Materials needed:

– (basic supplies for making soap – gloves, lye, distilled water, etc.)
– 8 oz cups – number the cups
– Individual cavity mold – number the cavities to match the numbers on the cups
– Disposable pipettes
– Paper/pen for recording test variables
– Fragrance oil samples to test

Prep

1. Make lye solution
2. Heat oils
3. Add 0.25 oz of a fragrance oil sample to a numbered cup
4. Record fragrance oil name along with its number
5. (repeat steps 3 and 4 for all fragrance oils)

Make Soap Batter

Blend to emulsification

Begin Test

Note: these steps should be executed as quickly as practical because some fragrance oils set up quickly.
1. Pour 3.55 oz soap batter into a cup containing a fragrance oil sample
2. Briefly mix soap batter into fragrance oil sample
3. Record start time according to cup number
4. (repeat steps 1, 2, and 3 for all cups)

Mix, Monitor, & Pour

In a round-robin fashion, briefly mix the contents of the cups, watching for ricing and for thick trace.
Record any detected ricing according to cup number.
Other observations (e.g., immediate discoloration) can also be recorded according to cup number.
When the soap in a cup reaches thick trace:
1. Pour the soap into the mold cavity with the same number as the cup’s number
2. Record the pour time according to cup/cavity number

Record

Calculate working time of each sample by subtracting the start time from the pour time.