# Peppermint, Lavender, and Cedar Proportions?



## BrewerGeorge (Jan 27, 2017)

I need to make a batch of lotion bars tonight and I'd like some help balancing the EO's and strength of same.  I've made a few one-off versions before but I was concentrating on getting the mix of oil/butter/wax the way I wanted and scenting as an afterthought.  Now that I've got my mix down (1/6th shea, 1/6th mango, 1/3rd BB's beard oil, 1/3rd beeswax and a bit of evening primrose extract) it's time to scent.

I've done peppermint and lavender before, and thought that adding some cedar would be a nice bass note.  I would like it to be peppermint-forward with a hint of tingle and lip-safe.  So for a 30g amount, I was thinking something like 10 drops peppermint, 5 drops lavender, and 2 drops cedar. (That's 3%, 1.5%, and 0.75%, roughly.) How does that sound?

If it matters, I'm using Brambleberry's Cedarwood and 1st Distill Peppermint, and NOW brand lavender.


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## cmzaha (Jan 27, 2017)

According to the IFRA for Virginia Cedarwood it is rated 0 for lip products. I would guess the other cedarwoods would be the same. Peppermint is rated as .3-1% for lip products  Lavender 40/42 can be used up to 5% for lip. This info comes from The Sage for Cedarwood, Peppermint and WSP for Lavender useage


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## HowieRoll (Jan 27, 2017)

I will start by saying I love - love love _love_ - all things mint in soap and beauty products.

Usage rates aside (because I just don't know), your blend looks like this when broken down:

59% Peppermint
29% Lavender
12% Cedarwood

I often study EO blends (because I need a lot of help in that department) and find many times the peppermint portion will generally stay below 35% of a suggested blend.  In the EO Blends for Handcrafted Soap ebook by Benjamin Aaron (from the LovinSoapStudio blog), I just checked and with the exception of one blend, all of his blends with peppermint include it at 33% or less.  From my own experience, I have found that when I go higher, peppermint has a way of being a bit of a scent bully and pushing out other aromas.  As an aside, I find spearmint to be a much bigger scent bully.

I think the 3 EOs you list sound lovely together, but I would worry that at that high percentage of peppermint the lavender and cedarwood would be lost forever.  It is, of course, easy to play around with the blend using toothpicks (my preferred method) or drops on a cottonball, and I would probably start with something like 33.333% of each and go from there.  Or  maybe even 40% peppermint, 30% lavender and 30% cedarwood, or 50% peppermint, 30% lavender, and 20% cedarwood.  I don't find cedarwood as a base note to be nearly as powerful as, say, patchouli, and find I can use it at a higher percentage rate.  I use Virginian Cedarwood from NDA, however, and other types/brands might be wildly different.

Good luck and I hope you keep us posted!


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## BrewerGeorge (Jan 27, 2017)

cmzaha said:


> According to the IFRA for Virginia Cedarwood it is rated 0 for lip products. I would guess the other cedarwoods would be the same. Peppermint is rated as .3-1% for lip products  Lavender 40/42 can be used up to 5% for lip. This info comes from The Sage for Cedarwood, Peppermint and WSP for Lavender useage


Could you please point me at where I can find that info?


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## cmzaha (Jan 27, 2017)

The IFRA sheet from thesage.com for the cedarwood and wholesupplies.com for the lavender and peppermint. The Sage does also list Lavender and Peppermint for lip balm use


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## Susie (Jan 27, 2017)

BrewerGeorge said:


> Could you please point me at where I can find that info?



Virginia Cedarwood and Peppermint

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

Lavender (find the correct one for your lavender)

http://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.co...32-certified-pure-lip-safe-essential-oil.aspx


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## cmzaha (Jan 27, 2017)

Susie said:


> Virginia Cedarwood and Peppermint
> 
> https://www.thesage.com/calcs/FragCalc.html
> 
> ...


Thanks Susie, I could have posted the links, guess I am a little slow this morning


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## CaraBou (Jan 27, 2017)

It must not be good for ingesting.  

Do you need your lotion bars to be lip safe? It sounds like a nice combo so if you decide to forgo the lips, I'd suggest highest on lav, then cedarwood, then mint.  Maybe 50/30/20? I don't think you'd smell the lavender distinctly but I would expect to detect the cedarwood.  Mint can definitely overwhelm so start on the low side.

If you make toothpick samples, consider lav/cedarwood/patch and citrus/cedarwood/patch in that that same ratio for comparison. Bright notes shining through a sassy backing, which is the intent I get from your original recipe. I've used both lime and grapefruit, and fall in love every time.


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