# Converting EO to Fragrance Oils



## lcpeery (Dec 9, 2017)

Hi,

I've just started learning about making soap and have yet to make my first batch.  I bought what I think is a good book, "Simple & Natural Soap Making" by Jan Berry, and she includes some recipes, some of which I'd really like to try.  All of the recipes use essential oils.  I'd prefer to work with fragrance oils because I've heard EOs can be expensive and you have to be careful because too much can be a bad thing.  My question is, is there a rule of thumb to convert an essential oil recipe to fragrance oils?    Are they equivalent in terms of measurement?

Thanks much,
Lisa P.


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## lsg (Dec 9, 2017)

You should check the description of each EO and FO to see the maximum use guidelines.  Wholesale Supplies Plus has it listed for each of their FOs and EOs.


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## Cellador (Dec 9, 2017)

Yup, it would be nice if you could just substitute any amount of any EO or FO into any batch, but unfortunately, it depends on the specific fragrance. In general, you're probably safe using FOs at the same rate as EOs, but I always check, just in case. And, definitely make sure you're using body-safe FOs.

Oh, and welcome to the forum. 

P.S. Although I'm sure the book is good, almost everyone here would advise you run the recipe through a lye calculator to ensure what's printed in the book is correct. We've all seen typos and errors in recipes in books and on the web. This will also help you determine how much EO/FO to add to the recipe.


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## lcpeery (Dec 9, 2017)

Cellador said:


> Oh, and welcome to the forum.



Thank you!

Edited to add: And thank you for the replies!


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## Zany_in_CO (Dec 9, 2017)

Hi lcpeery, and Welcome!

I use  MMS (Majestic Mountain Sage) Fragrance Calculator -

https://www.thesage.com/calcs/FragCalc.html

- For Essential Oils and Fragrance Oils
- For Metric (grams) and Imperial (ounces)
- For Weight or Volume Measure

If you want to know the specific gravity of an EO that isn't on the list, use the Google search box to type in the name of the EO and specific gravity? Example: "Rose Geranium, specific gravity?" Then go to the fragrance calculator and find an EO that has the same SG weight, in this case: 0.878 - 0.892. Then search the list of EOs on the calculator until you find an EO of the same SG. So, Bourbon Geranium has 0.88 Specific Gravity. Use that.

For FOs you can find something similar to the one you are using. For example, I use MMS "Ginger" to scent "White Tea & Ginger" from another supplier. Start with a small 100 gram batch and try the amount recommended for "Subtle" first and work from there. The nose knows! LOL
HTH   :bunny:​


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