Natural Soaps.. Essential Oils.. how do they afford it!?

[nattynoo]

Yeah, I have. They are VERY sensitive to soaping too hot. I've had so many batches of soap go to rice with their FO's. Maybe its just me and FO's I don't know. I don't have this problem with other FO's so who knows. I am an EO girl mostly.
As for smell. A bit hit and miss but isn't that with most things. So hard to get everything in one place. You tend to get your favs.
I could buy 100litres of their rose geranium EO but I hate their vanilla FO.
Their service is good and they carry ALOT of items. Their oil prices I cannot beat. 20litres of coconut oil for $59.40. Its close to me so I don't need to use freight. I'd love to know if anyone knows of a source cheaper than this. I know I can get a better price in bulk but I don't need a pallet. LOL.

Thread hijacked....SORRY!!!

Back to moulds.

 

[judymoody]

Hi Everyone!

This may be a bit of a newbie question, but I'm curious..
I see so many natural soaps scented with all essential oil blends, that seem to contain some of the most expensive essential oils possible!

patchouli, sandalwood, rose, vetiver.. etc.. How do they ever afford to use them in soaps at such quantities?? Some of these are almost $50+ an ounce.. or more!

I could understand using just drops of them in lotions, creams etc.. but 1oz per lb in soap.. the thought of it makes me cringe! so expensive! Is there something I'm missing here??

thanks!!

First of all, a lot of people make misleading claims, sometimes willfully, sometimes due to ignorance.

I've seen sellers claiming to use real sandalwood, rose and jasmine EOs and others which cost more than $100/oz. The amounts they use must be minute if they really are using these EOs.

Also, how many times have we seen people claiming to use pineapple or blueberry EOs. At best, they're just not well informed.

There are also lots of vendors that charge absurdly high prices for EOs. If you buy larger quantities and/or from reasonable reputable dealers like NDA, EOU, Liberty Natural, BB or CG, you can get a number of high quality essential oils for reasonable prices.

 

[nattynoo]

Thread hijacked....SORRY!!!

Back to moulds.

Laughing hard!! I think I got my threads mixed up thinking it was the thread about commercial moulds. I need to get off this forum and make more soap instead I think.

Back to EO's.....
Judymoore - r u saying the rose geranium & patchouli eo's that I've been buying could possibly not be eo's????? They do vertiver for $35au/100mls. Their Sandlewood is $195au/100mls. Pure rose is out of my league.
Is it possible different oils are sourced from different countries and therefor prices range greatly??

 

[judymoody]

Thread hijacked....SORRY!!!

Back to moulds.

Laughing hard!! I think I got my threads mixed up thinking it was the thread about commercial moulds. I need to get off this forum and make more soap instead I think.

Back to EO's.....
Judymoore - r u saying the rose geranium & patchouli eo's that I've been buying could possibly not be eo's????? They do vertiver for $35au/100mls. Their Sandlewood is $195au/100mls. Pure rose is out of my league.
Is it possible different oils are sourced from different countries and therefor prices range greatly??

Not at all. I imagine you're getting the real deal. Price does vary according to source and across vendors and with respect to quantity purchased. I am primarily a hobbyist and buy between 1-4 oz of EO at a time, occasionally more. WRT to source: Chinese vetiver is generally cheaper than Haitian (but the Haitian, if you can find it, you can still get for US $12-13 per oz). Sandalwood - you folks in Australia have an advantage in being able to get a locally sourced product. I was speaking of the Indian/Mysore variety in my last comment. Rose geranium is relatively cheap. Patchouli has spiked in price and also varies in price according to source. I was thinking of rose otto, jasmine, Indian sandalwood, chamomile, etc. which are much more costly.

 

[mattiesoap]

Good question. In my experience only a few e.o.'s hold up in CP, namely Patchouli, Lavender, Rosemary, Tea Tree, mints. I've tried some others with unhappy results for the $ invested. Doubtful if therapeutic benefits from e.o. can survive in CP. Better results in re-batching or HP possibly, especially in amounts needed and lasting fragrance. And, as others have said not all claims are true. I also blend FO/EO for better results, but question why really. I have not had any problems others mention with FO but I buy high quality from reputable sources and prefer the more natural fragrances rather than dupes or food-type.

 

[SudsyKat]

I've used both EOs and FOs (separately) in CP soap and I've been mostly pleased with the results using .8 oz PPO. I wanted to mention for anyone who's interested, that I use the 15X Orange EO from WSP (http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductDetail.aspx?CategoryID=2043&ProductID=7900) and it works great! The scent is gentle, but clear and distinct. If you want an orange soap with only EO, you should give that one a try.

