How do you blend essential oils?

[soapsydaisy]

Hi, I have been soaping for 2 years now and I feel like I have a good handle on soapmaking. However, if I want to use more than one essential oil I have a hard time figuring out how much of each to use. Are there any guides or rules of thumb that I should be following? How do you know which ones to blend together?

 

[Relle]

I used the search engine in here and came up with this for you -

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32905&p=295742&hilit=blending+EO%27s#p295742

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

My best advice, beyond learning about the properties and contraindications of essential oils, is that when blending I use a "trinity" method : using a top note, middle note, and base note to combine into a synergistic blend. This is a method perfumers have used for centuries. The purpose is to create a scent with depth and that will last.

For Example:
Blood Orange (Top Note)
Juniper (Middle Note)
Cedarwood (Base Note)

This would create a nice masculine (in my opinion) fragrance with the Orange being one of the first scents you smell, and being a "top note", the most fleeting of the scents...Juniper rounding out the aroma, and being a "middle note" what you would smell predominately after first "whiff"..and the Cedarwood tying it all together and "fixing" the scent, like the foundation and longest lasting being the "base note".
As for proportions, it is really dependent on your preference and the type of fragrance you are trying to create. In general, you could use a 3/2/1 approach...3 parts Top, 2 parts Middle, 1 part Base. The best fragrances are the ones that are harmonious where you can't just pick out one smell.

Here is a quick little chart to help pick the notes out:
http://www.essentialoils.co.za/fragrance-notes.htm

When trying a new blend, I like to use a cotton pad with drops of essential oil in whatever ratio I've determined best, then leaving the pad in a ziplock bag overnight. The next morning, I will take out the pad and sample the aroma to decide whether the blend needs tweaking or not. My 12 year old son loves these experiments :wink:

Just remember: Essential Oils are NOT just fragrance or perfume. They are the actual essence of the herb or plant they come from, and if that herb/plant has medicinal properties, and most due, then that essential oil will have a concentration of that medicinal property. Some are contraindicated in children, pregnancy, epilepsy, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions...so please do your best to educate yourself on their properties and usages before using them in any product that comes in contact with the skin.

Hope that helps!

 

[llineb]

My best advice, beyond learning about the properties and contraindications of essential oils, is that when blending I use a "trinity" method : using a top note, middle note, and base note to combine into a synergistic blend. This is a method perfumers have used for centuries. The purpose is to create a scent with depth and that will last.

For Example:
Blood Orange (Top Note)
Juniper (Middle Note)
Cedarwood (Base Note)

This would create a nice masculine (in my opinion) fragrance with the Orange being one of the first scents you smell, and being a "top note", the most fleeting of the scents...Juniper rounding out the aroma, and being a "middle note" what you would smell predominately after first "whiff"..and the Cedarwood tying it all together and "fixing" the scent, like the foundation and longest lasting being the "base note".
As for proportions, it is really dependent on your preference and the type of fragrance you are trying to create. In general, you could use a 3/2/1 approach...3 parts Top, 2 parts Middle, 1 part Base. The best fragrances are the ones that are harmonious where you can't just pick out one smell.


Great information! Thank you for sharing it!
Here is a quick little chart to help pick the notes out:
http://www.essentialoils.co.za/fragrance-notes.htm

When trying a new blend, I like to use a cotton pad with drops of essential oil in whatever ratio I've determined best, then leaving the pad in a ziplock bag overnight. The next morning, I will take out the pad and sample the aroma to decide whether the blend needs tweaking or not. My 12 year old son loves these experiments :wink:

Just remember: Essential Oils are NOT just fragrance or perfume. They are the actual essence of the herb or plant they come from, and if that herb/plant has medicinal properties, and most due, then that essential oil will have a concentration of that medicinal property. Some are contraindicated in children, pregnancy, epilepsy, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions...so please do your best to educate yourself on their properties and usages before using them in any product that comes in contact with the skin.

Hope that helps!

 

[lsg]

Yes, I use the top, middle and bottom notes along with the Aftelier fragrance wheel. Research the properties of each essential oil you want to use and find out what e.o.s they go well with. Then using Q-Tips, try a combination. I usually break Q-Tips in half so they will go further. Put your combinations in a glass jar and seal it, sniffing it after one day, two days and so on. Above all keep notes so that you will remember what combinations are great and what are not so good.

http://www.aftelier.com/aftelier-fragrance-wheel.html

http://www.chymist.com/Perfume.pdf