Sandalwood

[mattiesmom]

Is there a sandalwood fragrance oil that would work for customers who insist on 100% natural ingredients for their soap but continually request sandalwood because they love it in their candles and want it in their soaps too?
Have explained all the reasons sandalwood eo is out of the question, cost, endangered species, etc. but still get many requests. There are a lot of fos I would like to try but my customers are the picky "all natural" kind even though they routinely buy candles, lotion, etc. that isn't natural at all. I avoid pointing that out because I don't want to alienate anyone. My main market is the local health food store which will not allow lard/tallow soaps because it's an animal product even as they sell grass fed meats and want only goat milk soap in the store. Frustrating. Does anyone do separate lines of soap, all natural and those with FO? How does that work? Have considered that but think it would require developing an entirely different market which might conflict with what I do now. Thanks for ideas.

 

[lsg]

As far as I know there are no completely natural FOs. You can buy FOs that are phthalate free. Wholesale Supplies Plus has a good line of phthalate-free scents.

https://vetiveraromatics.com/blogs/...8-what-the-hecks-an-all-natural-fragrance-oil

 

[HowieRoll]

I'd like to start by saying I am not going to be helpful whatsoever about your sandalwood question (I've never even smelled it!), and I do not sell my soaps.

BUT, I do like to use tallow, and only like to use tallow that comes from pasture-raised cows who were allowed the freedom to roam and be cows during their time on this earth. As such, I carefully consider where the tallow comes from, and have found a nearby natural food store that uses a beef supplier that fits my criteria. As a thank you to the butcher, I have gifted him a couple bars made with their tallow (and some goat milk I purchased there), and am now repeatedly asked by staff whenever I go in if I'm selling yet because they want to carry it (I'm still several months away from even considering it, if at all). They all seem to love the fact I'm using ingredients from their store, so this is a long-winded way of saying maybe if you established with your nearby health food store that the tallow will come from them, do you think they'd be open to selling it?

At any rate, sorry I couldn't help with your ACTUAL question, and I wish you well in your endeavor!

 

[MySoapyHeart]

Just to be up front, I don`t sell yet.

But it really seems to me, that most people doesn`t really understand what they`re asking for, when they say they only want "natural".
I am only basing that on my own personal experience with my friends and family (which are aprox. 70-75 people or so. The numbers might be much higher than that, I didn`t do a fine count. But it gives me personaly a really helpfull baseline to work from.)

Those same people don`t mind if their laundrypowder (or...lotion, shampoo, conditioner etc) isn`t 100% natural, because, well,"you don`t expect that from those things anyway".

But when it comes to a wash-off-product like a bar of soap, then it seems some have no leniency as to what they consider "natural".

Lye* isn`t natural either, so if they want a piece of "natural" soap, they have to - at some point in time - realize that soap is a mix of something natural (oils), with something not so natural (naoh/koh) to be able to get a thing that most people consider to be a "natural" thing (soap).

* Lye is made from a chemical process and is a very reactive compound and not considered to be a natural substance. It is not like lye is accumulating out of thin air like dew-drops, and start to drip off of branches for us to collect. It takes a chemically engineered process.​

I believe in educating people, and let them know(but not in a way that they feel silly or stupid)that you can`t always have it both ways.

And if there are people who become alianated with that idea, I know for sure others will be intrigued by the very same notion.

And for me it really assist me in helping people who hasn`t got a clue as to what it takes to make a safe and wonderfull product (I only make lipbalms & soap)

Because to be honest, not all things syntethical in life is evil.
A lot of things we benefit from can not be made to be natural.

Shampoo-bars - I love them. I really do! They just work for me.

But using them everytime I wash my medium long hair? Nope.

In time I know it will ruin my hair. But do I use them from time to time? To get my hair stripped clean from product-build-up etc? You bet, it works perfect for that.

What I am trying to convey here - somewhere the line you actually have to choose:

Either to keep the cost down for most people (including yourself), or let your customers know that that they have to be willing to pay what "natural" (for them) in reality cost (essential oils)

---What you can do is being wiling to make them a soap that is containing a their precious Sandalwood oil.
But that it would be a special order that they would perhaps pay you 25% of the price up front (to show you they mean business and not going to back out of the deal) Then you make it for them especially.

--And if they back out anyway - that the contract says you can keep the 25% feethat they`d paid, and then sell that batch to others as a"very exclusive, very limited version type of luxury soap".

BTW -
I know Nurture Soaps has fragrances that are packed full of essential oils, but into the mix it has some other ingredients that aren`t natural.
I have two of them in my mind and are going to test them.
This one
And this one.

Both with real Sandalwood Oil.

What intrigues me is that they both discolors the soap into a purple color.

 

[mx5inpenn]

I just ordered a number of samples from nurture that are EO/FO blends. One has sandalwood oil in it. Supposed to arrive tomorrow.

I used to be an only EO soaper because I wanted as few chemicals as possible and I react badly to a lot of scents, so worried about not knowing what exactly was in them. I've changed that because I couldn't use fragrances I wanted and expect good and cost effective results. My family eats as healthy and organic as possible, but through the learning process with soap, we've decided a wash off product isn't that big a deal.

You may want to discuss with the store management that using what is normally a waste product is actually more environmentally friendly. If they sell grass-fed beef, they really shouldn't have a problem with grass-fed tallow.

 

[Steve85569]

Somehow I get the feeling that some people believe that squeezing a couple hundred pounds of some herb or spice and packaging the results is "natural".

Don't think about that one too long. It just - to me - exposes the silliness of "all natural".

I love indoor plumbing and it aint "natural".:think:

 

[Saponomancer]

Amyris is an essential oil that's supposed to smell like sandalwood, if that helps?

 

[mattiesmom]

Thanks for the wonderful insight - very much appreciated and very clarifying to my tendency to overthink this. I generally prefer a product as natural as possible but am certainly not a purist and have no objections to fragrance,colors, etc. that might not be natural. And, as we all know the first thing a person does when checking out soap is to sniff it to see how good it smells. Planning on having discussion with the store manager as suggested. Again, so appreciate the great response.

 

[dixiedragon]

Red Sandalwood powder makes purple soap. It's not that expensive. I have a Sandalwood Blend from EO University I got years ago - I tried looking it up and apparently EO University doesn't sell EOs anymore? But IIRC, this was a blend of amyris and wood oils (cedar, etc).

I wonder if they'd be interested in a solid perfume? A little EO goes a long way in that, so it would be possible to use precious EOs in that.

 

[DeeAnna]

It slays me when I can see the disconnect between what people say and what they do. We all have this disconnect at times, so I'm not leaving myself out of group I'm pointing my finger at. :think:

My more-crunchy friends will ask about whether my soap is "all natural" or is not (all ingredients are disclosed on my labels) and whether I have considered making my soap without lye.

And then they take a big sniff of my soaps and pick the one that smells the best. It's usually an FO.

As far as a sandalwood fragrance, I'd just give my customers what they're asking for by using the best FO I can find and disclosing it correctly on my label as "fragrance". I wouldn't stress over getting "permission" in advance. If asked, I would answer any questions about the FO honestly and correctly, covering the issues of high cost, limited availability, scarce resources, etc.