question on essential oils

Hi there! I've made a few batches of CP soap and I've always used only one essential oil. I always see reference being made to blending several essential oils together and am wondering why? Is it just to try and create your own scent? I'm perfectly happy with one scent ... but thought there just might be a reason behind blending. Appreciate your thoughts.

Single scent soaps are quite acceptable. Some of us like to experiment with different blends of EO's to produce a unique scent, or to accent another oil. Be careful though, once you start playing with different blends, it gets as addicting as making soap. I've got a whole shelf of EO's atm, and thinking I might need more.

I tend to blend only to compliment and anchor some fragrances. I love citrus oils but they are light in soaps, I add some lemongrass or litsea and it really pops the citrus fragrance. And I love mint but find it's much more complex and beautiful when it's blended with a mix of minty scents rather than a single note. Its really just a matter of deepening the overall fragrance for me. But not all need to be blended for sure.

Admitted EO/FO addict. I have been blending various EO's for my clinical practice working with dementia patients for quite a few years now. Now with the addition of FOs, it's blowing me away! You would be surprised at the outcome of just a few drops to an established blend. I like to use the flat cotton cosmetic rounds and add my blend and seal in a small 3x3" baggie. I staple to a 4x6" index card writing down what/how much I used, vendor flashpoint.... etc. I can see color changes out of the bottle and my samples hold up much better than when I used fragrance sticks. I have some that are over 4 months old and they have retained their scent very well. EO/FO for me seems to be the most expensive component to consumable supplies in soapmaking and I want to make every drop count. Granted, once my "treasures" hit the lye monster it's a new ball game, but at least I have a baseline to tweak afterwards.

^What they said. Plus, while cinnamon soap sounds great, it does not smell like real cinnamon once you only use half the recommended amount(it is an irritant), and then it is exposed to the lye monster. So, you need to do something with the liter of cinnamon bark EO you just got. So, you start thinking of all the things cinnamon plays a role in that you would like to re-create in soap, and you start thinking about how your grandmother's house smelled at Christmas...and it is all over. You are blending like a mad woman. Or the spice cake your Aunt Mary made that was almost a religious experience....

Susie said:

Or the spice cake your Aunt Mary made that was almost a religious experience....

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Can I get the recipe for that?

Or then someone here says lavender and mint is a great combo and your have to experience it for yourself.

jules92207 said:

I tend to blend only to compliment and anchor some fragrances. I love citrus oils but they are light in soaps, I add some lemongrass or litsea and it really pops the citrus fragrance. And I love mint but find it's much more complex and beautiful when it's blended with a mix of minty scents rather than a single note. Its really just a matter of deepening the overall fragrance for me. But not all need to be blended for sure.

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Hello! Just like Jules92207 describes is what I do - to compliment and also anchor fragrances. I don't limit myself to only EO's but also add some FO's in order to "magnify" a particular aroma. I only sell via my website so I can not have exotic fragrance combinations - only those that are easy to identify with like "pine" or "orange". But I add two or more EO's or FO's together to obtain a strong but lasting scent. For example, I have combined a lime EO with a FO called 'Champagne' and got a strong but fizzy lime fragrance. Surprisingly (and happily) this scent sticks well even after several months. Single notes are fine but the addition on one or more EO's (and FO's) can make scented music! :grin:

houseofwool said:

Can I get the recipe for that?

Or then someone here says lavender and mint is a great combo and your have to experience it for yourself.

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I would, but thus far she has only given the recipe to her daughters. I have begun a, "What if the whole eastern seaboard drops into the ocean? Your recipe would be gone forever! That would be tragic!" campaign. To no avail.

Glenn, that lime & champagne sounds like a wonderful blend. I'm going to have to try that one. To anyone who is a fan of Kevin Dunn, author of Scientific Soapmaking, I met him this evening, and besides being amazingly smart, he is also a very nice guy. A true star, he signed my copy of his book and gave me some experiments to try. What survives saponification and how can I measure it has been driving me nuts, and he pointed me in the right direction. Catherine McGinnis, from Soaping 101 is here as well and she is a sweetheart. She brought her Mom tonight as well as her husband and they are the nicest family. Sorry to digress from main topic, but this is just too cool.

Playing with scent is probably my favorite part of CP soap. When I have tweaked a blend just right and it is "perfect" it's too satisfying. But a lot of EO's are complex on their own, and I don't blame people sticking to a single fragrance. There are some that fade very quickly without a stronger binding EO. I don't know the science on how that works, I just know from experience. Just wanted to chime in a tiny for a subject I absolutely love. I think this part reminds me the most of cooking, blending flavors for taste is very similar to doing so for scent. I would say it's more difficult to get the smells just right. Often when the cure is finished up, the smell is so different than when I began -- the art of adjusting becomes a fun new challenge.

I am with MoodyGlenn on blending eo and fo together too. So many options!

On that note, I just fell in love with BB Champagne and just blended it with the Crisp Anjour Pear - love!!! Lime sounds amazing, gonna have to try that one!

Cindy2428 said:

To anyone who is a fan of Kevin Dunn, author of Scientific Soapmaking, I met him this evening, and besides being amazingly smart, he is also a very nice guy. A true star, he signed my copy of his book and gave me some experiments to try. What survives saponification and how can I measure it has been driving me nuts, and he pointed me in the right direction. Catherine McGinnis, from Soaping 101 is here as well and she is a sweetheart. She brought her Mom tonight as well as her husband and they are the nicest family. Sorry to digress from main topic, but this is just too cool.

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Oh my, you have to start a thread on this. We want to hear all about it!