# Essential oils and scent



## Nite Hawk (Jul 7, 2013)

Not sure if this is the proper forum to put this in....
Being new to soap making, I tried using lavendar oil with my first batch of  CP soap. Maybe I didn't put enough in, I am not sure, but the lavendar scent never "took" and the soap just kind of smells  "funny".
The other 2 soap batches that I made I didn't use anything, and the soap sort of smells like neatsfoot oil. ( one uses neatsfoot oil for oiling  saddles and bridles ) Not a terrible smell, just not a good one either.
Any suggestions as to the proper amount of EO to use for say a pound of soap to get a good strong scent that will stick?
Some people use artificial fragrance scents, what is the difference between the EOs and fragrances for scent strength and persistance?
thanks...
moved


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## Birdie Wife (Jul 7, 2013)

I use 3% essential oils to the weight of other oils. I work in grams so for 500g soaping oils (which is about a pound), I use 15g essential oils. It does look like a lot... I can't vouch for fragrance oils as I don't use them but I think they would work out a liitle cheaper.


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## dagmar88 (Jul 7, 2013)

Birdie Wife;345243[B said:
			
		

> ]I use 3% essential oils to the weight of other oils.[/B] I work in grams so for 500g soaping oils (which is about a pound), I use 15g essential oils. It does look like a lot... I can't vouch for fragrance oils as I don't use them but I think they would work out a liitle cheaper.




There is no standard percentage to use with EO's; they all have different usage rates.
Lavender EO can be used at 3-5% in soap.


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## Birdie Wife (Jul 7, 2013)

Fair enough... however, if you want to sell your soaps in the EU, legislation says you can't use more than 3%. Even if you aren't going to sell, I think it's a good limit to stick to.


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## dagmar88 (Jul 7, 2013)

There are no legal restrictions, nor IFRA restrictions regarding the maximum use of lavender oil in Europe.
The only necessity is calculating and listing a number of allergens present at at least 0.01% in the final (wash off) product.

While it might be a good limit for lavender EO, stating 3% as a proper usage rate in general is not advisable.
This question is asked often and there simply is no easy answer. The usage rate of each and every EO has to be checked with the supplier.
Using 3% (or even much less) of EO's like clove, nutmeg, pine, cassia or photo sensitizing EO's could cause serious problems.


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## Ancel (Jul 7, 2013)

Nite Hawk,

there's no straight answer, it really depends on the eo, or the fo. But this forum is full of information, suggestions and recommendations for what scents to use at what strengths. There are forums dedicated to 'Aromatherapy, Herbs and Essential Oils' and 'Fragrance Oils, Fragrance Reviews'. Most of the soap or candle suppliers list suggested uses on their essential oil or fragrance oil pages. It's also a matter of trying and testing and seeing what you like yourself. There are SO many soap blogs online, many aromatherapy pages with suggested blends, and with pinterest and etsy, so many inspirational ideas and suggestions. Making one pound batches really frees you up to experiment: it's so much easier to use up 8 bars you don't so much care for, than 20 

the main thing is to enjoy the discovery . . .


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## Nite Hawk (Jul 7, 2013)

So at 5% at 25 oz of soap you are looking at about -1- 3/4 oz lavendar oil and at
3 % at 25 oz of soap you are looking at about 3/4 oz of lavendar oil.
At this concentration will the scent persist in the CP process *properly?*
For your stronger scents such as clove, I am thinking this volume would probably be considered a strong smell concentration, simply because it is a stronger scent.
 any thoughts?


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## dagmar88 (Jul 8, 2013)

Nite Hawk said:


> So at 5% at 25 oz of soap you are looking at about -1- 3/4 oz lavendar oil and at
> 3 % at 25 oz of soap you are looking at about 3/4 oz of lavendar oil.
> At this concentration will the scent persist in the CP process *properly?*
> For your stronger scents such as clove, I am thinking this volume would probably be considered a strong smell concentration, simply because it is a stronger scent.
> any thoughts?



Depends on the quality of your EO and your definition of 'proper'. 


The usage rate has nothing to do with the strength of the scent.
Clove could cause serious skin irritations at 3%, should be completely  avoided during pregnancy and should not be used on children, in any  (diluted) form.
0.5% is the max in a rinse off product.


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