UK scent restrictions

[Andrea]

(I held off asking this question for a while hoping my duh would turn into an 'aha' but it hasn't so I'll deal with the embarrassment of having to admit I don't understand! lol)

UK reg's say soap can have a max of 2% essential oil.

For some reason how to work this out just isn't calculating right in my head!

Firstly I am assuming I only count the oil because the water will evaporate and the lye won't exist in the final product right? So if I have 48oz of oils, does this mean I can use up to 0.97oz of essential oils?

(48+0.97)x0.02 = 0.97oz

If so why does something like Brambleberry's fragrance calculator say 2oz? I know US reg's must be different but my calculations figure I'd have lower than what they classify as a light scent so it just seems wrong?

(I promise I'm not this dense with the rest of my maths, this has just confuzzled me!)

 

[houseofwool]

I would multiply your oil by 2%. So, 48 x .02 = .96 ounces of FO.


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[Andrea]

Thank you very much.

I am curious though... why in UK our max amount is lower than the 'light' amount allowed in the states? Less than half the average amount used in the US is a very big difference! Not asking someone to prove why that decision was made, just curious because of how big of a difference in fragrance it is!

 

[osso]

What eo are you using? Some are stronger than others, so you need to use much less (such as peppermint). I believe that is a consideration in bramble berry 's calculator.

 

[Andrea]

Peppermint specifically actually seems to work out within the allowances in the calculator but if I put most anything else in like Lavender oil it comes out with a medium usage of 2.16oz which works out at 4.31% (more than double UK allowance) and the strong value is almost 3 times the limit.

The light use (which is 1.44oz) is still at 2.91% which is still above the limit.

I don't want weak smelling soap that fades quickly by putting in so much less than allowed in the states and it seems really weird to me that we have to be so much more delicate in our fragrance additives here! (Feel like I'm missing something important here... )

 

[Second Impression]

I use peppermint at 2% of my oil weight, it definitely sticks around without being overpowering. I even have some 3 year old soap scented with peppermint and while it has faded, it's still definitely peppermint.

Adding that in the US, we don't have any restrictions at all on essential oil usage in soaps. The BrambleBerry calculator is just one company's suggested usage rates (I find their rates kind of high).

I'm sure someone familiar with UK regulations will come along but in your position, I would add in the weight of the lye and at least some of your water when working around your 2% limit. The lye gets converted to soap, it doesn't evaporate out so I would absolutely keep that weight and your water will never completely evaporate, no matter how long the soap cures.

Even sticking to 2% of your oil weight, there are a few strong EOs you can use and still get medium to strong scents: any mints, lemongrass, litsea cubeba, eucalyptus, spices like cinnamon and clove, patchouli, basil, rosemary, fir.

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[neeners]

interesting....I just scented soap with peppermint EO, and used brambleberry's suggested amounts, which was 0.05oz ppo....which makes it 5%? that sounds like a lot.....

I'm with you Andrea, this stuff is confusing!