Help finding affordable essential oils

[em_england17]

Hi there,

I’m fairly new to soap making but I create all-natural cold process soaps, skin and hair care products. I know essential oils are expensive but I can’t afford most of them so I’m very limited on the types of soap I can make! Does anyone know where I can buy them at a decent price and good quality? Or are you just having to price your soaps fairly high to make a profit? I’ve been getting mine from Bulk Apothecary but man, 16oz Ylang Ylang is $300! How are people selling essential oil soaps for average price? Are they not using real essential oils?

Also what are your most popular scents??

 

[A-Polly]

I learned of New Directions Aromatics here on the forum. Disclaimer: I'm a hobby soaper, so don't purchase pounds of EOs at a time. However, the ones I've bought from NDA have been good quality as well as reasonably priced.

 

[lsg]

Wholesale Supplies Plus offers free shipping on orders over a certain amount. I don't know if this helps; but their EOs are good quality and shipping is sometimes very expensive.

 

[Nona'sFarm]

I still make a few all natural soaps, but found that was not as important to my customer base as I expected. Most are looking for fragrances that they like. And I personally do like a lot of the fruity fragrances which are not EOs. I did try some all natural fragrance oils from Nature's Flavors but found their sticking power was very short lived. Additionally, EOs in general tend to be more expensive to use in soap as one tends to need a larger % ppo - so not only is their base price more expensive but you generally have to use more of it. Also, as you are discovering some EOs are very pricey, Rose Absolute comes to mind; I have to stay away from those. So for all those reasons I have migrated to having more soaps with fragrance oils than EOs.

My recommendation is to peruse the "Aromatherapy, Herbal, and Essential Oil" section in this forum. See what other suppliers that folks recommend, then when you want to order some supplies do price comparisons (including shipping). Also, sign up for the suppliers' email lists, so you will be notified of sales. I do spend more time doing price comparisons than I would like, but feel it seems to be the nature of this business if you want to get the best price. I personally get a lot of my EOs and fragrances from Bramble Berry. I watch for sales in particular. With their fragrances I do like that they tell you which ones accelerate, discolor, etc; though any reputable supplier should do this. However, the biggest complaint by far is the BB labels, the info. fades. So sometimes, if you don't add your own label, you end up with a mystery fragrance or eo.

As far as popular scents - well, my customer base really goes for sweet and/or flowery. But that does not mean yours will. I like to have a variety - sweet, spicy, citrus, fresh (think eucalyptus blends), manly. I just usually make bigger batches of the sweet and flowery scents.

Also, for EO blend inspiration most folks on here like the EOCalc.com site. So that may be of value to you.

 

[Ephemerella]

How are people selling essential oil soaps for average price? Are they not using real essential oils?

I don't have anything to add about EOs as I don't use them (for a variety of reasons), but to this point, I personally believe many people are undervaluing their time and undercharging for their products.

 

[AliOop]

I don't have anything to add about EOs as I don't use them (for a variety of reasons), but to this point, I personally believe many people are undervaluing their time and undercharging for their products.

... or only charging enough to support (or even more likely, partially subsidize) their soaping addiction.

Not that anyone here has that problem. I am talking about OTHER PEOPLE, not SMF people.

 

[lucycat]

I definitely have people who would like for me to have more soaps with essential oils only. The bigger issue is that they don't want to pay more. Plus, many who think they only want essential oils are the same ones who like things like black raspberry.

I have always used essential oils when they are comparable in price to fragrance oils. So, mints, eucalyptus, tea tree, lemongrass, rosemary, cedar, lavender are the main essential oils I have always purchased. Still, they are much higher than in the past and they have gone up in price faster than fragrance oil prices. So, today I use less and was stunned last year at the price of lemongrass which I had always thought of as cheap.

You will need to decide if your market will handle the price if you use essential oils only. Mine would not. Making 3-5 essential oil soaps only is the most I will do; and probably the most I could sell.

There really are no cheap sources for oils. All reputable companies will be similar. Some may have a source country cheaper but no company where that is consistently so. I think overall prices for essential oils are best at companies where that is their predominate business. I use New Directions Aromatics and before they closed Camden-Gray.

 

[Vicki C]

... or only charging enough to support (or even more likely, partially subsidize) their soaping addiction.

Not that anyone here has that problem. I am talking about OTHER PEOPLE, not SMF people.

I feel seen…
Re EO sources I like NDA and Jedwards - cheaper shipping than NDA and very good quality. I also have recently bought from Nature Packaged - the owner was at the soap convention in Connecticut in May. He buys directly from the farmers and his quality is very good.
The main EOs I use are peppermint, eucalyptus, Litsea cubeba, lavender 40/42, cedar, patchouli, and lemongrass. I do buy by the pound. I love Brambleberry’s fragrances but their essential oil prices are pretty steep.
Right now JEdwards lists 16 oz of lemongrass at $28. I find most EOs last just fine in CP except citrus like orange and grapefruit, and balsam fir. Others I’m not thinking of.

 

[Marie_with_an_e]

I use mainly EOs as scents because that’s what my customers want (and honestly most FOs give me a headache). I use NDA and Jedwards the most, and I don’t buy many really expensive oils, I just do a lot of blending.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

People have been led to believe that somehow essential oils are natural and therefore safer and healthier than fragrances. I talk to those folks about the safety of fragrance oils and IFRA guidelines. They're often surprised to learn there are actually more controls about production of FOs than for EOs.

 

[melinda48]

I learned of New Directions Aromatics here on the forum. Disclaimer: I'm a hobby soaper, so don't purchase pounds of EOs at a time. However, the ones I've bought from NDA have been good quality as well as reasonably priced.

They are my go-to because of the quality of their products.

 

[melinda48]

People have been led to believe that somehow essential oils are natural and therefore safer and healthier than fragrances. I talk to those folks about the safety of fragrance oils and IFRA guidelines. They're often surprised to learn there are actually more controls about production of FOs than for EOs.

The day I can find an FO that replicates my EOs, I’m in but, to date, it just hasn’t happened. Patchouli, in particular, just doesn’t cut it in any of the FOs I have tried-same with Lavender (they are too flowery). Always on the lookout but it can get expensive trying products that just don’t cut it. I know that my essential oils are going to smell exactly as they should so 80% of my products use EOS.

 

[soadsudz]

there might be like 5 customers out of 100 that care that you use fragrance oils in soap

I find most people don't ask and don't care

 

[paradisi]

Plus, "controls about production" in fo's comes to us from fo sellers' fear mongering to us about essential oils. Probably in reaction to the all-natural influencers fear mongering about chemicals.

There's very good analysis about eo content, that's how IFRA knows to detail their restrictions. And its not like there's some mystery what an essential oil is made from, either.

It's useful to remember too that the IFRA limits are set by a group of the largest fo producers who are able to reformulate around whatever aromachemical their captive research group, RIFM, has decided to limit, too often in highly unrealistic testing. So there are market forces underlying some of that.

It's too bad there are sort of warring camps between fo and eo sellers, it doesn't need to be.

Find good suppliers, use the smells you enjoy, whether fo or eo.