Sandalwood - anyone think it's worth the price?

[RogueRose]

I'd really like to buy some sandalwood EO as it was one for the main scents of a Vera Wang cologne I had back in my college days and it was one of the only scents that wasn't some light/fruity "unisex" cologne that most all men seemed to wear. It was definitely a guys scent and the price was outrageous ($120+ for a 1oz bottle & that was w/ a steep employee discount). Never had so many complements on a scent before, from both women and men, so it seems like it is universally liked. IDK what the other scents were that were mixed in with it, but I still have it and could probably figure it out.

I'm wondering if anyone uses this in their soaps. I can't justify the price as it stands now and the FO just don't do it justice - nothing close from what I've found.

I am hoping I can find enough people who love this scent that I'll order a large amount from one of the 5 suppliers (direct from the distillers) I've managed to dig up over the years, which is much cheaper than the online resellers, but they still have a fairly large size minimum order (and it's international so, shipping from Aus or Asia area).

I'd like to hear some recipes or mixes any of you have found to be especially nice with this scent. I'm considering some cedarwood to try in it's place as a less expensive testing mix, but it just doesn't do it justice and isn't very close - but it's more masculine at least.

If you have any experience, please let me know, in soaps, balms, oils, or any products, I'm interested and if you have interest in getting some at a very reasonable markdown from the outrageous pricing of online retailers, please let me know as well, I think it will take some time to find enough people to make it worth while, but I know you are out there and would probably love to be able to make more of this w/o going broke, so please let me know!

 

[lsg]

I use a good sandalwood FO instead of the EO.

 

[Obsidian]

I don't think any expensive EO is worth it for soap. Maybe for a lotion or perfume for personal use.

 

[Carly B]

I agree with both @Obsidian and @lsg. If you are willing to try a fragrance oil, I highly recommend Mysore Sandalwood from Oregon Trail. It is the best sandalwood FO I have found.

 

[soapmaker]

I agree with both @Obsidian and @lsg. If you are willing to try a fragrance oil, I highly recommend Mysore Sandalwood from Oregon Trail. It is the best sandalwood FO I have found.

Have you ever compared it WSP's Sandalwood?

 

[Carly B]

Have you ever compared it WSP's Sandalwood?

No. At least I don't think so. I haven't shopped at WSP for over 10 years now.

 

[DonS]

No. At least I don't think so. I haven't shopped at WSP for over 10 years now.

I was using Suzie's (owner of Oregon Trail) Sophisticated Sandalwood just yesterday. Not the best behaving in CP...super accelerated trace. I mean...1/2 the time or less of their Lavender Fields FO I was using in another batch. I was soaping at 120 deg for oils and lye water. Oils are olive, 76 deg palm, and coconut. Only other additive is Sodium Lactate. For the next batch I make I will use their Mysore Sandalwood and see if it traces at psycho speed. Yesterday was my very first time making CP soap by the way!!!

Oh...and question for everybody about FO scent usage rates for CP soap. I come across usage rate numbers from 3.31% to 5.58% which is normal, I suppose, depending on the FO. That all said, is that percentage for the oils only or the oils + water/lye? I have seen conflicting information. Yesterday I was using the oil only weight percentage.

Oh...one more thing. Acronym usage. FO is Fragrance Oil. EO is Essential Oil. CP means Cold Process soap. I see acronyms being tossed around but I don't see a glossary. Would someone point me to one? WHAT THE HECK IS WSP?

 

[cmzaha]

WSP is Wholesalesuppliesplus.com one of the larger suppliers. Here is a link to check out for acronyms https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/the-acronym-and-abbreviation-definition-thread.51841/

 

[DonS]

WSP is Wholesalesuppliesplus.com one of the larger suppliers. Here is a link to check out for acronyms https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/the-acronym-and-abbreviation-definition-thread.51841/

Thank you! I now have a good resource for acronyms. I will have to check out WSP. Anything that I should know about them?

Anyway, does anybody have a answer around the FO usage rates and if I should take the lye+water weight or not? Again, on certain websites they generically say to only take the weight of the oils into account. On others, it says to do both. I guess I took the safer road by using the oil weight as my basis. That all said, when the water evaporates from the CP soap that would leave a higher usage rate than one would not if the calculation was based upon all ingredients...would it not?

As for super fast tracing, I think I have the answer to that issue: Bring the base oils to light trace FIRST. Then, whisk in the FO (not stick blend). Does this sound reasonable?

 

[lsg]

FO usage rates are figured on the total amount of oils/fats. Most reliable suppliers will list the maximum usage rate for soaps, lotions etc. You might use more slow moving oils, (ones that are liquid at room temp.) instead of butters, palm, lard, etc. Here is more info. on accelerating FOs.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...how-to-work-with-accelerating-fragrance-oils/

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I read on Wikipedia that the price of sandalwood EO is so high because the slow growing tree is relatively rare due to unsustainable harvesting in the past.

 

[soapmaker]

As for super fast tracing, I think I have the answer to that issue: Bring the base oils to light trace FIRST. Then, whisk in the FO (not stick blend). Does this sound reasonable?

