Irritating EO Concentrated in areas of a soap

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Nov 19, 2013
Messages
9,328
Reaction score
10,044
Location
Austria
Hello all

So I made my Christmas soap and I wanted the white parts to stay whiter than white, so I put all of the scent in to the coloured parts of the batter. All good in theory, but some bars are much more of the coloured batter than the white batter, so they will should be much more concentrated.

This is a particular issue as I used clove and cinnamon EOs

Overall in the batch, I had less than 1% clove and 0.5% cinnamon. I say "less than" as I actually put less than that amount in as I was concerned about the effects of too much of these two. I also used 2.5% Blood Orange EO and a Christmas Spice FO at 1%.

I used the soap last night, waiting to see what happened. Of course, I am thinking that something will happen so every slight itch is caused by these two EOs.

How much exposure does one need to be affected by clove and cinnamon, and what are the effects of them?
 
Honestly everyone is different with this. There are guidelines and clove and cinnamon as you know are two super irritating eos. You used them within usage rates and even though some bars have more concentration I think you'll be fine. Maybe if a bar was all color and another was all white I'd say be more cautious :p I'd also urge them not to use on sensitive areas
 
I have made entire bars with a total of 5% of those two EOs, and never had an issue. Neither have any of the super sensitive skinned people I gave them to. I am still getting requests for more like that.
 
Honestly everyone is different with this. There are guidelines and clove and cinnamon as you know are two super irritating eos. You used them within usage rates and even though some bars have more concentration I think you'll be fine. Maybe if a bar was all color and another was all white I'd say be more cautious :p I'd also urge them not to use on sensitive areas



I have made entire bars with a total of 5% of those two EOs, and never had an issue. Neither have any of the super sensitive skinned people I gave them to. I am still getting requests for more like that.


Thank you both - looks like I can go with it then, as even the colour alone had smaller amounts.
 
quick-traced?

Mr. Gentleman,
If I could ask a related question?
The last (only) time I used clove and cinnamon EOs in a recipe, I got soap-on-a-stick.
I was hoping for Christmas scents, and got muck.

Did the concentrations of clove and cinnamon in the batch you made cause any noticeable trace-acceleration?

Thanks!
Todd
 
Some, certainly, but not much. The amount of the oils was low which might well have helped.

I split it at emulsion, mixed in the colour and scent and gave it a stir with a few bursts to help mix it all in. It had thickened up a bit by then, but no more than a medium trace at the very most
 
Clove contains eugenol, a chemical that is known to accelerate saponification. If I'm using a fragrance that contains clove, I plan for the worst and hope for the best. I soap fairly cool, hand stir or very cautiously use the stick blender after the fragrance is added, and keep any decorative touches to a bare minimum. I also don't use the fragrance at a high %.
 
Thanks Deeanna,
Next year, when I resume my Christmas-Tree-soap adventure, I'll keep those tips in mind.
Clove and cinnamon are the perfect scents for a Christmas tree.

Todd
 
I like them both in soap, but I use a light hand with these fragrances. If I use them at a medium or strong %, they become too much of a good thing for me and create an almost sour nose-twisting odor.
 
Last edited:
If you are looking to make the soaps fit the EU regs then I think clove has a stupidly low usage rate of 0.1%. It's a while since I looked it up, but I remember it being so low that I discounted it off my list of potential saleable products. I make it for myself at 0.5% mixed with sweet orange and I think it smells lovely and I haven't noticed any irritation.
 
If you are looking to make the soaps fit the EU regs then I think clove has a stupidly low usage rate of 0.1%. It's a while since I looked it up, but I remember it being so low that I discounted it off my list of potential saleable products. I make it for myself at 0.5% mixed with sweet orange and I think it smells lovely and I haven't noticed any irritation.


Aye, this was just a Christmas batch for friends and family
 

Latest posts

Back
Top