oils infused with...

[mlktrkdrvr]

since I am not having any luck getting my EO and FO scents to actually stick, with CP or HP!! i am wondering about infusing my oils beforehand (mainly olive oil as that is what I can afford right now). So has anyone had any luck with with infusing olive oil with A. mint or B. Citrus peels? I am thinking the citrus peel may make the oil acidic and the soap may not work, but not sure about the mint. I just want some smelly soap!!! Also i read on here that you can use cucumber juice in the place of water- does the smell come through? If it does can you use any fruit juice the same way- I am thinking watermelon!!

 

[new12soap]

In a word, no. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but any fragrance of infused oils doesn't survive saponification. Some people swear by the lovely qualties it gives the oils, and often people do it for the color, but I don't believe it will help with scent at all.

 

[Genny]

Like new12soap said, the scent of the flower or herb rarely survives saponification process. I've done many herbal infusions and the only herb scent I've had stick around after saponification was dandelion, which I did a triple infusion with because I really wanted a deep yellow color.

Juices or teas in place of the water or in combination with the water don't leave a scent either

 

[mlktrkdrvr]

so than what is the point to adding juices etc to or in place of the water? I tried HP for the first time yesterday and added quite a but more FO and EO than I ever have before- still no scent :x !! Maybe I am still not adding enough? How much would I need to add to a 2 pound batch? I added about a half teaspoon...

 

[new12soap]

ohhhhh dear! I think we may have discovered why you are having trouble with scent! First of all, look up your fragrances with the supplier, they should give you guidelines for usage rates. I can't speak to EO's, but most FO's are used at up to 5%, or 1 ounce PPO. One half teaspoon is about 2.5 ml, for a 2 lb batch of soap you could have used (again, depending on the fragrance and the supplier's recommendation) up to 60 ml. Many stronger fragrances you can use more like 0.7 ounces PPO, and with hot process I usually use about 0.5 ounces (15 ml) PPO... So, in short, at least as far as FO's go, it sounds like you aren't using NEARLY enough for your batch size

 

[mlktrkdrvr]

oh boy! this is gunna get expensive!

 

[new12soap]

oh boy! this is gunna get expensive!

YES! Fragrances are easily the most expensive part of soapmaking, at least for me, BY FAR!

Again, I think you use a lot less EO than FO, but check each one with the supplier for recommended usage rates.

 

[Genny]

Buying fo's in bulk is what will save you money eventually, once you've got the fo's you like tested.

 

[judymoody]

1 ounce PPO = 6.25%
.5 ounce PPO = 3.12%

I round it off to 6% and 3% because I'm lazy.

I work in grams so a 500 gram batch (a little more than a pound) would require 15-30 grams of fragrance depending on what FO or EO you are using and what your nose prefers.

 

[mlktrkdrvr]

thanks for helping me figure it out. I have 4 CP batches and 1 HP batch- maybe I will rebatch at least one and see how it goes.

 

[sudbubblez]

In my experience, the smell does come through, but only slightly. I've used both tea and coffee as lye water and the soap does have some of the scent even though you have to about shove the bars up your nose to detect it. I am loosing my sense of smell and If I can detect it at all its probably there to a greater degree. With beer, the sweetness of the hops carries through.

I've used some really smelly roasted oils in soap and they are very "fragrant" when fresh but as they age the smell fades.

My understanding of citrus EOs is that they don't last very long because they have large fragile molecules. I don't know if this also applies to oils infused with the peels. I believe you can get a hint of the scent but it wont be near as strong as a fragrance oil and may just fade like the EOs do.

One technique to try to anchor EOs is to mix them with clay or cornstarch before adding to the soap.

Some essential oils have very low flash points. Even in CP, an EO with a flashpoint in the 120s is going to burn off... although it might not if made in a single bar mold.

 

[Lindy]

Okay let's talk about essential oils for a minute. First you need to understand that essential oils were originally developed for health, they are in actuality over the counter drugs and must be treated with the same respect. Some essential oils have more contra-indicators than others so know what it is you are handling.

Now let's look at safe levels of essential oils. Unlike their fragrance counterparts you should not go over 3% total eo or you move into therapeutic levels. You also should have warnings on your labels as to what contra-indicators there are for the oils you've used. You also need to keep in mind that the molecules of essential oils are so small that they bypass the blood brain barrier as well as the placental barrier for pregnant women. When training as an aromatherapist you learn how each oil affects different organs, and believe me when I tell you they do affect the organs, it's not just a feel good memory association thing. It is very real.

Here's an experiment for you to do. Take come garlic and run it on the soles of your feet, within 20 minutes you will have garlic on your breath and you will be able to taste it. Neat trick, but it certainly demonstrates how essential oils move through our body.

Sorry for the long post, but it is just so important to know what you are working with.

To anchor essential oils that are highly volatile, like citrus, you can use clay. Mix your EO's into a clay, hydrate the clay so it's not pulling moisture out of your soap batter and at trace, mix this in. Something else that helps anchor citrus is Litsea Cubea (May Chang) as well as Lemon Grass.

 

[vikkime]

I have had luck infusing lemon with olive oil. I zested the lemon and the put it in a mason jar. I then let the zest dry for a few days. Then I just barely covered the zest with extra virgin olive oil. I let it sit in my kitchen window so it would get the most sun for about two weeks give or take a few days. Then I drained the oils into a separate jar. It had a faint citric scent so I repeated like twice. I added it after trace because I only had about a tablespoon of the infused oil. I also use lemon juice instead of water. Some batches have a hint of lemon and some don't. The citric acid does raise the PH a little which is why I added some of the infused oil. And, a slight PH increase is fine and makes really good laundry soap - My entire town raves about my "stain stick" which is aka my Lemon soap. Good luck