HP or CP for therapeutic eo?

[lenarenee]

I'm making a soap with cedarwood - a special request from a friend.
Would hot processing the soap be more likely to preserve the therapeutic qualities of the eo, or cp? The eo would be added as late in the process of hp'ing as possible, but I don't know which is the worst enemy, lye or heat? (I prevent gel in cp soap.)

 

[seven]

i would choose hp, simply to avoid the lye. do the eo after the cook just before molding.

 

[Obsidian]

Lye is worse on EO's then heat. It helps if you know the flash point of the EO you are working with and make sure your soap is under that before you add it. When I do HP, once the soap is done, I scoop it out into a big bowl and then add the EO.
I used to add in the scent while the soap was in the crock pot but I burned up too many scents too many times that way. The crock pot liner stays hot for too long.

 

[judymoody]

I also vote for HP, as cool as possible while still being able to cram it in the mold.

 

[Southrnfem]

I would hot process it, let the cooked soap cool below the flashpoint of the essential oil, then add the EO. The cedarwood that I have on hand has a relatively high flashpoint, but be sure to check with your supplier - you could have a different type of cedarwood (?).

 

[lenarenee]

Thanks everyone! I had a feeling that lye was more of an issue than heat, but couldn't find where I had read that. The Cedarwood was from Mountain Rose Herbs so it will be easy to check the flashpoint.