# Making Soap with essential oils



## Bullets (Feb 20, 2013)

I am going to make a batch of soap with some of my new oils I got from BB. I wanted to use 2 parts 10x orange oil, 1 part Patchouli, and 1 part Bergamot. I would use it at a rate of 1oz ppo. Do any of these oils speed up trace? I intend on using some natural colorants as well. Thanks!


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 20, 2013)

I have not had Citrus oils (Orange, Bergamot) or Patchouli speed up trace for me and I usually soap around 110* - 120*. The only ones that give me trouble are Geranium, Ylang Ylang, and Clove. I just soap cooler and/or full water if I'm using those. Or if I don't plan on swirls, I just add warm base oils to the EOs to "temper" them before adding them at trace.


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## hoegarden (Feb 20, 2013)

I am not a fan of orange.. my batch will orange usually end up with DOS...


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## DWinMadison (Feb 20, 2013)

Bullets said:


> I am going to make a batch of soap with some of my new oils I got from BB. I wanted to use 2 parts 10x orange oil, 1 part Patchouli, and 1 part Bergamot. I would use it at a rate of 1oz ppo. Do any of these oils speed up trace? I intend on using some natural colorants as well. Thanks!



1 oz ppo sounds like a lot to me.  I use on average about half that at 1Tbsp ppo.  Especially with Orange 10x and pachouli, I'd have to rethink that.  Just my 2 cents.  What do you guys think?


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## Shannon_m (Feb 20, 2013)

1 oz ppo seems pretty standard? That's what I've seen a lot of youtubers say they use when they're testing their FO/EO


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 20, 2013)

DWinMadison said:


> 1 oz ppo sounds like a lot to me.  I use on average about half that at 1Tbsp ppo.  Especially with Orange 10x and pachouli, I'd have to rethink that.  Just my 2 cents.  What do you guys think?




*Disclaimer! This forum advises a 3% usage rate for most EOs, which is about 0.5 oz ppo. *

I find (through education, not just anecdotal evidence) that up to 5% TOTAL EOs (NOT EACH EO) is safe IN SOAP, assuming you are using a skin safe EO... not like Clove, Cinnamon, Mint or other EOs prone to irritate most skin. Most people can tolerate Orange and Patchouli EOs at that rate in a soap...though Bergamot and other citrus oils can be photosynthesizing to some more sensitive skin.

I generally use anywhere from 3-6% (depending on the EOs) in my CP soaps and have not had a complaint of skin irritation or other issue. I would never suggest going that high in lotion/cream/leave-on products!


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 20, 2013)

Shannon_m said:


> 1 oz ppo seems pretty standard? That's what I've seen a lot of youtubers say they use when they're testing their FO/EO



FOs and EOs are different creatures all together, besides they both are used for  fragrance, and have different safety and usage rates.


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## Marieke (Feb 20, 2013)

Same here, I never use more than 5% EO ppo. It really is enough, for some EO's 3% is more than enough, like lemon grass or eucalyptus.


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## judymoody (Feb 20, 2013)

I generally use 3% but I will go higher if using a citrus oil as they tend to fade in CP soap and they are relatively benign in soap.

The bergamot will probably fade and in the proportion you are contemplating, the orange and patch will likely dominate it.  Maybe do a straight orange/patch blend at 3:1 ratio?


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## Bullets (Feb 20, 2013)

judymoody said:


> I generally use 3% but I will go higher if using a citrus oil as they tend to fade in CP soap and they are relatively benign in soap.
> 
> The bergamot will probably fade and in the proportion you are contemplating, the orange and patch will likely dominate it.  Maybe do a straight orange/patch blend at 3:1 ratio?



Actually with my first sniff tests I thought I was only going to do the orange/patch blend. But then I added the Bergamot to my sniff test and it was delightful!. Hmmm I don't know what to think about all this conflicting views on how much EOs to use ppo..


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## AlchemyandAshes (Feb 21, 2013)

If you're unsure, you need to do more research outside of this forum on EOs and their safe usage. Here's some resources to check out:
http://www.aromaweb.com/
http://www.essentialoiluniversity.com/
http://www.roberttisserand.com/


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