The Truth About Lasting Fragrance (Essential Oils)

[Free2Foam]

I thought EOs aren't really 'oils' at all. They don't saponify. If they lose anything it is most likely from being super-heated during the saponification process...at least that's my personal theory , but I do know that EO's are made up of a bunch of things like terpenoids and alkaloids, etc...

 

[lsg]

There are many EO combinations that will last in soap. The trick is choosing a base note, middle note, and top note. Choose base notes that will anchor your other EOs. For instance the combination of cedar and sweet orange EOs is long lasting. https://classicbells.com/soap/fragranceLast.asp#:~:text=Citrus and floral scents are,, resin, and spice scents.

 

[Cindy D.]

I have an allergy to roses and react to scented flowers. Also a bunch of allergies to trees, grasses and chemical sensitivities & sulfites. I tried a couple EOs in soap and gave up. Almost any fragrance I've been near recently has caused an ocular migraine or regular migraine, asthma and sometimes they cause muscle spasms. I wouldn't even dare try any fragrance oils. Fake vanilla is an instant headache.

When I worked in a fabric and craft store, the company sent us a bunch of potpourri packets. The district manager set them in bins right in front of the registers. Every employee that worked at the registers ended up with a headache, even the ones with no allergies. I actually bought one before realizing it was the cause of headaches and put it in my hutch, later I tossed the potpourri in the trash. That was way back before 1998. I can still smell it in the hutch today.
Raspberries & blood oranges taste and smell like perfume me, I don't eat them.

 

[johnnyusa]

Does anyone else have an adverse physical reaction to FO's? I have tried many, (read spent way too much money!), only to find that I get nausea and a killer headache and can't be in the same room with them, and out of the 50 plus FO's i have purchased, i have only been able to soap with less than 10 of them.

If they don't make me physically ill, they have that lingering synthetic backnote that never seems to go away.

I love BB's red rea and lychee, espresso, mango mango, which sadly they discontinued, cucumber melon and creamsicle.

I will dive into the pages above, but for now, was just curious if anyone else had the same nausea/headache issues with FO.

I dunno, I've never used FO and don't want to. I like blending EOs since I use them for so many different things besides soap and also I want my blend to be therapeutic first and smell good second.
Blending actual perfume is fun.
To keep scent longer use clay as a fixative, at least 5%-10% base notes, use some middle notes at least 5%-10% even tho they're expensive and not all cheap top notes. Also buy EOs u can get a 16oz bottle of for $60ish the only main exception for me being patchouli.
I personally gotta always have some patch lyin' around...
I recently learned how powerful it is to use a small amount of modifier, or (my definition) a scent that is synergistic but doesn't fit perfectly and clashes w the part of the rest of the scent.
Adding EOs for me isn't about scent so much as it makes the soap better by sprinkling in some high frequency magic.
My first soaps I never scented but when I started adding EOs I noticed a qualitative component into my soaps that is beyond the 'smell'.
Since all EOs are antimicrobial using 0.5% EOs ppo works perfectly as a sole preservative keeping my soaps DDOS-free for at least 18 months.
I don't think FO have antimicrobial properties, and who said lavender isn't lye safe?

 

[Tammyfarms]

Does anyone else have an adverse physical reaction to FO's? I have tried many, (read spent way too much money!), only to find that I get nausea and a killer headache and can't be in the same room with them, and out of the 50 plus FO's i have purchased, i have only been able to soap with less than 10 of them.

If they don't make me physically ill, they have that lingering synthetic backnote that never seems to go away.

I love BB's red rea and lychee, espresso, mango mango, which sadly they discontinued, cucumber melon and creamsicle.

I will dive into the pages above, but for now, was just curious if anyone else had the same nausea/headache issues with FO.

Yep! I can tolerate some EO’s but even those are limited. I have not found a FO I can tolerate. Some companies are now offering “natural” FO’s but they are expensive and I’m not sure I can tolerate them. My symptoms usually start with tinnitus and then a headache. Before I recognized this, and was routinely using fragrances in many products, I developed a cough that lasted for 4 months. When I stopped using that soap, the cough went away. It’s interesting how differently all of us react to fragrances.