# Sharing an EO recipe



## goji_fries (Sep 12, 2014)

I like to mix EOs; even make a few via hydrodistillation. At times I think extravagance is within obscure EOs. Many times it is. However, this simple EO blend smelled so good I had to share it. 

52.7 oz loaf, 34 oz oils - Cold Process - 1.5 T Kaolin clay EO binder
0.75 oz EO PPO

.7    Star Anise
.5    Patchouli
.4    Clove
.35 Clary Sage
.16 Cinnamon Leaf

:crazy: So good :wave:


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## LunaSkye (Sep 13, 2014)

I don't have anise or clary sage, but I do have patchouli, clove, & cinnamon bark among other oils.  That sounds like an interesting line-up too so I'll wait it out to try.

Here is one of my favorite combos:
frankincense
myrrh
benzoin
patchouli
cedarwood (before my reaction came about) 

It's earthy, but sooo worth it! I'd suggest keeping the benzoin & patchouli at 1 or 2 drops since they are strong, but to each their own. Enjoy!


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## SoapyGoats (Sep 13, 2014)

Ohh, both look soooo good! Going to have try them! :smile:


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## goji_fries (Sep 13, 2014)

LunaSkye said:


> I don't have anise or clary sage, but I do have patchouli, clove, & cinnamon bark among other oils. That sounds like an interesting line-up too so I'll wait it out to try.
> 
> Here is one of my favorite combos:
> frankincense
> ...



Hi LunaSkye 

If I recall correctly and there are times I don't, cinnamon bark shouldn't be used for soap and skin. Cinnamon leaf is alright but the bark is so strong and such an irritant that it is more suitable for candles. Cinnamon leaf is cheap tho. :-D


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## LunaSkye (Sep 13, 2014)

goji_fries said:


> Hi LunaSkye
> 
> If I recall correctly and there are times I don't, cinnamon bark shouldn't be used for soap and skin. Cinnamon leaf is alright but the bark is so strong and such an irritant that it is more suitable for candles. Cinnamon leaf is cheap tho. :-D



 I just looked up the difference between cinnamon bark & cinnamon leaf. E how confirmed what you said while livestrong.com compares cinnamon leaf to cinnamon bark. Since this site gave a clear indication on how both EOs are used. In the end, your right on one thing: cinnamon bark is not well suited for skin contact.

I still plan to use it for other things, I just know that it has to be heavily diluted. Thanks again.


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## Jaccart789 (Sep 13, 2014)

I appreciate this combo! I am going to give it a try but I need to build my EO fragrances-- starting with these!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Sep 13, 2014)

Those two look great.  How would you describe the scents of them?


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## goji_fries (Sep 13, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Those two look great.  How would you describe the scents of them?



The EO recipe smells like a heady spicy sweet patchouli-ish black licorice. It smells sooooo good.


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## LunaSkye (Sep 13, 2014)

The Efficacious Gentleman said:


> Those two look great.  How would you describe the scents of them?



I think my combo has grounding & earthy qualities to it (frank & myrrh, patchouli) with a nice woodiness (cedarwood) and a touch of sweetness (benzoin). I can't tell you how much of what I used only because it was a work in progress that I messed up when I mistook listia for the cedarwood :-(. However, it is customizable for individual liking, with a suggestion of starting with 1 drop of benzoin if you don't want it too sweet.


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## goji_fries (Sep 13, 2014)

LunaSkye said:


> I think my combo has grounding & earthy qualities to it (frank & myrrh, patchouli) with a nice woodiness (cedarwood) and a touch of sweetness (benzoin). I can't tell you how much of what I used only because it was a work in progress that I messed up when I mistook listia for the cedarwood :-(. However, it is customizable for individual liking, with a suggestion of starting with 1 drop of benzoin if you don't want it too sweet.



Love the benzoin


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## Ellacho (Sep 13, 2014)

Awesome! I guess you would need several EOs to blend a great scent! Don't have all of those EOs right now but I will be trying your EO blend very soon. Thanks for sharing!!!


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## LunaSkye (Sep 13, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> Awesome! I guess you would need several EOs to blend a great scent! Don't have all of those EOs right now but I will be trying your EO blend very soon. Thanks for sharing!!!



Even if you have two or three, it's possible to make a nice blend with those. What scents do you have?


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## Ellacho (Sep 13, 2014)

LunaSkye said:


> Even if you have two or three, it's possible to make a nice blend with those. What scents do you have?



Hi LunaSkye, I have star anise, cinnamon leaf, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, and most of citrus EOs.


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## jules92207 (Sep 14, 2014)

You are doing great with just those eo's. Mixing a little anise with the lavender and a citrus blend with some lavender would be lovely! I often use qtips and put a few together in a jar to see if I like the combo. My favorite eo blend so far had a tiny bit of rosemary and peppermint with a blend of lavender, lemon, pink grapefruit, sweet orange, lemongrass and lime. Amazing!


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## LunaSkye (Sep 14, 2014)

Ellacho said:


> Hi LunaSkye, I have star anise, cinnamon leaf, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, and most of citrus EOs.