Definitely reasonable. Don't stick blend accelerating FO or EO. Also soap cooler, I soap at around 90-95 with accelerating oils and no water discount. I don't know your percentages of oils in your recicpe but using a high percentage of olive or sunflower oil slows trace. (liquid oils)

 

[FreeBird]

@RogueRose Because I am an EO snob I do use a sandlewoods blend from The Perfumery in soaps. It is spectacular in blends.
There are other EOs that can take up the slack and the blend comes through as 'just' sandlewood.
However since the fires down under I may not be able to afford even the SW blend much longer.

(I have never used FOs except in the 8 candles I make but those are for the 'primatives' market.)

 

[Carly B]

I was using Suzie's (owner of Oregon Trail) Sophisticated Sandalwood just yesterday. Not the best behaving in CP...super accelerated trace. I mean...1/2 the time or less of their Lavender Fields FO I was using in another batch. I was soaping at 120 deg for oils and lye water. Oils are olive, 76 deg palm, and coconut. Only other additive is Sodium Lactate. For the next batch I make I will use their Mysore Sandalwood and see if it traces at psycho speed. Yesterday was my very first time making CP soap by the way!!!

I made CP with the Mysore Sandalwood, and used clay as a colorant. It behaved fine.

And congrats on your first CP soap!

 

[DonS]

FO usage rates are figured on the total amount of oils/fats. Most reliable suppliers will list the maximum usage rate for soaps, lotions etc. You might use more slow moving oils, (ones that are liquid at room temp.) instead of butters, palm, lard, etc. Here is more info. on accelerating FOs.

https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-...how-to-work-with-accelerating-fragrance-oils/

Thanks!

Definitely reasonable. Don't stick blend accelerating FO or EO. Also soap cooler, I soap at around 90-95 with accelerating oils and no water discount. I don't know your percentages of oils in your recicpe but using a high percentage of olive or sunflower oil slows trace. (liquid oils)

I appreciate this! I will definitely add the FO as the very last step, and whisk it in. This would be after achieving light trace. As for temps...I am using 15oz Olive, 11 oz palm, 8 oz coconut. Two of my oils are not exactly liquid at room temp. Figure maybe 110 deg?

I made CP with the Mysore Sandalwood, and used clay as a colorant. It behaved fine.

And congrats on your first CP soap!

Thanks for this info. Yeah, I am pretty proud of the results. I will be sure and use the Mysore Sandalwood in my next batch. I am just starting out, so I am avoiding colorants and other additives other than FO or EO/FO blends until I get better at what I am doing.

 

[Gaisy59]

I'd really like to buy some sandalwood EO as it was one for the main scents of a Vera Wang cologne I had back in my college days and it was one of the only scents that wasn't some light/fruity "unisex" cologne that most all men seemed to wear. It was definitely a guys scent and the price was outrageous ($120+ for a 1oz bottle & that was w/ a steep employee discount). Never had so many complements on a scent before, from both women and men, so it seems like it is universally liked. IDK what the other scents were that were mixed in with it, but I still have it and could probably figure it out.

I'm wondering if anyone uses this in their soaps. I can't justify the price as it stands now and the FO just don't do it justice - nothing close from what I've found.

I am hoping I can find enough people who love this scent that I'll order a large amount from one of the 5 suppliers (direct from the distillers) I've managed to dig up over the years, which is much cheaper than the online resellers, but they still have a fairly large size minimum order (and it's international so, shipping from Aus or Asia area).

I'd like to hear some recipes or mixes any of you have found to be especially nice with this scent. I'm considering some cedarwood to try in it's place as a less expensive testing mix, but it just doesn't do it justice and isn't very close - but it's more masculine at least.

If you have any experience, please let me know, in soaps, balms, oils, or any products, I'm interested and if you have interest in getting some at a very reasonable markdown from the outrageous pricing of online retailers, please let me know as well, I think it will take some time to find enough people to make it worth while, but I know you are out there and would probably love to be able to make more of this w/o going broke, so please let me know!

Getting back to the original question...i love sandalwood and used 80.00 worth in my soap and did not get a smell at all. I could have cried. There was a hint but it faded fast. Not worth using this precious scent in soap. I would suggest maybe a lotion if only to keep it around longer.

 

[JuliaNegusuk]

I use commercial sandalwood in my soap, which seems to include essential oils and "fragrance materials" so falls between being an EO and an FO. Amyris is also supposed to smell like sandalwood, also called west indian sandalwood. But I have never tried it. My supplier (in the uk unfortunately) also does an amyris/sandalwwod blend. These options are all at least 10% of the cost of real sandalwood or less. I'm sure there are US suppliers that will do something similar. It is a rare thing for the UK to have something that the US doesn't!

 

[Mjsid]

No. At least I don't think so. I haven't shopped at WSP for over 10 years now.

Who do you use instead of WSP?

 

[Carly B]

Who do you use instead of WSP?

Depends on what I am shopping for.
For fragrance and micas, primarily Nurture Soap, although I also sometimes use Fragrance Buddy, Nature's Garden, Rustic Escentuals, or Oregon Trail for certain fragrances.

 

[Kcryss]

I don't like to use Sandlewood EO because I don't agree with needing to kill a tree to get it. IMO, sometimes it's best to use a FO.