How to anchor certain eo's?

[CherryGardenGirl]

I'm getting lots of friends requesting lavender, vanilla, and citrus scented soaps! I've heard that citrus eo's don't stay in the final bar. And that vanilla discolors.

How do you anchor your eo's? Are there any tips I should know before purchasing/soaping with them?

 

[IanT]

Adding a Fixative like orris root powder (just one of many fixatives) or blending your EOs using top, middle and base notes seems to work very well

 

[Lindy]

Clay can also work as a fixative.....

 

[gekko62]

Regular orange eo is a waste of time (& money!) in cp. Pfft and it's gone. Try folded orange,(there's 5x & 10x but Ive only ever tried the 5x) & 1 tsp ppo kaolin is popular as a fixative. I have best luck blending with a titch of patch,or may chang. In cp I go for about 5.5% citrus eo's but even at that it's not what I'd call strong smelling. If yr not committed to using eo's maybe try a good citrusy blend fo? There's a brambleberry one Im itching to try!

 

[orangetree71]

Orange EO does have staying power when mixed with a middle or base note EO like ylang ylang or litsea.

 

[IanT]

I have been dieing to try some litsea

 

[carebear]

well Ian, just ask! let me see if I have any. If I forget, bug me (I clearly have short term memory issues)

 

[CherryGardenGirl]

I've been looking at different websites and I see Sweet Orange, Blood Orange, Bitter Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Lime, Tangerine . . . do any of those have staying power?

 

[carebear]

no, I'm really sorry. you'll do a bit better with "folded" citrus oils, like orange 5X or 10X but that's just because they are more concentrated (and less spectacular )

more specifically - I don't know about the bitter orange, but neither tangerine, nor orange, nor blood orange hold up for me which makes me want to cry because they are SO delicious. grapefruit is better than the oranges, and some have luck with lime, but I don't.

 

[CherryGardenGirl]

Alrighty, thanks a lot everyone!!! I'll stick to lemongrass and the concentrated orange Methinks those yummy citrus scents will be saved for lotions

Any other EO tips?

Is lavender 40/42 really the best for soapmaking? . . . its really stinky! I am dedicated to EO's but was disappointed that most of them smelled icky.

 

[gekko62]

I like lavandin over 40/42. Sweeter & lighter.

Bad news Cherry,lemongrass is fleeting in cp too,although combining with may chang(litsea cubeba) helps. May chang is lovely in it's own right.

Citrus eo's are sun sensitising so using in lotions is risky too. I love all the citrus eo's but only use in scrubs & shampoo. Mandarin & lemongrass in an oil burner is tdf tho :wink:

 

[CherryGardenGirl]

Oh dear, now I feel like an *****! I know so much more about eating and gardening herbs . . . using them in soap is a totally different world.

Well, I'm pretty sure the health food store isn't going to return the lemongrass I bought so I still have to use it :? Maybe the whole .5 oz will come through my small 21.25oz batch.

None of the soaping books I've used cover EO's . . . any suggestions I can check out from the library? Otherwise I'm going in blind to their reactions in soap

 

[donniej]

Lemongrass is the way to go if you want citrus. If you want to use orange, tangerine or grapefruit then I'd give HP a try.

 

[krissy]

i use lemongrass and it has stayed in my cp soap for at least 6 months without any problem.

 

[gekko62]

Ive used lemongrass,& yeah you can smell it after 6mths,but its not that gorgeous fresh scent it is oob. If I stick my nose on the soap & breathe deep I can smell it,& it shows up a bit in the shower but for the amt I need to use to get even that for me it's not worth it.
Just checked my notes & my 5mth old LG was at 6% but had 1/5th Litsea added,so I imagine thats what Im smelling.
How much dyu use Krissy?

 

[supersoaper3000]

It's all about the fixatives. Especially when it comes to citrus. Lemongrass is a common fixative for citrus. You may also want to try benzoin, patchouli (just a hint unless you want it to smell like a Phish show), frankincense, or ylang ylang as they can be good with citrus as well.

 

[southernheartsoaps]

I've tried litsea with my grapefruit EO and it seems to hold well... haven't tried it with orange yet, but plan to

 

[FloridaSoaper]

Oh gosh, I've worked with lemongrass several times and it always seems to overpower anything I try to put with it...it stinks up the whole house and it's been the only eo with any amount of staying power in my opinion. I like it, but boy, I can get away with using less because to me it smells really strong! I just tried a 20/80 combo in my soap tonight... .5oz ppo 20 percent lemongrass and 80 percent lavender...I hope that makes sense...so far I can't really smell the lavender, only the lemongrass, and I used lavender 40/42. Anyways, just my 2 cents.

 

[Woodi]

I like litsea for all my herbal or citrus scents (orange, lemon, lime, bergamot; holds them well; I favor patchouli for lavender; my newest fav eo to use as a base scent is pettigrain. I love it so much would like to make an entire batch of just pettigrain....not sure how it would go in soap bars, but will try a small batch soon.

Cedarwood goes well with lavender and herbals too.

I also find that ginger holds up very well. One of my newest best-sellers is just ginger and lime, but I bet it would be nice with a titch of lavender in there too.

Have fun!

 

[mandolyn]

Adding a Fixative like orris root powder (just one of many fixatives) or blending your EOs using top, middle and base notes seems to work very well

Orris root is a known sensitizer & is NOT recommended for use as a fixative.