Using an online calculator for usage rates

[Zing]

Calling @HoppyCosmetics, in response to your posts
Could I make my Soap smell like one specific Deodorant and

Advice On How To Use EO In Products

Hi, So still new to all this. Doing a lot of research as I was to try make a small 'lifestyle' business in my small town, selling my own products. I know often fragrances are seen as a negative so for somethings I was to use essential oils instead of fragrance oil, not just for the fragrance but...

www.soapmakingforum.com

I'm saying this with a smile and friendly tone -- not scolding! You've brought up essential oil usage rates on two other threads that other users started. It's a good practice that if you have a question, to start your own thread. I like to do that because when I have to refer back to answers down the road, I can find it quickest. I'm not on social media so this practice was not intuitive immediately to me.

Dude! You don't have to have your brain or a hand-held calculator do any work! Let Find Free Essential Oil Blends - Essential Oil Calculator or another online calculator do all the math! Easy peasy. For example, fill in all the yellow highlighted fields, and select the green "give me usage rates" button

and you get:

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

I'm saying this with a smile and friendly tone -- not scolding! You've brought up essential oil usage rates on two other threads that other users started. It's a good practice that if you have a question, to start your own thread.

That's cool. And i know i ask different questions on other people's threads, its my trademark! I find things too ridid if you can only talk about the one thing. Anyway...

Thanks for this. But, this is where its getting confusing... Bergamot essential oil has a maximum usage rate of 0.4% (4g), so i couldn't even use it at the light usage of 1%?

From here is where im stuck.
And i have tons of other questions....

Is the 0.4% per batch of soap or pound of oil? And how do i calculate 0.4% in 100g of lip balm... is 0.4% the maximum amount i can use in any batch size like 100g or should it be calculated to be less. You are probably confused now!

 

[KiwiMoose]

Items like lip balm and lotions stay on your skin - so the usage rate might be even less!
Do you only use essential oils @HoppyCosmetics? There are specific FOs which are designed to be used at higher amounts and for items such as lip balm which is likely to be 'consumed' (albeit unwittingly).
Bergamot is expensive anyway - I certainly don't want to be putting 30g of it into one batch of soap - especially when it doesn't have good scent retention. How about looking for alternatives? Litsea Cubeba? Cheaper and you can use more.
The EO usage rates ave started getting really strict after recent reviews by the FDA ( or whoever does it) Seems like you can't use much of anything.

 

[Zing]

That's cool. And i know i ask different questions on other people's threads, its my trademark! I find things too ridid if you can only talk about the one thing. Anyway...

Thanks for this. But, this is where its getting confusing... Bergamot essential oil has a maximum usage rate of 0.4% (4g), so i couldn't even use it at the light usage of 1%?

From here is where im stuck.
And i have tons of other questions....

Is the 0.4% per batch of soap or pound of oil? And how do i calculate 0.4% in 100g of lip balm... is 0.4% the maximum amount i can use in any batch size like 100g or should it be calculated to be less. You are probably confused now!

I do not know where you are getting this information. "Bergamot essential oil has a maximum usage rate of 0.4%." According to eocalc.com, bergamot is safe to use up to a max of 5%. If you scroll up to my first graphic in post #1, the directions clearly say that if you are making soap to use the oil weight.

Also, ditto to @KiwiMoose, the usage rates CHANGE depending on what type of product you use. I do not know where you got this information "0.4% in 100g of lip balm." Here's what I get instead:

returns:

Any eocalc result in RED means you cannot use that rate. In essence, bergamot should NOT be used in lip balm.

If you are using essential oils, you must master calculating usage rates. You don't want to unintentionally harm someone. Some essential oils in leave-on products can cause increased sun damage. Just take your time to read through the pages on eocalc.com. I'm tellin' ya, you got this!

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

Do you only use essential oils @HoppyCosmetics? There are specific FOs which are designed to be used at higher amounts and for items such as lip balm which is likely to be 'consumed' (albeit unwittingly).

