EOs vs. FOs

[Happysoap]

I am having a problem with my EOs. The scent doesnt stick and it really eats away at my profit margin. I am thinking of switching to FOs but I am not sure if that is the way to go. I like the idea of all natural product but EOs eat away at my profit margin and scents fade. FOs are easier to deal with, scent lasts a lot longer and customers go crazy over scents and frequently ignore things like egg white, carrot, cucumber etc in soap. I am torn. Any thoughts and/or experiences?

I recently talked to a friend of mine who is a pharmacist and she said that its a waste to used EOs in a wash off product such as soap. A lot of EOs are needed to get the scent but there is no skin benefit from it. Large part of the EOs (30-60% depending on the EO) is saponifyable meaning that some of the EO benefitial components actually saponify which makes the EO largely ineffective. EOs are better used and are much more beneficial in leave on products such as lotions etc.

 

[cmzaha]

I use both, since I find some eo's less expensive to use than fo. For example the small amount of peppermint eo is less expensive to use and holds the scent well. Lemongrass is also very inexpensive compared to a good fo and is wonderful mixed with some Litsea. I have yet to find a really nice lavender fo that holds as well as my lavender. If you are selling I find most customers are buying for fragrance, not how you get the fragrance. I only have a few essential oil soaps in case someone is dead set on eo. I do agree that I do not think we get much benefit from eo in soap. I do feel it is a benefit if used in a scrub and the scrub is left on the skin for a while.

 

[judymoody]

I use EO at around the same % as FO and get pretty much the same results with respect to scent longevity. There are some EOs that are faders (bergamot, citrus in general) but there are also many, many FOs that fade or morph in CP soap. I think it's hard to generalize. Bear in mind that if you move to FO, you will have to do a lot of testing regarding scent strength and longevity as well.

I see a couple of options for you:

1. You could try HP and saponification will not affect the scent you use, be it FO or EO.
2. You could switch to FO
3. You could do some EO and some FO soaps to satisfy different target audiences. As mentioned before, there are EOs which stick and are relatively cheap - mint, lemongrass, litsea, eucalyptus, clove, cassia, and many more.
4. You can blend EO and FO to good effect.

Personally, I prefer the scent of EO most of the time but I use some FOs, and especially single note FOs for blending for which the EO is prohibitively expensive or endangered (sandalwood, for example). There are pros and cons to FO and EO so I don't see the need to limit myself to one or the other. At the end of the day, I'd say most potential customers are most interested in how the soap smells, not where the scent comes from.