Abir: an aromatic powder of Hindu origin frequently used to perfume oriental products; composed mostly of cloves, sandalwood and cardamom

Absolute: a highly concentrated extract of perfumery material usually from a flower, bark, leaf or some other natural source, that is free of by-products and waxes

Acid Value: the amount of potassium hydroxide needed to neutralize the fatty acid in one gram of fatty material

Accord: a blend of three or four scents that individually are dinstinctinve, but when blended to together they lose their distinctiveness and combine to form a whole new scent

Alkali: a substance with a pH higher than 7; can be used to neutralize an acid to make soap

Amber: resin obtained from fir trees and gives a warm, woody scent

Apocrine: a type of sweat gland in the human body that determines a person's body odor, which affects the way a scent smells on each person

Attar or otto: the essential oil derived from a flower by distillation; usually used in connection with rose oils

Balance: the result of well blended scents

Balsam: a resin extracted from trees and shrubs used in perfumery primarily as a fixative

Base: the alkali used to react with the fats or oils to make soap

Chlorophyll: a substance used as a soap coloring and gives soap some antiseptic properties; usually found in plants

Chypre: a family of scents noted mostly as woody, such as clary sage, oakmoss, and patchouli

Citrus: a family of scents based mostly on oranges, lemons, limes, mandarins, neroli, and bergamot

Cold process: a basic soap making process involving the reaction of fats and oils with lye

Cologne: a light fragrance with low concentrations of perfume oils in an alcohol base

Cosmetic Grade Colorants: create true, clean colors that blend really well with oil-based products; do not stain skin; are not water-based; come in 6 colors of red, blue, yellow, orange, green and black

Curing: an aging process of soap that have been poured into molds

Depth: used to describe the fullness of a fragrance

Emollient: a substance that holds in the skin's moisture and prevents water loss

Enfleurage: a method of extracting essential oils from plants or flowers by saturating them in animal fat;then mixed with alcohol, heated and cooled; then filtered and the alcohol is allowed to evaporate, which leaves the essential oil

Essential Oil: concentrated essences from plants, bark, roots, seeds, stems, flowers, fruits and leaves through a method of extraction, usually steam distilled

Expression: a cold pressing method used to extract essential oils from fruit

Fragrance oils: synthetic imitations of essential oils

Glycerin: a by-product of soapmaking, often re-added to soap for natural emollient qualities

Green: a family of scents that smell like fresh, herbal or plant aromas

Incense: a fragrant smoke produced by burning aromatic substances

Lye: aka caustic soda or sodium hydroxide; a the key element to producing soap because it forms the base or caustic alkali that reacts with fats and oils to produce soap; ALWAYS HANDLE WITH CARE

Melt and Pour Soap Base: premade soap that melts easily and sets up quickly

Mica Powders: used in soapmaking to give a sheen to the soap; available in a wide spectrum of colors

Molds: what you pour soap in to form it's usable shape

Mold Releases: substances used to make it easier to remove the hardened soap from the mold; petroleum jelly and vegetable oil

pH: a measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of a substance;

• pH of 7 is balanced
• pH between 1 and 7 is acidic
• pH between 7 and 14 is basic or alkaline

Pomade: an ointment used on the body or in the hair

Rendering: the process by which fat is cleaned and purified; the final product is tallow

Saponification: a complex chemical reaction; fatty acid reacts to a base to make soap and glycerin

Saponification Value (SAP): the SAP value of an oil is equivalent to the amount of potassium hydroxide needed to saponify one gram of that oil

Seperation: a term to describe trouble sign in the soapmaking process when the oils seperate from the lye mix

Soap: the results of a fatty acid and a strong base reacting to produce a specific product

Superfatting: adding excess oils or fats to soap in order to make it richer and creamier

Synthetic Fragrances: laboratory made scents

Tallow: pure animal fat after impurities have been removed

Titer: the temp at which fatty acids solidify

Tracing: a term used in soapmakign that indicates when soap is ready to be poured into molds; tracing is complete when you can draw a line of soap in the mixture with your spoon

Unsaponifiables: oils that don't participate in the soapmaking reaction and left intact in the final bar of soap

Woody: a term used to describe a family of scents that are usually rich and deep and smell similar to wood; they don't necessarily have to come from wood; like sandalwood, musk, cedar, patchouli, vetiver, etc.

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