Mastic / mastiha resin

[Rembetissa]

Hi, everyone! I searched and found a few threads on which people mentioned trying to make mastic soap. As far as I saw, no one updated with results. Anyone here try it?

Would mastic tears or powdered mastic be best? Would you infuse it in oil or include the powder in the soap? Would the soap retain any mastic smell?

 

[BattleGnome]

What are you hoping to achieve? Do you want mastic scented soap or are you looking for some other property/label appeal?

I doubt the scent would carry through to the final soap, lye eats all the fun stuff. If it’s scent you’re after I’d suggest using a proven fragrance to make sure you reach your goal.

If you want a medicinal property, I’m sure the lye would eat that too but I’m not very familiar with the actual uses of mastic. I know mastic/gum Arabic can be added to cosmetic items but I’ve never done the research to know why.

If you just want label appeal I’d be confident saying add 1 tsp- 1 tbsp of powdered mastic per pound of oils (and definitely start with a one pound batch of soap just in case). Maybe you’d get a bit of exfoliation?

My quick Wikipedia search didn’t give me enough info to know more than mastic is skin/food safe. I doubt the melting point is low enough for a simple CP soap to be smooth. You may have luck with a hot process soap if you want something smooth. If you can get it to melt I’d treat it similar to pine tar and work fast.

 

[Lin19687]

I agree....medicinal properties will not be in the end product Soap.

AND if you are making this claim that the soap has Medicinal properties then you better be ready for FDA to come and you show them the PROOF of your Testing that it does.

Just a reminder, it is great to make soap, but soap is soap in the end. A wash off product. Example: Special Mud isn't on long enough to do any benefit to you other then clean. Anyone that says it does better show me THEIR testing and studies that show it does.

 

[Rembetissa]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. Just interested in the scent. I normally do hot process. I might actually be able to get the tears or powder cheaper than an essential oil, and I can't find an actual fragrance oil.

Thank you so much for your replies, @BattleGnome and @Lin19687 !

 

[Lin19687]

I don't know much about them but I don't think the scent will last.
But you will need to triple check what is skin safe as I can't find any info on it

 

[Rembetissa]

Thank you

Mastic is used as a food spice and as chewing gum. There are a lot of mastic soaps in Greece made with actual mastic (not essential oil or fragrance oil, though I'm sure that's a thing too).

I personally am certain of its safety, but how would I go about checking if I'm "allowed" to use it as an ingredient?

Also, of someone knows of a fragrance oil that is fairly easily accessible in the U.S. that might solve the entire problem.

 

[BattleGnome]

Wikipedia said it’s scent was similar to pine or cedar. You can always get smalla ounts of those scents and play around. Just be sure to keep some coffee around to avoid scent fatigue.

 

[Rembetissa]

I finally made a batch of mastic soap. It smells so good! I can't wait for it to cure. Hope it still smells as good then.

I used Zany's no slime Castile recipe, but powdered and melted the mastic in the oil beforehand. Most of it melted, but I did strain to prevent scratchies. In the future, I'll probably source already-powdered mastic, since my food processor is not that ideal