What do you use to scent your soaps? FO or EO?

[Misschief]

Are they CP?

Yup, they are.

 

[dixiedragon]

I may have misunderstood, but I don't get the impression the OP is planning on selling. I think he/she is pricing how much it's going to cost to make this homemade gift (good idea). Perhaps also observing the prices of soaps he/she sees for sale and wondering how the maker can sell them for that? If I see a soap that claims to be made with sandalwood EO and sells for $6 a bar, I know enough about EO prices to know that THAT is not the only thing in there making it smell like sandalwood.

Re: lavender types. Lavender 40/42 is the "standard" for soap making (if there is such a thing). That's what I use to soap. I recently bought some of Camden Grey's much more expensive maillote lavender (sp?) to make a solid perfume, which uses EO by the drop and not by the spoonful.

RE: what FOs are made of. They are made of lots of things. They may include some natural elements of the EO. For example, vanilla FOs contain vanillan, which comes from vanilla.
"Some fragrances will effect the color of soap. If you are using a fragrance oil that contains vanilla (vanillin), then unfortunately, your soap will turn brown. Vanillin is the organic compound that gives vanilla its flavor. Vanillin discoloration is a 100% natural process that can be slowed by adding chemicals to stabilize the fragrance. This effect is most noticeable in cold process soap, but will occur in all soaps and lotions."
https://brambleberry.zendesk.com/hc...899-Vanilla-Content-and-Discoloration-in-Soap

It also contains other things (I have no idea what) to make it behave in soap, to change the smell to what they think buyers want, etc etc.

http://www.soapqueen.com/bramble-berry-news/what-is-a-fragrance-oil-made-of-2/

This is also an interesting read.

 

[narnia]

I may have misunderstood, but I don't get the impression the OP is planning on selling. I think he/she is pricing how much it's going to cost to make this homemade gift (good idea). Perhaps also observing the prices of soaps he/she sees for sale and wondering how the maker can sell them for that? If I see a soap that claims to be made with sandalwood EO and sells for $6 a bar, I know enough about EO prices to know that THAT is not the only thing in there making it smell like sandalwood.

.

Thank you! Yes, my intention behind my asking the questions were as you perceived.

Actually, the standard line on this forum is that you learn to make soaps well and then you THINK about selling.

Also, please keep all business related posts in the business section. Calculating cost of product is not a topic for this section, rather the general business section. If you don't qualify for posting there, please do not ask the question as it is against forum policy

Edit. Please also refrain from posting multiple threads with the same sort of information - there is another thread about lavender from you as well as multiple threads with the shampoo bar recipe question. If you think that something would be better off elsewhere, you can ask for it to be moved and so on

My apologies! I did not feel that I was being repetitious, as they were specifically different questions in my mind.

 

[lenarenee]

The scent maybe but would other benefit of EO survive?
I doubt it

I read an article with Robert Tisserand a couple years ago about what happens to saponified essential oils, and yes the lye does destroy many of the therapeutic qualities. But lavender eo was one that retained a fair portion of it - my cloudy memory seems to recall it was about 40% of the therapeutic benefits were retained, but I'm not sure. I'll see if I can dig that up...

Found it! http://roberttisserand.com/2011/06/essential-oils-in-soap-interview-with-kevin-dunn/

Here's the part I was thinking of: "There is an answer, but it is not simple. Essential oils are complex mixtures of dozens of chemical compounds. A given essential oil may contain some compounds that react with alkali, and others that do not. Lavender oil, for example, contains about 42% linalool (which does not react) and 22% linalyl acetate (which does). In fact, when linalyl acetate reacts with alkali, one of the products is linalool. Thus the scent of a CP soap made with lavender oil will smell less of linalyl acetate and more of linalool than the original EO."

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Only FOs... I never had any luck with EOs. Doesn't matter which company I order from, how I use it (CP or HP), they just fade to nothing. The other day I rebatched some old soaps into HP soap, scented it with bergamot and geranium EOs and it was gone, after a day or two, no scent left whatsoever.
I envy those who can get EOs to work for them.
There are these soaps that are selling at the local shops, they are all scented with EOs and you can smell them as soon as you walk into shop. No clay in them or whatever it said to keep the scent in, just oils, some oxides for colour and EOs. They must be using some good quality ones or they are just using lots and lots, there is no other way.

 

[IrishLass]

There are these soaps that are selling at the local shops, they are all scented with EOs and you can smell them as soon as you walk into shop. No clay in them or whatever it said to keep the scent in, just oils, some oxides for colour and EOs. They must be using some good quality ones or they are just using lots and lots, there is no other way.

.....or they might actually not be exclusively using EOs in spite of advertising that they do (it's shameful, but it happens).

I use FOs in my soap instead of EOs. This is just my own opinion and how I view EOs, but I look at them as being precious medicines and I just don't feel right about putting them in my wash-off products. Instead, like DeeAnna and others, I like to keep a few EOs on hand to use in stay-on products.


IrishLass

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I use both fragrance and EO`s, but most of my EO`s I use in my lipbalms (peppermint, spearmint, rosemary) and also in bathbombs, and footsoaks, as they really hold well in those. The EO`s I use in my CP is Lemongrass, Lavender, Tea Tree, Cedar, Rosemary, Patchouli, Spearmint, Peppermint, Eucalyptus (those last three in very low doses because they can be irritating to the skin)
I find these oils holding up very well without anchoring them in any way, but they are not cheap so don`t use them all the time.

 

[Arimara]

I've only used FOs in soaps. I rather stick to that. EOs I like for putting in my coconut oil, shea whips, and lotions.

 

[HappyHomeSoapCo]

Only FOs... I never had any luck with EOs. Doesn't matter which company I order from, how I use it (CP or HP), they just fade to nothing. The other day I rebatched some old soaps into HP soap, scented it with bergamot and geranium EOs and it was gone, after a day or two, no scent left whatsoever.
I envy those who can get EOs to work for them.
There are these soaps that are selling at the local shops, they are all scented with EOs and you can smell them as soon as you walk into shop. No clay in them or whatever it said to keep the scent in, just oils, some oxides for colour and EOs. They must be using some good quality ones or they are just using lots and lots, there is no other way.

I use only eo's in my soap, some bars have clay & some dont. They are very fragrant regardless! It does fade though, if left out in the open air for 6+ months or more.