together in perfect harmony to create a treat for your nose. Often, these components affect the color of the final oil, which in turn can affect the final color of your soap. A water white fragrance oil is an oil that is perfectly clear and will not affect the final color of your soap. There are a few fragrances that are crystal clear in the bottle, but may give a slightly creamy color to cold process soap due to vanillian content. For melt and pour, this means clear soap base will maintain its clarity, shade and hue. For cold process and melt and pour soap, it’s an assurance that your soap will not be discolored by a lightly tinted fragrance oil. Remember that this is not taking into consideration other discoloring factors such as Vanillan content.
Is there such a thing as water white essential oils?
When it comes to essential oils, their coloration is determined by their state in nature (which means, you’ll never see a water white pure Orange essential oil).
Take a look at these four commonly used fragrance and essential oils. The top one is Red Apple Fragrance Oil, and is water white. Next in line is Dark Rich Chocolate Fragrance Oil, which is a yellowish color out of the bottle and will discolor soap to a dark brown. Following that, Patchouli Fragrance Oil, which gets it’s orangey-yellow color from small amounts of Patchouli Essential Oil used to obtain its authentic scent. And finally, Orange 10x Essential Oil, which is distilled 10 times in order to create a super potent essential oil capable of withstanding the high pH levels in cold process soap (a well-known citrus killer).
When should I use a water white fragrance oil?
The benefit of using a water white fragrance oil is clarity. If you’re embedding objects in melt and pour and want that first layer to be pristine and clear but still scented, water white is the way to go. Check out a great example in this tutorial! It leaves you with no worries that the fragrance oil will effect the clarity of your soap. Water white fragrances work the same way any other fragrance would in your products. If using water white fragrance oils in cold process, like any other fragrance oil you’ll want to be sure to check the individual fragrance product pages for any notes about morphing or trace acceleration.
And of course, just because a fragrance oil isn’t water white doesn’t meant you can’t use it to your advantage. Remember when I made the adorable Sunshine Soap? I worked with the natural color of Orange 10x Essential oil, instead of against it, to create a great bar of soap. If you’re making a layering project and need that first layer to be clear but your project calls for a fragrance that isn’t water white, just leave the first layer unscented! Or, even better, create a blend by scenting the first clear layer with a water white fragrance oil and the next layers with your original choice.
Which of Bramble Berry’s fragrances are water white?
Here is a list of perfectly water white fragrance and essential oils: Apricot Freesia, Apple Macintosh, Baby Rose, Blackberry Sage, Fresh Snow, Ginger Ale, Green Tea, Lavender and Herb, Lavender Chamomile Huggies, Margarita Lip Flavor, Pearberry, Peppermint 2nd Distillation Essential Oil, Plumeria, Red Apple, Watermelon, Yuzu, Cherry Blossom, Cedarwood EO, Clary Sage, Cucumber Melon Flavor Oil, Crisp Apple Rose, Cucumber Melon Cybilla, Chamomile Cybilla, Cucumber Melon, English Rose, Sensuous Sandalwood, Sweetgrass, Rain Cybilla, Pink Grapefruit, Ocean Rain, Moroccan Mint, Matcha Tea, Sage and Lemongrass Candle & Soap, Hungarian Lavender EO, Eden’s Garden, Fresh Bamboo , Fresh Zucchini Flower, Ginger Ale, Sage, Dalmation, Spearmint EO, Rosemary EO, Peppermint 1st Distill, Lavender 40/42, and Bulgarian Lavender.
Fragrance oils that are water white in the bottle, with a small amount of vanillan content:
Champagne, Rice Flower & Shea Type, White Ginger & Amber Cybilla, Rise & Shine
Do you have any questions about Water White Fragrance Oils? If so, ask in the comments below!
Newbie on the loose
Re: Bergamot Pure Essential Oil
I cannot find any information on discoloration or trace acceleration. Do you have any info regarding this EO IN CP
Re: discoloration
I am using electric bubblegum and merlot to make a valentines day red. – is there any way I can account for for fragrances that discolor to cream or yellow or tan so that I can still end up with a great red in my CP- or maybe you can recommend a different colorant.
