Cocoa Clay Basil

[TashaBird]

@TashaBird I was so intrigued by your review of the basil EO that I want to try it in my next batch.

EOCalc shows that 1% is the only safe usage rate for basil EO in CP or HP soap. Everything above that is in the red zone, lol. As someone who reacts (over-reacts, really) to stuff, I have to stick with that safe usage rate for sure.

Was that the amount that you used for your soap? Normally I need 3-5% in order for any scent to survive saponification and cure. I hate to waste EOs, so I don't want to try it at 1% and then find out I can't smell it.

Thanks!

I know it can be used safely in massage oil, which would be a leave on, and at a higher concentration. So, I don’t understand why it would be limited to %1 by the calculator.

 

[AliOop]

I added the fragrance to the calculator and didn’t get a warning. I used %3. I’ll be sure to check it before I give it to anyone else. Can you link the EO calculator you used that says this please? I’d like to check for future batches.

If you use the fragrance setting in any of the soap-making calculators, those aren't designed to tell you what is safe or not. It just figures the weight from the percentage that you supply.

For safe usage rates, I start by checking the supplier's recommended safe usage rate for that oil. Then I also run it through EOCalc.com. That site lets you put in a single oil, or you can enter a blend of oils and specify the percent of each blend being used. Then you select the product you are making (lotions, lip balm, CP, HP, etc), and the weight of that product, to calculate the safe usage rate.

Others have mentioned another EO calculator - maybe Majestic Mountain Sage? Haven't tried that one, but it might be worth comparing them to see if they are similar.

ETA: I ran it through EOCalc.com and chose "Leave-on Product" which would include a massage oil. The safe usage rate given was .5% - lower than what was given for soap, which wasn't surprising. Basil is considered one of the "hot" oils and can be very skin sensitizing.