D-Limonene

[atiz]

I tried to search for this here and there were a few hits but most of them seem to be about laundry soap etc.
So: has anyone used d-limonene in CP for a hand soap?
I'm thinking about making a gardeners' soap with some lemon peel, and really love the strong scent of d-limonene. Could one use it in place of EO? Does it stick better than the usual citrus EOs?

 

[shunt2011]

I have some to make dish soap but haven't used it as of yet. So, no help from me. Sorry!

 

[atiz]

I have some to make dish soap but haven't used it as of yet. So, no help from me. Sorry!

Thanks, Shari. So far I have also only used it in dish soap and in some cleaning spray. Both of those smell so good, that gave me the idea. I think I'll do a small batch sometime this week, and then will see.

 

[DeeAnna]

Susan at Swift Crafty Monkey wrote an article in 2009 about d-limonene. It's now behind her paywall, so unfortunately it's no longer available to the public, but I'll share some of the info she presented.

She suggested using d-Limonene at 2% to 5% by weight in various products for home cleaning, syndet shampoo, liquid (KOH) soap, hand sanitizer, etc. She didn't mention bar (NaOH) soap, but she's not a soap maker, and bar soap is just not on her radar.

She said she had seen a formulation for a hand cleaner that called for d-Limonene at 25%, but she felt like that much d-Limonene might be awfully drying to the skin.

Sweet orange essential oil is mostly limonene (around 90% or higher, depending on the origin of the EO). I'd use d-Limonene much like I'd use sweet orange EO. The EO considered to be "generally recognized as safe" in the EO world, but since it's an effective solvent for fats, I think I'd stick with no more than 5% d-Limonene in any soap intended for use on the skin.

Mike in PDX recommended adding a petroleum based solvent such as kerosene at 10% to 20% to CP soap intended for laundry or household cleaning. D-Limonene is a substitute for petroleum based degreasers, so his recommendation also seems reasonable for d-Limonene, but I don't have personal experience or others' experience to confirm this. See http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=45440

 

[atiz]

Susan at Swift Crafty Monkey wrote an article in 2009 about d-limonene. It's now behind her paywall, so unfortunately it's no longer available to the public, but I'll share some of the info she presented.

She suggested using d-Limonene at 2% to 5% by weight in various products for home cleaning, syndet shampoo, liquid (KOH) soap, hand sanitizer, etc. She didn't mention bar (NaOH) soap, but she's not a soap maker, and bar soap is just not on her radar.

She said she had seen a formulation for a hand cleaner that called for d-Limonene at 25%, but she felt like that much d-Limonene might be awfully drying to the skin.

Sweet orange essential oil is mostly limonene (around 90% or higher, depending on the origin of the EO). I'd use d-Limonene much like I'd use sweet orange EO. The EO considered to be "generally recognized as safe" in the EO world, but since it's an effective solvent for fats, I think I'd stick with no more than 5% d-Limonene in any soap intended for use on the skin.

Mike in PDX recommended adding a petroleum based solvent such as kerosene at 10% to 20% to CP soap intended for laundry or household cleaning. D-Limonene is a substitute for petroleum based degreasers, so his recommendation also seems reasonable for d-Limonene, but I don't have personal experience or others' experience to confirm this. See http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=45440

Thank you @DeeAnna , this is really helpful. Yes, I think I'll try to use it basically as an EO (5% at most). Curious to see how well the scent will stick.

 

[justjacqui]

No idea how well the scent would stick but take care with the amount you use. Some people are allergic to the oxidation products of d'limonene and it is one of the fragrance allergens that require labelling in the EU.

 

[atiz]

No idea how well the scent would stick but take care with the amount you use. Some people are allergic to the oxidation products of d'limonene and it is one of the fragrance allergens that require labelling in the EU.

Thanks. It will be just for personal use -- and won't use too much of it. Will see how it turns out

 

[Skatergirl46]

Thanks. It will be just for personal use -- and won't use too much of it. Will see how it turns out

I’m interested in hearing about how it turns out. I love the smell of lemon. Orange EO is divine also.