I tried to post this on another thread but the system didn’t want to. sorry if this appears twice.
Hi D.J.!
Our Bergamot Pure Essential Oil doesn’t discolor or accelerate. Hooray!
To get a pure red, you’ll want to use a water white fragrance. We have a great blog post that explains what that is and which of our fragrances are water white. 🙂
Also, on most of our fragrances there is a picture of the fragrance in cold process soap. That’s a great way to know what color they turn your soap.
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
What Are Water White Fragrances?: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/what-are-water-white-fragrance-oils/
i like brown colour soap but did not know how to get brown colour but today am able to get something i will try at home that is vanilla content thank you very much for the information
Hi Maryam!
I’m so glad you liked this post! We also have a great post about discoloring fragrances and what shade of brown they’ll color your soaps. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Why Did my Soap Turn Brown?: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/why-did-my-soap-turn-brown/
wonderful put up, very informative. I wonder why
the other specialists of this sector don’t understand this.
You must proceed your writing. I’m sure, you’ve a huge readers’ base
already!
Hi Jan!
Thank you so much! I’m glad you liked this post. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi,
what a great list — thanks!
Is this list kept up-to-date as you test new fragrance oils?
I like Hanako’s suggestion above, putting this on the info page of the individual FOs, in addition to keeping this master list.
thanks,
sarah
Good morning, Sarah!
We are doing our best to keep this list updated and have actually listed the vanilla content on all the individual fragrance pages seen above. Thank you so much for your suggestion. We can’t wait wait to hear more bout your soapy adventures, and if you get any photos of your soap, we’d love for you to share them on Bramble Berry’s Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/BrambleBerry
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Thanks, Becky!
And the more I think about this list….
You know on your web site under the Fragrance Oils link, there are sub-categories/links of Alphabetical, Best Sellers, ….., Masculine, Sweet?
How about adding another sub-category/link of ‘Water White’, when clicked on will bring up all the water white FOs. Probably a little more work for your web person, but really handy.
Thanks for letting me ramble.
Sarah
Hi Sarah!
What a great idea — I’ll pass it onto our IT team. We appreciate you being an amazing part of our soapmaking community and love the new ideas that you and other customers share with us. =) Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Could you come up with a list of fragrances and essential oils that DON’T accelerate trace? I’m a beginner soaper and I need HELP
Hi Nancy!
We typically list what each fragrance oil does on the product pages on Bramble Berry’s website, but I will pass this idea onto our team. Are there any particular fragrance or essential oils you are looking at? 🙂
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Can each of these scents be labels as “water white” on their info page? The list here is great, but referring back and forth can be a pain. It would be a great help when trying to do a quick buy! Thanks!
Hi Hanako!
Thanks for the suggestion, I will pass it onto the team! In the meantime, you can always bookmark this page so that you can have easy access to the list of water white fragrances! =)
Happy Soaping!
-Becky with Bramble Berry
ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…I want all of them!!!!…LOVE IT!!!….♥…Yeeeeeepeeeeeeeeeee..:)
You will just love them, Maria! I really can’t wait to see your gorgeous soaps using some of these fragrances. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
I was reading and I already have some of them, I love them!!! and I need more…:)…OMG!!! If you say ..”Maria you will just love them”…it means it is a “super-great stuff”…always when you told me that..it is true!!…hehehehhee…I am preparing my Wish List, I will make my order pretty soon…thanks!!!….xoxo~
I’m UBER brand new to M&P soap making and this list is very helpful. Thank you.
We are totally here to help you out, Tina! I can’t wait to see and hear about your soapy projects. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
What a great list! Thank you so much. This is a great help to me as I do a lot of embedding. By the way, Bramble Berry’s Yuzu makes my mouth water. Yummy!
Yuzu is one of my favorites too! But, I have found that Watermelon Fragrance Oil is going to be my new go-to summer water white scent. It just smells so yummy!
Watermelon Fragrance Oil: https://www.brambleberry.com/Watermelon-Fragrance-Oil-P3895.aspx
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Wow! Very informative! Thank you!