I use things like peppermint essential oil in my lip balm, but ive decided to mix peppermint with melissa (lemon balm) for another, and because im doing 100g batches, i dont need to use as much of an expensive oil. I want my lip balms to be beneficial for a certain purpose, without obviously making any claims. Ive never heard of Litsea Cubeba, but i will check it out. Im also wanting to use isoamyl acetate in one, but im not sure if there's a usage rate for that since its not exactly an essential oil, but an ester used in food.

I do not know where you are getting this information. "Bergamot essential oil has a maximum usage rate of 0.4%." According to eocalc.com, bergamot is safe to use up to a max of 5%.

I have an book by lea jacobson, she's American, and has a book on essential oil usage rates, and it lists all of them, so i wouldn't be unintentionally harming anyone. I'll link two photos below so that you can see the cover, and the page on bergamot. It turns out that steam distilled bergamot has a no max usage rate, but other forms of bergamot is 0.4% max, which is what i was going to be using for soap, not lip balm. Let me know what you both think.

 

[Zing]

I have started and deleted this post a dozen times. I'm just going to go for it. I like using the private messaging "conversations' feature on this Forum and I use it a lot. I do not like to publicly confront people unnecessarily on a public forum. In general, I avoid confrontation at all costs!

I am having a strong reaction to your post mainly because I am concerned about safety. I am concerned that new soapers will read this thread and obtain this book when they should not.

For usage rates, I strongly recommend that you source material from experts who make soap. The author you cited is an aromatherapist. Most of her .com website is blocked because I'm not a paying customer but there's a lot about aroma, inhaling, diffusing, nebulizing. I do not see any references to using essential oils in homemade soap and other products.

My intent is to promote safety. I don't mean to offend.

 

[KiwiMoose]

In addition to what Zing says - I note that she states 0.4 when used topically. It looks the assumption is that you will put it onto the skin to stay there. Soap, being a wash off product, can handle more EO than if you put it in, say, a lotion.
With EO calc you can select the product you are making before it brings up the recommended maximum amount and is thus more accurate:

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

I am having a strong reaction to your post mainly because I am concerned about safety. I am concerned that new soapers will read this thread and obtain this book when they should not.

I have no idea what you mean in your whole first paragraph, or about confrontation.

For usage rates, I strongly recommend that you source material from experts who make soap.

There's also a difference between a 'expert' soaper or experienced soaper and a licenced aromatherapist who follows the same guidelines as tisserand, which to my knowledge is expert at the highest degree. So other new soap makers would actually benefit from this book, as well as other experienced soap makers on this forum who agreed with my suggestion previously and didn't slate it like you did.

 

[paradisi]

Be aware that

1) in order to use essential oils on the lips, they need to be manufactured safely enough for that purpose. Those oils will be marked FCC, for Food Codex compliance, in the US.

Regular production, including organic essential oils, may not meet that safety standard. Ask your manufacturer for documentation .

2) both melissa and bergamot have very low safety limits on the lips AND NEED TO BE RECTIFIED, that is, have harmful constituents removed. Standard melissa or bergamot can be toxic and/or irritating. Bergamot for example would need to be both FCC and FCF (furanocoumarin free).

3) aromatherapy is a separate thing from safety, and a separate thing completely from medical use (which it seems beneficial is referring to here). It's best to get your manufacturer's information for safety of the specific oils & uses.

We owe it to ourselves to be safe and careful in what we use on, or in, us.

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

both melissa and bergamot have very low safety limits on the lips

The melissa im using in my lip balm is a delution in sunflower oil, because on its own its expensive, plus it'll be safer on the lips.

aromatherapy is a separate thing from safety, and a separate thing completely from medical use

I know that, but i already asked the author of the book about the usage rates for cosmetics before buying. Also, the usage rate for bergamot in the book was actually much lower than what Zing suggested from EO Calc, so that's better, and safer. Also, the max usage rate for any essential oil in soap in the UK is 3% compared to other parts of the world, like America, which is higher. I learned everything i know from the nerdy farm wife books. I just suck at math.