Essential Oils from Michael's

[Carl]

Over the weekend I asked a question about fragrance oils and we established that the fragrance oils that you buy at Michael's are not intended for CP soap, but only for melt and pour.

Is the same true for essential oils? Part of me wants to think that it's not true for essentials since essentials are natural and fragrance oils are human made.

So what's the verdict? OK to use essentials from Michael's in CP soap?

 

[shunt2011]

If they are tru EO you are good. But buying them from michaels is going to be pricey. Unless you are making small batches.

 

[Carl]

If they are tru EO you are good. But buying them from michaels is going to be pricey. Unless you are making small batches.

Thanks, I'm assuming they are true EO. There is only 1 ingredient in the list.

Price is actually very good. I used the 50% off coupons that they give out and I got a 4oz bottle for just over $7.

 

[shunt2011]

That’s not bad at all.

 

[Carl]

Please excuse me but I may wind up "Beating this topic to death!"

As someone making soap, I think learning about the EOs in the soap is very important. On top of that, I think if a ton of cash can also be saved by getting these oils at Michael's as opposed to other vendors, is also a big plus.

It's obvious that ArtMinds (the Michael's brands) EOs are very inexpensive relative to others. There is a reason for this.
It has to be one of these 2:

• The oil is inferior and not as good as the others
  
• Or the oil is good, but Michael's has so much buying power that they can buy a quality product at wholesale prices and pass the savings on to us. Kinda like Walmart does with some products.

I did some of the white paper tests with an oil that I purchased from a soap supplier and some of the ArtMinds oils.

All the ArtMinds oils that I tested (Lemon, Lavender, Peppermint) left a spot on the paper after drying. The one from the soap shop (Lavender) did not.

I then concluded that Artminds oils must be junk. I start doing more reading though and run into another article that says that the white paper test is a myth and due to varying weights of oils may not hold true.

So now I'm back to where I started.

There is a lot of confusing info out there about EOs.

When I compare the Artmids Lavender to the soap supply store one, I cannot tell a difference. They feel the same. They look the same. They smell the same.

 

[DeeAnna]

Unless you're testing an EO that isn't water clear or testing one that's resin based, it's been my experience that the white paper test is valid. Certainly lavender EO should pass this test.

FOs smell good too, so odor alone is not a good way to tell EOs from FOs or adulterated EOs from pure ones.

There is only so much the consumer can do to evaluate ingredients. At some point we have to make good choices about the businesses we use and trust those suppliers to be honest and reputable.

Michaels is not in the biz of selling EOs. They're in the biz of selling inexpensive craft supplies. I don't think they intend to mislead, but I also don't think they have any particular interest in buying EOs on anything other than lowest cost.

When I want quality EOs, I buy from suppliers in the EO business. When I want basic craft supplies, I go to Michaels.

 

[Jill B Blasius]

The product offered from Michael's may be an essential oil *blend*. (Some of the products online say blend, some don't.)

I suspect that it may be that the EO has been pre-cut with carrier oil. The carrier oil may be your oil spot?

When you buy an EO or FO from reputable sources (who discloses whether or not it contains phthalates and provides an MSDS sheet of the products contents) you are buying an essential oil or fragrance oil that has not been diluted with a carrier oil-ei; a pure essential oil or fragrance oil.

I doubt that's what Michael's is selling. ArtMinds is a subsidiary of Michael's, that's why you can't find that brand for sale elsewhere. Except for certain products (yarn, crayola crayons, and a few other things) all of Michael's products are made by their own sub-companies. (Framing, jewelry, floral...)

(I've worked at both Michael's and Joann's, they both do the same thing. This method makes the company's P&L lower/higher, while the owner(s) of the corporation AND it's subsidiaries make greater profit.)

 

[Southpaw]

I hate to add to a subject that other consider "Beating the topic to death", but I feel the need to interject my opinion based on my own personal experience using the Michael's Brand, Simple Serenity.
They are reasonably priced EO's in a variety of scents that using the coupons make them a good deal, but I have tried two different one's (Lavender & Rosemary) and both ruined my soap batch. They may work well in Melt and Pour but I bought them to use in CP and am very disappointed in how they behaved. I ended up with a riced soap with pools of oil all over the loaf. If this is the brand you are referring to, I would not suggest you use them for CP soaps. I have never used ArtMinds brand for CP although Simple Serenity is a sub-brand but I have used them in several different M&P's with general success.
I have found a few of the scents do not last long.

 

[Carl]

If this post is too old for posting, please slap me; I'm not sure what the thresh hold is for posting.

But I thought I would share my experience as it may help someone else.

I've been testing both the Michael's EOs and the ones from our favorite suppliers in liquid foaming hand soap over the last several weeks.

With the Michael's oils, I have been getting some nastiness rising to the top of my container over time settling at the top.

I have NOT been getting this with the oils from our normal suppliers when comparing lavender to lavender, patchouli to patchouli, etc.

I'm thinking the Michael's oils may be a big NO GO.

 

[Southpaw]

If this post is too old for posting, please slap me; I'm not sure what the thresh hold is for posting.

But I thought I would share my experience as it may help someone else.

I've been testing both the Michael's EOs and the ones from our favorite suppliers in liquid foaming hand soap over the last several weeks.

With the Michael's oils, I have been getting some nastiness rising to the top of my container over time settling at the top.

I have NOT been getting this with the oils from our normal suppliers when comparing lavender to lavender, patchouli to patchouli, etc.

I'm thinking the Michael's oils may be a big NO GO.

I had such a bad experience with them that I have not used any of the scents in CP again. Would also comment that the scents used in MP did not last very long. NO GO is right !!!

 

[Arimara]

It's your thread. It's safe to say you can breath life back into it.