I just ordered 6 of your E-Books a couple of days ago & I’m starting what appears will be a MASSIVE wish list! I mean, I’ve got a list of 25 items and I’ve only covered 7 recipes in one of your “Lotions, Scrubs, Salts & More” books! =) Have you ever considered doing an E-Book on EO’s and FO’s? Seems to me there’s so much to learn about the sniffy stuff all by itself.
Thanks for the feedback, Patricia! We are so happy to hear that you are enjoying the Lotions, Scrubs, Salts & More e-book, it is actually one of my favorites. =) I love your idea about having an e-book just on EO’s and FO’s, I’ll pass it onto the Anne-Marie and the team. =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
P.S. In the meantime, here are a few great books on using essential oils in aromatherapy.
Advanced Aromatherapy Book: https://www.brambleberry.com/Advanced-Aromatherapy-Book-1-Book-P3721.aspx
Aromatherapy And Massage For Mom And Baby: https://www.brambleberry.com/Aromatherapy-And-Massage-For-Mom-And-Baby-1-Book-P3744.aspx
Aromatherapy Companion Book: https://www.brambleberry.com/Aromatherapy-Companion-Book-1-Book-P3734.aspx
Aromatherapy For Women Book: https://www.brambleberry.com/Aromatherapy-For-Women-Book-1-Book-P3722.aspx
Aromatherapy Handbook for Beauty, Hair, and Skin Care: https://www.brambleberry.com/Aromatherapy-Handbook-for-Beauty-Hair-and-Skin-Care-P5346.aspx
Aromatherapy Workbook: https://www.brambleberry.com/Aromatherapy-Workbook-1-Book-P3745.aspx
The Art, Science and Business of Aromatherapy: https://www.brambleberry.com/The-Art-Science-and-Business-of-Aromatherapy-P5241.aspx
Oh, I have a couple of aromatherapy books, but those books don’t cover such cool facts like these in relation to soap making that A-M provides. And there’s a ton of info on the web, too. I just really appreciate A-M’s perspective as a soap maker and her thoughtful attention to details like these. As another example, while perusing the Milk Soaps e-book, I learned that the coconut milk I bought several months back from a local grocery store can’t be used to make soap because of the addition of guar gum. That kind of knowledge won’t be coming from the grocer, know what I mean? =)
And while I’m on the subject of the Milk Soaps e-book, I want to thank A-M for her clarity in explaining SAP values on page 5. I’ve read this info before, but not in such a digestible way – to the point where once I know the particular SAP value of each of my oils, I can actually figure it out manually without the use of a lye calculator. Why is this important to me? I’ve heard that online lye calculators sometimes differ in their numbers and I’ve come to also believe that SAP values on any particular oil can also vary a bit, depending on their source. And surely the local grocer isn’t going to know their SAP values either. So unless I’m wrong about this, it’s important to get the SAP value from the vendor at the time of purchase for a particular oil, then use THAT number and calculate it manually for the most accurate calculation. I imagine that Bramble Berry’s calculator matches the SAP values of they oils they buy and sell; that would make perfect sense. But given that I prefer to buy my oils, as heavy as they are, from a vendor in closer proximity to lower shipping costs, and if they don’t have a lye calculator, I can still figure it out manually using THEIR SAP values. It’s a “greener, shop local” conscientious way to do business, but beyond the oils, Bramble Berry will always be my number one trusted source for the many other goodies I will be buying (as funds permit!) Anne-Marie and the BrambleTeam are more than worthy of such loyalty as I know I am buying top quality products. Everything I have bought from your company so far, I have loved, loved, loved! =)
Thank you for your amazing comment, Patricia. I am definitely going to forward this on to Anne-Marie and the rest of the team. We are always so inspired by our customers who are trying new things and we love the feedback that you give us. Thank you so much for your business and Happy Soaping! =)
-Becky with Bramble Berry
Of course, then again, my local oils supplier doesn’t carry most of those groovy exotic oils and butters, so I’ll be throwing that business your way!