What you listed sounds similar to what I started out with a few years back. Lavender/tea tree smell good (imo) and is great in a facial spray. They can also be blended with the citrus oils (lavender/lemon or tea tree/ orange). Here some other thoughts:

lavender/lemon/eucalyptus
lavender/tea tree/eucalyptus
lavender or tea tree/lime
bergamot/lime (may lavender could be added)

The possibilities are numerous though I will admit I never used cinnamon leaf or star anise. If I had the latter EO, I would try star anise/orange/cinnamon as it sounds like it would make a good tea.


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## Ellacho (Sep 14, 2014)

Thank you LunaSkye ! I've already made first two blendings but I've never tried them with lime EO. They sound very fresh!  For anise star EO, either you love it or you hate it. When I first started out to making soap, I hated the anise star. I could not stand the smell of it. But now,  I  love it .   I like anise and lavender blending.


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## judymoody (Sep 14, 2014)

goji_fries said:


> I like to mix EOs; even make a few via hydrodistillation. At times I think extravagance is within obscure EOs. Many times it is. However, this simple EO blend smelled so good I had to share it.
> 
> 52.7 oz loaf, 34 oz oils - Cold Process - 1.5 T Kaolin clay EO binder
> 0.75 oz EO PPO
> ...



I have all of those!

Regarding various follow up comments:

Both cinnamon leaf and cinnamon bark (cassia) are potential skin irritants but given that cinnamon leaf is only a very small % of this total blend, it should be fine.  Clary sage is also a very potent substance, not recommended for use by pregnant women.

Benzoin, for those who mentioned it, is a potential sensitizer.  One of our former members, soapbuddy, had developed a sensitivity to it.  I use it occasionally in very tiny amounts in certain blends but you should label your soap accordingly.

This forum recommends as a best safe practice, on average, that essential oils be used at no more than a 3% use rate total (about .5 ounces PPO).  That said, there are some oils like cinnamon, clove, peppermint, and many others, that should be used at far less.  And others, like sweet orange and lavender that could be used with a slightly heavier hand.  The take away point is that many essential oils are also medicines and we need to educate ourselves about safety even if we aren't required by law.  Regulations vary; for example the EU and in Canada have stringent legal guidelines that do not exist in the US.


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## goji_fries (Sep 14, 2014)

judymoody said:


> I have all of those!
> 
> Regarding various follow up comments:
> 
> ...



Everyone using EOs must know what they are. Study them, use them safely. But...

Mostly all citruses are photosensitizers. Many many other EOs are dangerous (in large amounts) too. Almost every EO is not recommended for use by pregnant women, infants, kids under a certain age, people with medical conditions, people healing from injury, weak and elderly...

.. which technically leaves no human left. It is true one must not use them to excess. A place to begin is to know the safe ranges and maximums. Nature gave us EOs but nature also gives poison. Know that there are even EOs that are poisonous & toxic.  

It has been within the realm of possibility that an 0.5 oz PPO dilution - especially top notes like citrus- never really survive the cold process. However, 0.5 is ok for hot processand smells GREAT. I do not do M&P therefore I can't speak on it (although I tried M&P twice and used even less than 0.5 PP-Glycerin <0.2?>) For cold process citrus, the best outcome is minimum 0.75, but usually 0.9 oz PPO. Even then it's a little weak, has low staying power and will fade within 2 months IMExperience. Most of the top notes get cooked off just like Eucalyptus which has a flash point of 118F and just seems to die completely if not blended right. In the fragrance industry, the power of scent is best understood by top notes, middle notes, and bottom notes. More on this later in the esential oils or fragrance forum perhaps.

People resort to sniffly chemicals that last longer for forementioned reasons. Please understand this is not a philodox nor a guidebook; I hydrodistill and enfleurage EOs. Some of us (self included) become afraid of EOs due to mystifications or sometimes lack of research. Due to conflicting and confusing articles like a tug of war where one side says safe, the other not safe, minimum, maximum, toxic, etc... the result is that it is safe to avoid all the confusion and not to use EOs at all throwing one's hands in the air going for full 'safe' synthetic scents in an otherwise all natural soap. I am not a purist naturalist however. 

I use synthetics, most of my favorite scents are at some level made in a lab. Thank you for your response judymoody :wave: This forum is really a  great place. Thank you.


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## SoapyGoats (Sep 23, 2014)

goji_fries said:


> I like to mix EOs; even make a few via hydrodistillation. At times I think extravagance is within obscure EOs. Many times it is. However, this simple EO blend smelled so good I had to share it.
> 
> 52.7 oz loaf, 34 oz oils - Cold Process - 1.5 T Kaolin clay EO binder
> 0.75 oz EO PPO
> ...




Are these is ounzes? How do I get .16 of an ounze when my scale only does to .1 of an oz?

...Could you put it into .1's or ml's or grams...something easier?  or tell me how to get it like you have it?


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## goji_fries (Sep 23, 2014)

SoapyGoats said:


> Are these is ounzes? How do I get .16 of an ounze when my scale only does to .1 of an oz?
> 
> ...Could you put it into .1's or ml's or grams...something easier?  or tell me how to get it like you have it?



Yeah soap goats, those are in ounces. To get .16 oz you would need a scale with a greater sensitivity intead of .1, .01.. The quickest place to find one is your local bong shop for some reason.  Even in grams you would need a scale that displays tenths of grams at minimum.


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