Need Help with Calculating Cassia E.O. Amount

[Orchidgirl]

Hi there,

I am looking for someone with better math skills than I to review my proposed e.o. amounts in an upcoming Cassia + Orange batch I am planning. I have had an overly heavy hand with scenting my soaps in the past, and because I know that Cassia e.o. is supposed to be a dermal irritant I want to be very careful with this. I also can't seem to find exact recommendations regarding the use of cassia on the 'net, and what I have found regarding recommended rates for other potential irritants (like cinnamon) reads like Greek to me (due to my "right-brain" problems...argh).

Anyway, the batch in question will have a total oil weight of 24 ounces, which gives me approximately 2 pounds of finished soap. The fragrance calculator at MMS, when plugged in for "cinnamon leaf essential oil" (they don't list cassia specifically) tells me to use only 0.18 ounces (by weight) of this essential oil for my batch. I'm not sure this amount would even be noticeable in the finished soap, nor am I certain that cassia is 100% interchangeable here for the cinnamon. I am confused. :crazy:

Anyway, just to complicate things further, I would like to blend in some of my 10-fold sweet orange oil to hedge my bets if the cassia doesn't come through...and should the cassia scent come through, I like the way this combination smells. I have used this 10x orange successfully in the past in an approximately 4:1 ratio with cedarwood oil, so I'd plan on repeating that ratio here with the cassia.

TL;DR:

Proposed essential oils amounts for batch of "Cassia Orange" soap containing 24 ounces oils by weight:

Cassia e.o.: 0.18 ounces
10x Orange e.o.: 0.72 ounces

Comments?
--Claire

 

[Susie]

I think that blend will do fine. I don't have a problem with cassia irritating, but I use less EO than SoapCalc recommends. You should be able to get more than a hint of the cassia. And cassia with lemongrass is one of my favorite combinations, so I fully understand that mixture.

 

[AustinStraight]

That sounds about right. .72 oz 10-fold orange for 24 ounces of soap is a "light" scent according to Brambleberry, so you might want to bring it up to about 1.08 for a "medium" scent using that same Brambleberry calculator. I guess it all depends on what you want

 

[Orchidgirl]

Thanks so much for your quick replies! I am glad to hear that this amount of cassia sounds okay. And Susie, I may just have to try that cassia/lemongrass combination sometime. Sounds nifty. 8)

 

[neeners]

it should be about 3% EOs to OIL weight, not completed soap weight, which is around .5oz PPO. so total EO weight should be .75oz, not 1 oz.