Lavender scent pricing

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Lavender EO is one of the cheaper oils. There are many different sources for lavender EO. Amazon has one with free prime shipping. 4 oz for only 13 something. I tested it and it is indeed lavender EO. It is not 40/42 EO though. Its Bulgarian lavender which is the more floral one. Mikes fragrances also has some lavender EO for a pretty good price. I've also heard others use Camden Grey.

Which do people prefer? The floral or the 40/42?
Lavender EO is one of the cheaper oils. There are many different sources for lavender EO. Amazon has one with free prime shipping. 4 oz for only 13 something. I tested it and it is indeed lavender EO. It is not 40/42 EO though. Its Bulgarian lavender which is the more floral one. Mikes fragrances also has some lavender EO for a pretty good price. I've also heard others use Camden Grey.

What brand of lavender EO was it?
 
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It was Radha brand lavender. And I find that it's personal preference. The 40/42 (usually a french lavender) has more camphorous notes go it. Personally I like the Bulgarian one better. But some people really don't like that it's more like a straight floral.
 
It was Radha brand lavender. And I find that it's personal preference. The 40/42 (usually a french lavender) has more camphorous notes go it. Personally I like the Bulgarian one better. But some people really don't like that it's more like a straight floral.

Thx! Is the Radha Bulgarian?
 
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It was Radha brand lavender. And I find that it's personal preference. The 40/42 (usually a french lavender) has more camphorous notes go it. Personally I like the Bulgarian one better. But some people really don't like that it's more like a straight floral.

I had bought the 40/42 from BB. I smelled it, and it did not smell anything like the tiny bottle of Bulgarian that I had been using therapeutically. Maybe because I was used to it, but I prefer the Bulgarian one, too. I actually don't even like the 40/42 but if that is what is typically used in soap then I guess I should stick with it....
 
Wow that has put me off EOs. I thought you paid the higher price because they were more concentrated. [emoji33]

Not sure where you got that idea? EOs are more expensive b/c they come from plants. Some plants (like lavender and mint) are easy to grow and have a lot of essential oil in them, so those EOs are cheaper. Some plants have much less scent and are harder to grow, so those EOs are expensive. (Like rose.)
 
Yes. That's one reason some folks like to reserve expensive EOs for HP.

Then how much would I need to add after the cook? BB says 1.6 oz for 2 lb. Lyecalc says .98 oz. I really want to make some frgranced soaps but cannot proceed without knowing exactly how much EO to add! :?
 
I normally use 3% PPO for cold process. I would think somewhere around 1.5% would do for hot process, but TEG might direct you more accurately since he does HP.
 
I don't HP very often so hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. Basically, I use half of what I would when CPing. I like a highly scented soap. Most of my CP soaps use between .8 and 1oz ppo. I always check the max allowable limit from the supplier and make sure that's within guidelines. Some fragrances are very strong so I might use a little less (or wish I had lol).

For HP, I use about half of what I would for CP.... typically .5oz ppo. A good reference is BB's FO calculator to get an idea of different fragrance types. For EOs, you'll really want to verify allowable amounts. Some can be dangerous at pretty small amounts like clove.
 
Thanks, but I still don't know what ppo means...

This is all soooooooo confusing. I just read Soap Queen's recommendations for EOs and she said that HP takes the same amount as CP.....
 
Thank you! So that is oil only and not the finished weight of the soap?
 
Short answer, it depends.

The I think BB calculator takes into account the IFRA guidelines for safe amounts. All soapcalc will tell you is how much to put in according to the % that you enter. So if you tell it you want to add 5% of an EO, it will calculate how many ounces or grams of that EO you need. It does not know what the safe level of the EO is. To know what the safe level is, you have to find what the IFRA considers a 'safe' amount.

Most places you get EO's and FO's from will tell you what this is. I will not buy from a place that does not list this clearly in the description, along with the flashpoint and (for FO's) the vanillan content.

For lavender, I think the max is 5% of your weight. So if you are making 2 pounds of soap, you can use up to 1.6oz of lavender EO.

Depending on your preference, that might be too much. No one can tell you what you will feel is 'strong scented' or 'light scented' you just have to try it on your own.

For other EOs, like clove, peppermint, or cinnamon the max is about 1% of your soap weight, as these are very irritating.


Also, you can find most abbreviations we use in this thread: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=51841
 
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I deleted the other question about difference in hp and cp scent amounts - as discussed, please do not ask the same question in multiple threads.

With hp, it's also good to let the soap cool a bit before adding in the scent. The trick is finding the sweet spot between it being not yet cool as it can be and so cool that it starts to stiffen up!
 
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