 

[atiz]

I’m interested in hearing about how it turns out. I love the smell of lemon. Orange EO is divine also.

OK, I'll update once I get to making it -- probably next weekend! Of course how it sticks I won't know for months.

 

[reeeen4]

I don't think it will stick very well, since Orange EO is usually used at a concerntration of x10 the usual amount due to the fact that the constituents are known to fade in CP soap which is why they sell Orange x10 EO.
Since d-limonene makes up Orange Essential Oil at approx 73–97% you could treat it just like the complete essential oil and use the https://www.eocalc.com/enter-your-own-blend/ and use it at the rate you would use Orange EO. Could add a tiny bit extra to make up for the other constituents that have been removed.

 

[atiz]

I don't think it will stick very well, since Orange EO is usually used at a concerntration of x10 the usual amount due to the fact that the constituents are known to fade in CP soap which is why they sell Orange x10 EO.
Since d-limonene makes up Orange Essential Oil at approx 73–97% you could treat it just like the complete essential oil and use the https://www.eocalc.com/enter-your-own-blend/ and use it at the rate you would use Orange EO. Could add a tiny bit extra to make up for the other constituents that have been removed.

Thanks, @reeeen4, you are probably right. It smells really concentrated to me, that's why I thought about it in the first place (interesting though, it smells more lemon to me than orange...). But maybe it smelled more concentrated than the EO just because I have a 32 oz bottle of it .

 

[reeeen4]

Thanks, @reeeen4, you are probably right. It smells really concentrated to me, that's why I thought about it in the first place (interesting though, it smells more lemon to me than orange...). But maybe it smelled more concentrated than the EO just because I have a 32 oz bottle of it .

Weird, Lemon EO is usually made up of around 60-70% d-limonene so less then Orange EO. Might just have to experiment with it and see how long it lasts.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

D-limonene is a citrus terpene and one of several I tested when developing my Orange Spray Cleaner and Degreaser. The Orange X 10 EO won out because the D-limonene was greasier and didn't rinse off as well... really kinda stubborn, so maybe it will stick better for you? Dunno. It also had a harsher smell... to my nose, anyway.

In either case, I would anchor with Litsea Cubeba and add a little clay or one of the starches or use lard in the formula to help "stick" the scent. You could also add the terpene to some castor oil from the recipe (jojoba & FCO/CCT work well too) the day before soaping. Add to the warmed oils before adding the lye solution.

ETA: Google D-limonene IFRA to learn more about its use in skin products.

 

[bluemoosesoap]

I tried to search for this here and there were a few hits but most of them seem to be about laundry soap etc.
So: has anyone used d-limonene in CP for a hand soap?
I'm thinking about making a gardeners' soap with some lemon peel, and really love the strong scent of d-limonene. Could one use it in place of EO? Does it stick better than the usual citrus EOs?

I’ve used it in cold process soap. The scent disappears immediately.
It’s better for a liquid soap or something that doesn’t go through the saponification process.
The scent is delish.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I use it in my version of @ealene's blacksmith/ mechanic bar recipe. The scent does fade considerably, but I can still smell the scent when washing my hands with it even at 6 months post cure. The smell disappears entirely if I make the recipe with lard, though, for some odd reason. I use d-limonene more for it's degreasing value than it's scent, though.

 

[AliOop]

I use it in my version of @ealene's blacksmith/ mechanic bar recipe. The scent does fade considerably, but I can still smell the scent when washing my hands with it even at 6 months post cure. The smell disappears entirely if I make the recipe with lard, though, for some odd reason. I use d-limonene more for it's degreasing value than it's scent, though.

My standard recipe has 40-60% lard, but I have a similar experience in that although the scent definitely isn't strong in the cured dry bars, it definitely comes back while washing. I do usually combine it with other citrus EOs like grapefruit, orange 10x, or litsea cubeba.