Cinnamon Leaf?

[KiwiMoose]

Leaf EO is much cheaper than bark EO - but the site I plan to buy off says that is has a sharper, more clove-like smell than the bark EO. Has anyone used it before and if so what does it smell like?

 

[SaltedFig]

Cinnamon leaf EO contains a significantly higher quantity of eugenol than the bark.

https://oxfordbiosciences.com/essential-oils/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenol

From: http://www.fao.org/docrep/v5350e/V5350e04.htm

Cinnamon bark oil possesses the delicate aroma of the spice and a sweet and pungent taste. Its major constituent is cinnamaldehyde but other, minor components impart the characteristic odour and flavour. It is employed mainly in the flavouring industry where it is used in meat and fast food seasonings, sauces and pickles, baked goods, confectionery, cola-type drinks, tobacco flavours and in dental and pharmaceutical preparations. Perfumery applications are far fewer than in flavours because the oil has some skin-sensitizing properties, but it has limited use in some perfumes.

Cinnamon leaf oil has a warm, spicy, but rather harsh odour, lacking the rich body of the bark oil. Its major constituent is eugenol rather than cinnamaldehyde. It is used as a flavouring agent for seasonings and savory snacks. As a cheap fragrance it is added to soaps and insecticides. The oil's high eugenol content also makes it valuable as a source of this chemical for subsequent conversion into iso-eugenol, another flavouring agent.

Cassia oil is distilled from a mixture of leaves, twigs and fragments of bark. Cinnamaldehyde is the major constituent and it is used mainly for flavouring cola-type drinks, with smaller amounts used in bakery products, sauces, confectionery and liqueurs. Like cinnamon bark oil, its use as a fragrance is limited by its skin sensitizing properties.

It's the eugenol that makes it smell more like cloves

 

[ststultz]

I have both, but haven’t used either in soap or b&b products. To my nose, cinnamon leaf is milder, with a hint of clove. Cinnamon bark is much stronger with a true “sweet” cinnamon scent that is much weaker in the leaf. I like both, but I like clove.

 

[KiwiMoose]

Thank you to both for your info. And I'm assuming they both accelerate?

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

Just for info, under European rules, you can only use cinnamom leaf oil in cosmetic products like soap. You won't get certified if you use bark oil. Or at least the usage rates are much, much lower for bark oil. Even cinnamon leaf is only recommended at about 1% (though that blows my socks off so I think it is quite enough). I don't why, but presumably there is some irritant in the oil's chemistry which is an allergen for some people. Other oils which include frustratingly low usage rates like 0.1% and such like, include clove oil and also one of my faves star anise, which is something like 0.15% or something. These laws may not apply in your countries, but presumably they have been restricted in Europe for a reason.

 

[szaza]

I've only been able to get Cinnamon leaf here. I was a little disappointed when I first smelled it from the bottle, but I actually really like it in blends!

 

[soapmaker]

Cinnamon leaf and vanilla F.O. is wonderful!

 

[JasmineTea]

I have both and use both but in different recipes. Cinnamon bark is the sweet smell that we associate with cinnamon rolls, snickerdoodles, etc. Cinnamon leaf is definitely different. If you want the typical cinnamon smell, do not use leaf. It is more like clove.

Yes, they both accelerate, in my experience.

 

[soapmaker]

Yes, they both accelerate, in my experience.

I forgot to mention, for me Cinnamon leaf does not accelerate but clove bud does majorly!

 

[dibbles]

I've only used cinnamon leaf EO, and only a couple of times early on. It is pleasant, and sticks well even at a low usage rate, but it isn't really cinnamon in the kitchen spice sense. I haven't used it for a long time so it's hard to remember, but I don't think I had huge acceleration - maybe a bit quicker. Clove on the other hand...Big Time. I have been known to add a drop or two if I want the batter to set up quickly.

 

[KimT2au]

I have not used cinnamon EO in my soaps but can confirm through unfortunate experience that some people cannot have it near their skin and, oh boy, does it burn and make me break out in hives if I do. I love cinnamon in my cooking though.

 

[karon L adams]

I MUCH prefer Cinnamon Skin when cooking. Most of the cinnamon on the market is actually cassia and has a less sharp, less 'hot cinnamon' flavor. Cinnamon Leaf Oil is indeed much 'hotter' than regular cinnamon or cassia. BUT, always be careful with these oils both handling as well as in your soap. you have to watch that your nose doesn't overpower your hand. you don't want to put enough in it that a customer comes back complaining or worse, suing, because you 'stubbed your toe' in the cinnamon (an old phrase of my grandmothers for using too much of something)

 

[KiwiMoose]

Maybe I should try cassia?

I just read on my suppliers website that they don't recommend a lot of the cinnamon based fragrance oils for soap. They do however, have a cassia and amber fragrance that I've ordered to try.

 

[karon L adams]

ANY of the Cinnamon, cassia clove family are going to have the same 'hot' component. and make no mistake, these will speed your saponification, you are MUCH more likely to get a gel phase (which you don't always get) and if you have an emulsion rather than a saponification, you could end with a badly separated failed batch. but, if you just use a little and you make certain your batch is soap, you should be OK. just DO be sparing. These oils can dissolve plastic and rubber (keep clove oil in a glass bottle with a rubber dropper, you'll be replacing it yearly) I used just a small mount of oils and more powdered spice when I make spice scented soaps. a little goes a VERY long way.

 

[Clarice]

I just used Cinnamon leaf oil in a soap I made today, and whoa baby, the soap went from light trace to HEAVY trace in a matter of seconds!

NOTE TO SELF: search the forum for key words before trying out wild hairs

Going downstairs now to unwrap that puppy cuz i don't want a cinnamon scented Dino Loaf!

 

[soapmaker]

How much did you use ppo?

 

[Clarice]

BUSTED! I just dumped FO in......

 

[soapmaker]

Well, I guess then that's what you can expect. You really need to weigh your FO and EO.

 

[Clarice]

I am suitably chastised



I assume you mean that if you add too much FO, you get into trouble? If anything, according to the calculator set at 3% FO, I used less than recommended. I started with a half-empty 4 oz bottle of cinnamon leaf FO, and ended with having barely made a dent in the level in the bottle. I had 855 grams of oil, and I used less than an ounce, so less than the normal 3%......so I don't think excess was my problem.

Having said that - I will measure in the future.

One more thing - I keep all my FO / EO in the refrigerator to maintain freshness. Could the "shock" of a cold FO be an issue as well?

 

[soapmaker]

Yes I was saying if you add too much you could get into trouble, not only with accelerated trace and seizing but how do you even know it is skin safe if you just dump it in and haven't checked the IFRA standards? And no I would not put refrigerated oils in the batch especially with a F.O. or E.O. that is known to accelerate.