# Am I wrong for not liking essential oils?



## Sammycakes (Feb 25, 2011)

I don't care for essential oils.  I would love to keep my soaps "all natural," but I have yet to find an essential oil that doesn't smell like medicine or insecticide.  The fragrance oils smell so much yummier to me.  Am I missing something?


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## soapbuddy (Feb 26, 2011)

Most EO's work better in blends. Try the Rainbow Meadow Fragrance calc.
http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php


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## Genny (Feb 26, 2011)

I agree with soapbuddy.  Blends are a lot nicer.  
Ooh, except for sweet orange.  I love NGC's Sweet Orange.  Although it's really good mixed with things, too.

But I think overall most FO's smell better.


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## JackiK (Feb 26, 2011)

I'm so new at this that my opinion might not count for much.  But, here goes.

My experiences with EOs leaves me with mixed feelings.  So many people seem to reave about Patchouli.  I think it stinks to high heaven.  Wasn't too impressed with Lavendar either.  Maybe I just have an odd sense of smell.

That being said, I took another poster's advise and did some playing with blends.  I cut a bunch of Q-tips in half and dipped the ends in the EOs then put them in a tightly sealed jar.  I did a couple of different recipes.  They are much better blended.  The Rainbow site helped A LOT.  

I took a whiff of each blend after a couple of hours, then a couple of days, then a couple of weeks.  It was amazing how much they changed.  You do have to keep notes on what you use, i.e., two parts Lemongrass, 1 part Sage, etc.  If I didn't like one after a while, I'd add an extra tip of one of the other parts.  It's a relatively inexpensive way to come up with something you like without using loads of it in a batch of soap.

I will admit that I'm going to give some FOs a try.  With the sale at WSP, it's a little less damaging to the pocketbook to try some new things.


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## Hazel (Feb 26, 2011)

I agree that EOs smell much better blended. I started out using EOs such as peppermint, sweet orange, rosemary, lemongrass, clary sage, geranium, etc. I didn't get into FOs until much later. Of course, now I love them.  

What EOs have you been using?


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## Tabitha (Feb 26, 2011)

I don't care for most EOs either. I prefer fos and am happy with _nearly _natural soaps.


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## BakingNana (Feb 26, 2011)

Lavender EO is the one that most disappoints me.  I love my lavender FO, but the EOs (have 3 brands) all smell medicinal to me.  The FO actually smells like the lavender in my garden.  I just use the lavender EO to blend with spearmint and sweet orange, one of my favorite combos.


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## Hazel (Feb 26, 2011)

I liked the lavender 40/42 EO I got from WSP. It has a nice herbal scent. Of course, I won't be buying anymore since it's more than doubled in price.  :shock:


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## JackiK (Feb 26, 2011)

Hazel said:
			
		

> I liked the lavender 40/42 EO I got from WSP. It has a nice herbal scent. Of course, I won't be buying anymore since it's more than doubled in price.  :shock:



Wow.  It's been awhile since I ordered anything from WSP.  Didn't realize the price had gone up.

I'm going to try that Lavender, Spearmint & Sweet Orange.  Sounds really good!


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## Sammycakes (Feb 27, 2011)

Hazel said:
			
		

> I agree that EOs smell much better blended. I started out using EOs such as peppermint, sweet orange, rosemary, lemongrass, clary sage, geranium, etc. I didn't get into FOs until much later. Of course, now I love them.
> 
> What EOs have you been using?


I have tea tree oil (ughh!), lavender, patchouli, and a jasmine/sandalwood blend.  Come to think of it, the blended one did smell the best of the bunch.


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## Sammycakes (Feb 27, 2011)

soapbuddy said:
			
		

> Most EO's work better in blends. Try the Rainbow Meadow Fragrance calc.
> http://www.rainbowmeadow.com/infocenter ... select.php


Thanks so much for the info.  I'll surely check that out!


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## soapbuddy (Feb 27, 2011)

Sammycakes said:
			
		

> soapbuddy said:
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You're welcome.


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## Sammycakes (Feb 27, 2011)

JackiK said:
			
		

> I'm so new at this that my opinion might not count for much.  But, here goes.
> 
> My experiences with EOs leaves me with mixed feelings.  So many people seem to reave about Patchouli.  I think it stinks to high heaven.  Wasn't too impressed with Lavendar either.  Maybe I just have an odd sense of smell.
> 
> ...


Your opinion counts loads!!  Thanks for the tip.  I'll try your technique and see what happens.


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## Hazel (Feb 27, 2011)

Sammycakes said:
			
		

> Hazel said:
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Essential oils and herbs were originally the medicine for hundreds of years (if not thousands) so you have to take that into account when you consider some of the scents. Tea tree does smell medicinal to me and it does have antiseptic, antifungal and antibacterial properties. It has been shown in studies to have a beneficial effect on acne. A lot of EOs do smell nasty but they were used for health not for fragrance.

I find lemongrass too sharp unless it's blended with something else - like lavender. I really dislike patchouli but I know many people love it. However, I like sweet patchouli in a blend. I'm not a fan of jasmine or sandalwood but I have an EO blend with these in them that I've come to like over time. It took some getting used to the sweeter scent of the jasmine. I also dislike neroli. It really comes down to a personal preference. If you're not an aromatherapist (which I'm not), then I wouldn't worry about using essential oils. I'd stick with using FOs.

BTW, Nature's Garden has an awesome "Blood Orange" scent if you like citrus fragrances. Their "Smiley Face" scent is really good. too. I've also blended EOs with FOs and you can create some wonderful fragrances this way.