 

[paillo]

WOW! 15x! i adore orange EO and have been using 5x from Camden-Gray. how does the scent hold up in the 15x? it's pricey, but if you can use less it may be worth it. i find orange oil darkens the soap somewhat, but for the scent, i don't care. can get 5 pounds of 5x from camden gray for about $38, vs. only 2 pounds of 15x for almost $48 at wsp. anyone used both and have an opinion?

I've used both EOs and FOs (separately) in CP soap and I've been mostly pleased with the results using .8 oz PPO. I wanted to mention for anyone who's interested, that I use the 15X Orange EO from WSP (http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/ProductDetail.aspx?CategoryID=2043&ProductID=7900) and it works great! The scent is gentle, but clear and distinct. If you want an orange soap with only EO, you should give that one a try.

 

[nattynoo]

Thanks Judy.

Personallly, I'm starting to agree, for the investment and the possibility of them not surviving its starting to sway me to FO's. A boundary I never though I'd cross as I always wanted to stick to natural soaps.

Can you folk help me with something. I only use ml measurements for my fragranges. When you say 1oz of EO how much would that be. A 25ml bottle, 100ml bottle????? I usually use 25ml per 1000grams of oil and for the oils that stick, lol, this is usually a good amount.

 

[judymoody]

Thanks Judy.

Personallly, I'm starting to agree, for the investment and the possibility of them not surviving its starting to sway me to FO's. A boundary I never though I'd cross as I always wanted to stick to natural soaps.

Can you folk help me with something. I only use ml measurements for my fragranges. When you say 1oz of EO how much would that be. A 25ml bottle, 100ml bottle????? I usually use 25ml per 1000grams of oil and for the oils that stick, lol, this is usually a good amount.

1 oz = 28 grams more or less. I develop recipes using metric measurements and calculate 30 g per kilo of oils in my recipes as a starting point which corresponds to a little over .5 oz PPO. I don't like overly scented soaps so I'd rather err on the weak side. .7-.8 oz PPO would be more like 40 g of fragrance per kilo.

 

[Sunny]

If you buy larger amounts of any eo, the price goes down (per oz). I guess it depends how much soap you are making, and how much eo you're willing to buy.

And yes, just because they are using a certain eo (sandalwood, for example), sometimes it's just for the label appeal.. it doesn't mean they are using a ton of it. Maybe just enough to be able to say they're using it!


I love essential oils... fo's are fine too, and everyone has their opinions. But eo's are sooo... deep, rich, delicious, and so much better than fo (to me). Especially because this is just a hobby for me, and I don't sell, I don't mind spending a little more for eo's because it's just for me. A gift to myself.

 

[nattynoo]

Thanks Judy!! I really appreciate that. I know i should just measure it out and weigh it but I always seem to forget come soap time.
So I think I'm pretty much on track their. The measuring container I use can hold 30mls so I think I might up it just a little to 30mls.

 

[SudsyKat]

Paillo - you asked how the 15X Orange EO holds up. I have some from 6 months ago (that's as old as I have) and it still has a nice gentle scent to it (it was never strong to begin with, but very clear and noticeable. People tell me they LOVE the scent and part of that, I think, is the gentleness of it.

nattynoo - you can't really convert ml to ounces or grams because a ml is a measurement of volume, while grams and ounces are measurements of weight. From one substance to another, the same volume will have a different weight. Sorry!

 

[Elly]

grams & mls are almost the same I have tried it both ways with EO's and they are almost equal so I don't bother with weights when it comes to EO's just use mls it easier. This is only my opinion :wink:

 

[carebear]

grams & mls are almost the same I have tried it both ways with EO's and they are almost equal so I don't bother with weights when it comes to EO's just use mls it easier. This is only my opinion :wink:

Well, how you see it will depend on the accuracy of your scale and your measurements.

Of course, it really depends on their specific gravity - if the SG is 1 or very close to it, you can use volume - unless the SG is 1, it's not accurate but it'll do.

But be aware that not all are 1 or very close, though.

And your formulas, if they are written out in percentages as they should be, are not going to be accurate either.

I strongly recommend using all the same units. But you can, of course, do whatever you like.

 

[Simplyangelic]

I use EO's because I prefer them to synthetic fragrance, just a personal choice
I don't sell my soap yet, but when I do, I'll use the more expensive EO's in limited edition soaps where the prices will be higher, and the less expensive ones in my usual line

 

[Elly]

carebear you are absolutely right using the same units is essential. I always do my formulations by weight, all oils, lye & water measured in grams, with the exemption of EO's since I only ever make small batches the amounts are so tiny that I just do the equivalent of grams in mls which for me works out about the same. I am glad you clarified this point which is extremely important, sorry for the confusion I've created