# Christmas Soap Tangerine/Orange & Clove



## lovefish (Sep 11, 2012)

Hi there,

I am thinking about making a Christmas soap (already!). I already have sweet orange EO, Tangerine EO and Clove EO.  I have never used the clove oil as yet and it smells really strong too. I would like to make either a Sweet Orange and Clove soap Or Tangerine & Clove. Does anyone have any advise about using the Clove oil (I am guessing I would only need a little because it's so strong) or does it work better with something like Cinnamon EO? Any pointers appreciated before I start!!
Many thanks,

Lisa


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## lisamaliga (Sep 12, 2012)

Hi Lisa,
You can add clove EO to your soap but I'd suggest only 1 or 2 drops per pound as it's that strong. Another reason to add such a small amount is that it can cause skin irritation. Here's some more info about it: http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/learn/eo/clovebud.html

Another suggestion is to use both the tangerine EO and the sweet orange EO. Tangerine tends to last a little longer than sweet orange EO.

You can try some preliminary blends by adding drops of the EO to Q-tips and put in a Ziploc type of bag. For example, do a few drops of the orange/tangerine and 1 of clove. Also, write down what your amounts are so you'll have an idea about the proportion of EO's.

Hope this helps & Happy Fragrancing!
Lisa M.


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## BubblyRose (Sep 12, 2012)

Lisa,

You might also want to try using BB's Bay Rum instead of Clove. I know it sounds weird but I have a small sample of it and everytime I open it the Clove fragrance knocks me in the eye. It would also be a nice offset to the Sweet Orange and Tangerine. Just a thought.


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## Genny (Sep 13, 2012)

lovefish said:
			
		

> Does anyone have any advise about using the Clove oil (I am guessing I would only need a little because it's so strong) or does it work better with something like Cinnamon EO? Any pointers appreciated before I start!!



Since clove & cinnamon are both very potential irritants, I wouldn't use both of them unless you use just the tiniest bit.  But I think the clove would most likely overpower the cinnamon.
If I were to use just clove in MP soap, I would not go over 0.25%.  But orange, I'd go with around 2.25%.


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## lovefish (Sep 23, 2012)

Hi thanks for your advise,

I actually made a Clove & Sweet Orange soap a few days ago and was a bit over careful with the clove so you can hardly smell it! But realise I got my maths wrong too and could have actually put a bit more in. Genny - Do you think next time I should also put some Litsea Cubeba in along with the Sweet Orange EO to help maintain the fragrance of the Sweet Orange? If so, what quantities would you suggest? Many thanks!


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## Genny (Sep 23, 2012)

You can try adding a little litsea cubeba to the orange.  I'd go with about 5% of your total eo blend.  Otherwise the litsea may overpower the orange & your soap will be more lemony than orange.  Also, if you let the litsea cubeba & orange marinate for a few days or longer, before adding it to the clover, that will help with sticking as well.
I prefer folded oranges over sweet orange though, because then you don't have as many problems with getting the eo to stick.


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## lovefish (Sep 23, 2012)

Hi Genny, thanks for that. Just wondered what is 'folded orange'? (sorry if I sound dumb!?)
I really like the idea of letting the two oils marinade for a few days, I've never heard of doing that before, but will give it ago next time!


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## Genny (Sep 23, 2012)

Don't worry, you don't sound dumb at all 

On some supplier sites, you might see orange 5x or orange 10x, that means they've been folded 5 times or 10 times.  Folded means they've been further distilled and concentrated.  Which means they're a stronger smelling oil and tend to last longer.  Another benefit of folded oils is that the terpenes have been removed, which makes them less likely to be phototoxic.

Whenever I do blends of essential oils or fragrance oils, I blend them ahead of time to let them marinade.  It seems to make them smell better.


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