HTH


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## Sammycakes (Feb 27, 2011)

Hazel said:
			
		

> Sammycakes said:
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 I wanted so much to be able to incorporate the EOs for their medicinal properties, such as tea tree oil, but I didn't love idea of having to sacrifice scent for those benefits.  I had always thought that you had to use either or.  Not both.  Now that you mentioned blending the two (never thought of that!) I feel a lot better about my options.  Thanks.


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## JackiK (Feb 27, 2011)

I had never thought of incorporating both either.

I did, however, mix the Lavendar, Sweet Orange and Peppermint mentioned above and I love it.


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## Hazel (Feb 27, 2011)

Sammycakes said:
			
		

> I wanted so much to be able to incorporate the EOs for their medicinal properties, such as tea tree oil, but I didn't love idea of having to sacrifice scent for those benefits.  I had always thought that you had to use either or.  Not both.  Now that you mentioned blending the two (never thought of that!) I feel a lot better about my options.  Thanks.



I think if people want something with tea tree then they wouldn't consider the scent important. They want the beneficial properties so you might not have to worry about the scent.

I blend EOs and FOs together. I'm not sure other people do but I'm not real picky. I just want lotions, fizzies, scrubs and soaps that smell good.   

There is a facial soap I make for myself and my sister. I use EOs (lavender, clary sage and geranium) in it for their properties. Although, I don't know how much benefit there is after they go through saponification. I didn't like the scent when I first blended them together.  But after about a week, they married together and became a nice herbal scent. Or maybe I just got used to it.

I have used some EOs that didn't smell real great (juniper and cypress) but I wanted the properties for a body wrap. I added in lemon, grapefruit and another EO which I don't remember off the top of my head. It ended being a sharper scent but people seemed to like it. I think since it was a spa treatment, people expected it to be stronger and umm...maybe bracing is the word. It certainly cleared the sinuses.  

You also have to keep in mind that you can't advertise the EOs for medicinal purposes. The FDA frowns on people implying their soaps or products can alter the condition of the skin. They would be considered drugs not a cosmetic product. 



			
				JackiK said:
			
		

> I had never thought of incorporating both either.
> 
> I did, however, mix the Lavendar, Sweet Orange and Peppermint mentioned above and I love it.



Those 3 together sounds great. I used Orange EO with a vanilla FO at Christmas time in an air diffuser. Almost everyone who came into the house loved the scent and asked about it. Of course, most of them considered it a summer scent and commented it reminded them of creamsicles. I should have added a Fir EO.  :roll:


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## evatgirl73 (Mar 2, 2011)

I think it's a totally *personal preference* thing. I'm not really into them myself, I prefer really fun artificial scents, LOL! I can see the draw of using only EOs  (and natural colorants) to make your line as "natural" as possible, but for me, it's not important. Bring on the fruity fragrances and bright colors!   
That said, I recently made a TTO/peppermint EO soap for a customer who requested that particular blend because "nothing wakes him up in the morning like that scent". Um yeah, it'll wake you up for sure...  :shock: I was happy to see the log out of my curing room after 6wks!


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## mattiesoap (Mar 3, 2011)

A little belated but I wanted to jump in here - just love a discussion about eo vs fo.  After searching everywhere on the effectiveness of eo in cold process soap the conclusion seems to be that therapeutic benefits from the eo cannot survive the lye process and very few provide a lasting scent.  Also, many eos come with a warning to avoid use for a variety of conditions.  Are those dangers present in cp and do they matter since it's soap and washes off - who knows.  Seems the main reason for using eo is the "all natural" buzzword--very trendy.  Some of the most lethal substances on earth are "all natural".   In my little soap biz I have observed the first thing a person does when they see the soap is to sniff it to see if it smells good.  That tells me something.  I do still use some eos but leaning more toward high quality fragrance oils--which certainly helps the bottom line considering what eo costs.  Any thoughts??


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## judymoody (Mar 3, 2011)

HTH[/quote] I wanted so much to be able to incorporate the EOs for their medicinal properties, such as tea tree oil, but I didn't love idea of having to sacrifice scent for those benefits.  I had always thought that you had to use either or.  Not both.  Now that you mentioned blending the two (never thought of that!) I feel a lot better about my options.  Thanks.[/quote]

Any medicinal properties of EOs are unlikely to survive the saponification process.

Funny, after soaping over 100 sample size 1 oz bars to test out my inventory of FOs, I've now come to the conclusion that I prefer EOs.  Of the FOs I've tried, there's a very small % that I'd buy again.


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## Hazel (Mar 3, 2011)

I agree that the therapeutic benefits probably wouldn't survive the lye; however, more knowledgeable people have commented that if you can still smell the EOs then you can derive some benefit from them. Awhile back someone wrote about the olfactory reaction to scents. I don't remember it all but it was something about the olfactory nerve links directly to the brain which is why aromatherapy is effective. Sorry, it was months ago and I don't remember too much from it.

Also, I've had very good luck with EOs sticking in my soaps. I've got three soaps that are at least 9 months old and I can still smell the EOs in them. Of course, it's not as strong as when I first made them but the scent is still there. 

But as I said earlier, it's personal preference and I'm not an aromatherapist. If I was an aromatherapist, I'd be more concerned with using EOs in leave on products and scent diffusers. Also, I'm sure an aromatherapist would be horrified that I mix EOs and FOs.    But I've had some FOs that I wasn't impressed with and adding a blend of EOs to them made them smell wonderful, IMO.

If anyone wanted to use EOs for therapy in soaps, then rebatching or even HP would be better than CP.


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## honor435 (Mar 18, 2011)

lemongrass by itself is good, but I dont care for eos either or the prices.


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