Suds Up: Fragrance for Soaps

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One of the most prevalent day-to-day products that relies heavily on fragrance is soap. It is in every bathroom, every kitchen, every laundry room; it’s a pretty safe bet that anywhere there’s a sink, there’s soap.

Related: Soap Steps Into the Sustainable Era

Despite its seemingly simple nature, formulating soap that smells good up front and after use is no easy task. There are a multitude of challenges that perfumers and product developers face when attempting to add fragrances to soap. One of the largest being that soap is meant to wash oils and other materials away, which often includes a bulk of costly fragrance molecules as well. 

Fragrancing soap is essential as the necessary elements of its creation include some form of fat, which leaves behind a distinctly unpleasant odor. Perfumes and fragrances are used not only to mask this unwanted residual odor but also to impart a feeling of effectiveness, cleanliness, comfort or luxury.

A number of fine fragrance developers have created soap collections that feature their signature scents, including Tom Ford, Byredo and Chanel. But the soap game is no longer just about which ones work and smell the best.

Due to today’s increasingly eco-conscious consumer, sustainable products are bringing a whole new meaning to the word “clean”. Companies like method and Mrs. Meyer’s have been leading the field of “green” liquid soaps. Mrs. Meyer’s offers a glossary of their natural and sustainable ingredients to promote transparency, while method continues to innovate new plant-based, biodegradable options such as their method x minted collection featuring Bloomy Bouquet, Ocean Drift, Tropical Cloud and Wild Wood scents.

Soap Smells and Sustainability

  • Method—There’s Good Inside: Suzanne McCormick, senior director of fragrance at Method, will discuss the company’s four pillars; approach to sustainability in both its product and community; and approach to working with fragrance houses.
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