cp with EO's: how bad do they break down

[dggriffi]

for those of you who do CP or perhaps have done HP and CP with EO's, how much do you feel the reaction breaks the EO's down?

 

[Sunny]

A LOT

 

[IanT]

it depends on what you mean by break down? as in denature? saponify? render scentless?

 

[carebear]

depends on the EO

 

[dggriffi]

what im curious about is how much damage the lye does to the EO. for anyone who has done both, does it seem like half of the EO's are diminished once the soap is cured or less?

 

[carebear]

it's really hard to quantify because of the wide range of EOs.
many FOs are sensitive to pH or to the heat of the reaction or whatever but we simply do not use those in soaps because they aren't sold for that purpose. but EOs are not supplied with that kind of "approval".


Citrus EOs are notoriously unstable, and the high pH and heat of soaping just adds to that. Patchouli is the polar opposite and is used even in many FOs BECAUSE of its stability (it's a big component of Tide dtgt's fragrance, for example, and is not only stable in the product, but survives hot water washing and the dryer = to a degree).

I have stopped using EOs because the data hasn't really been collected in a meaningful way, though there is an EO section on the Scent Review Board. Which meant a lot of relatively expensive trial and error. And because I don't like most EOs as single notes and I absolutely SUCK at blending. And finally, it seems my favorite EOs are not stable (blood orange - yum!) or are absurdly expensive (ylang!). So with all those things put together, I mostly use FOs.

 

[dggriffi]

it's really hard to quantify because of the wide range of EOs.
many FOs are sensitive to pH or to the heat of the reaction or whatever but we simply do not use those in soaps because they aren't sold for that purpose. but EOs are not supplied with that kind of "approval".


Citrus EOs are notoriously unstable, and the high pH and heat of soaping just adds to that. Patchouli is the polar opposite and is used even in many FOs BECAUSE of its stability (it's a big component of Tide dtgt's fragrance, for example, and is not only stable in the product, but survives hot water washing and the dryer = to a degree).

I have stopped using EOs because the data hasn't really been collected in a meaningful way, though there is an EO section on the Scent Review Board. Which meant a lot of relatively expensive trial and error. And because I don't like most EOs as single notes and I absolutely SUCK at blending. And finally, it seems my favorite EOs are not stable (blood orange - yum!) or are absurdly expensive (ylang!). So with all those things put together, I mostly use FOs.

well i think i need to check out that board. My soap making "goal" is to make completely natural soap with Essential oils as many people i know believe in the effectiveness of these oils for topical application. This draws a bright light for me in regard to things like titanium dioxide and FOs. I'm starting to suspect that it is a much more difficult road to walk.

 

[dagmar88]

Yup, especially since you're probably not making soap with natural lye...
Completely natural soap IMHO isn't possible.

 

[dggriffi]

Yup, especially since you're probably not making soap with natural lye...
Completely natural soap IMHO isn't possible.

well, of course not. even if i where to make lye its still really just a harsh chemical.