Working with scents, whether natural or synthetic, can be one of the most rewarding and one of the most frustrating aspects of soap making.
When deciding how to scent your soaps, there are many factors that that you must weigh.
In this article, we'll look at the advantages and disadvantages of using fragrance oils vs.
essential oils in soap and we'll talk about how to test your scents to find which ones work best for you.
There are many advantages of using fragrance oils in soap making.
Some of these are:

• Low cost: Fragrance oils, in most cases, cost much less that their natural essential oil counterparts.
  Because of this, using fragrance oils makes sense in many cases.
  
• Safe to use on skin: Some natural essential oils can actually harm the skin.
  Cosmetic grade fragrance oils are designed to be used in skin care products.
  
• Can obtain scents otherwise impossible to obtain with essential oils: Many scents do not exist in nature.
  If you want your soap to smell like pear, mango, or tomato, using fragrance oils is the only way to go.
  
• Can add colors to your soaps: Some fragrance oils, in particular vanilla, will add color to your soap, if added during the soap making process.
  Depending on what you expect, this may or may not be an advantage.
  

Disadvantages of using fragrance oils:

• Some react negatively to cold-processed soaps: One of the most frustrating things that can happen to a soap maker is to discover a beautiful fragrance oil and to add it to a soap batch during the soap making process only to have it curdle the soap.
  Unfortunately, some fragrance oils are just not compatible with cold-processed soaps.
  The only way to obtain these scents is to add them to soap, after the soap making process.
  
• Formulas can vary from one manufacturer to another: You may like a scent from one company, and find the same scent from another company at a lower price.
  Don't expect these two fragrance oils to respond the same way in your soap making process.
  Test, test, test before ordering large amounts of any fragrance oil, because their formulas will differ from one company to another.
  
• Can add colors to your soaps: Depending on your perspective, this may or may not be a disadvantage.
  I have read many accounts of soap makers who complain that vanilla fragrance oil turns soap brown.
  However some large scale bath companies sell dark brown vanilla soap.
  I guess it depends on your perspective.
  

For those who prefer using essential oils there are also several advantages and disadvantages to weigh: Advantages of using essential oils:

• Natural: Many people are concerned with the invasion of synthetic ingredients into foods and cosmetics.
  For those who want natural cosmetics, essential oils are the way to go.
  
• Therapeutic Value: In addition to scent, many essential oils have natural properties which can treat skin and hair problems.
  

Disadvantages of using essential oils:

• Many are too expensive to use in soap: My biggest gripe about essential oils is that many are too expensive to use in soap (or in other cosmetics for that matter).
  
• Some have a limited shelf life and must be used quickly after purchase: Most essential oils are processed using steam-distillation.
  This procedure uses heat and helps preserve the essential oils, But cold-pressed citrus oils retain components that can cause these oils to turn rancid quickly.
  
• The price fluctuates from one season to another.
  Since essential oils are derived from plants, the price is affected by weather, by crop yield, and by other things out of the control of the soap maker.
  

The choice is up to each individual soap maker about what to use for scent.
Your choice will be a reflection of your needs and the needs of those who use your soap.
After you decide which fragrance or essential oil you are interested in adding to your collection, you need to do some testing to make sure it will work in your products.
always order a small amount first and test it for the following four items:

• Does the fragrance oil or essential oil smell nice? Some smell nice, others don't.
  If you don't like the smell of your test amount, don't order any more.
  
• Does the fragrance oil or essential oil discolor your products? Sometimes certain fragrance oils, such as vanilla, will slightly or drastically discolor your products.
  Always test a small amount of your fragrance oil in your lotions and soaps before ordering a larger amount.
  
• Does the fragrance oil or essential oil work in soap? If you make handmade soaps, always test a small amount of a new scent in a small batch of soap.
  Check to see whether or not the scent causes your test batch of soap to curdle or react strangely.
  
• Does the scent in your test batch fade with time? Some scents work beautifully in products, but a few weeks later will fade to nothing, even when your product is enclosed in plastic.
  This can be very frustrating.
  If this happens, try another manufacturer or vendor to see if you can get a similar fragrance oil with a scent that lasts longer.
  

Testing will help you to choose the perfect fragrances for your soap.