Hi, I have previously read on this forum that clay can be used to help the soap ‘keep’ the lemon fragrance from lemon EO. I would like to try this as my lemon cold process soap doesn’t smell of lemon at all, I use 15%. Can anyone tell me how much clay I would need to use and if it would change the constituency of the soap a lot. If I could use it would I need to mix it with the EO first of all. Thank you
Using clay to enhance lemon essential oil
- Thread starter Debby
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Some people do believe that kaolin clay helps EOs "stick" better in their soap - others don't notice any difference. You can experiment to see what you think. I do find that both the EO and the clay disperse more easily when they've soaked together for at least 10-15 minutes before adding that mixture into the oils or the batter, as applicable.
What works best for me is to use "folded" lemon EO along with litsea cubeba. The folded citrus EOs have a much stronger scent and will last longer in soap. Litsea has a lemony smell of its own, and it sticks around longer than regular lemon. However, most citrus scents do tend to fade pretty quickly, which is why many folks use citrus FOs rather than citrus EOs.
Just curious ... did you really use lemon EO at 15% of your oil weight, or did you mean 1.5%?
What works best for me is to use "folded" lemon EO along with litsea cubeba. The folded citrus EOs have a much stronger scent and will last longer in soap. Litsea has a lemony smell of its own, and it sticks around longer than regular lemon. However, most citrus scents do tend to fade pretty quickly, which is why many folks use citrus FOs rather than citrus EOs.
Just curious ... did you really use lemon EO at 15% of your oil weight, or did you mean 1.5%?
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KimW
Well-Known Member
Wha?? Tell me more about folded EOs, please. From a quick search it looks like folded EOs have gone through an additional processing to remove terpenes. Yes? I thought terpenes were what gave EOs their smell (?). Why then do folded EOs have a stronger scent? Is it only citrus EOs that are folded? Fascinating stuff!
Is this a folded EO?
https://www.newdirectionsaromatics....lemon-5-fold-natural-blend-essential-oil.html
Thank you so much for your reply.
Yes! I realised afterwards I had missed a dot!
Sorry!
Yes, that’s a folded EO. My understanding is that the citrus-smelling compounds are increased to intensify the smell and make it last longer - and it does work! But exactly how they do that is beyond my current data set.
coastmutt
Well-Known Member
Sounds interesting! I'll have to look into adding clay to one of my recipes sometime, I wonder if it has an effect on the consistency of the soap, or the texture. Definitely something I've never heard of before, I hope you're able to achieve the results you're looking for!
@coastmutt I like small amounts of kaolin clay or French clay added to soap; it gives a "slip" that is similar to silk. Too much tends to thicken the batter and makes the soap feel more drying to me.
@Debby you can add more than 1.5% of lemon EO - recommendations go up to 3% as long as you are careful about potential photosensitization. Honestly, with soap being a wash-off product, I don't think most people would get a reaction unless they were soaping their hands rather vigorously while in direct sunshine. But I don't have actual experience with that, so maybe someone who does can chime in.
@Debby you can add more than 1.5% of lemon EO - recommendations go up to 3% as long as you are careful about potential photosensitization. Honestly, with soap being a wash-off product, I don't think most people would get a reaction unless they were soaping their hands rather vigorously while in direct sunshine. But I don't have actual experience with that, so maybe someone who does can chime in.
KimW
Well-Known Member
Usually 1 Tbsp or so. Sometimes a little more if I’m going for a deeper pink with the pink kaolin.
ETA: to give a sense of the color, the base soap in the attached pic was made with 1 T of pink kaolin clay PPO
. The silly stuff on the top was from my pitiful attempts at the Nov SMF string-pull challenge.
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What @AliOop said. My orange 10X essential oil really sticks and I regularly add litsea when I use citrus as a booster. I only use essential oils and have learned to use the medium to high rates for longer-lasting scents. I'm a fan of Find Free Essential Oil Blends - Modern Soapmaking
I have not yet tried clays myself but it's on my 2021 soapy bucket list.
(And @AliOop's "pitiful" and "silly" looking soap is way better than me just not even attempting an entry!)
I have not yet tried clays myself but it's on my 2021 soapy bucket list.
(And @AliOop's "pitiful" and "silly" looking soap is way better than me just not even attempting an entry!)
