'Vanilla Absolute Essential Oil' ???

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

Seen on soap labels today "vanilla absolute essential oil" and "white tea & ginger E/O blend".

I finally came to the conclusion that as far as this person is concerned, any EO/FO mixture is considered an EO blend- and at this point I think I'm being generous in assuming that there's any essential oil at all in there. Seems misleading at a minimum. NO idea what vanilla absolute essential oil could be- unless I'm totally wrong and that actually IS out there? The list of organic ingredients is also a wee bit improbable.

 

[Kittish]

Far as I've been able to find, there is vanilla oleoresin, which is incredibly expensive (so much so that I really doubt it would be used in soap), and vanilla extract (which I guess you could call absolute, since it's solvent extracted), which is alcohol based. There's also vanillin, the main scent component of vanilla, which can be obtained from natural and synthetic sources but it isn't an EO. Sounds like someone bought some questionable ingredients. I went looking for EOs on Amazon (briefly) when I started making soap. There are so many obviously faked EOs that it's not even funny, but hey, look at the price! It's a fraction of the price that a known-to-be-reliable supplier charges for the 'same thing'. Too many people don't look beyond the price, and cheaper is better, right?

 

[Cellador]

Technically, there is no vanilla essential oil because of the methods of extraction. There is a vanilla absolute which is sold by EO suppliers, but it is very cost prohibitive ($60+ for 1/8 oz). Unlikely that anyone will use that in a soap, but I guess it's possible they put a drop or two in their soap, mixed it with vanilla FO and called it an EO blend.
The white tea and ginger could be a mix of EOs and FOs.
It's also possible that this person doesn't realize the difference between and EO and FO. I've seen this many times before.

 

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

I very seriously doubt this person mislabeled out of ignorance- I saw this at a mall kiosk and there were signs everywhere saying they're available at whole foods. This lady presumably is making a ton of this stuff- and it IS gorgeous soap. I'll give her that at least.

 

[Cellador]

Technically, she's not lying if she's adding some EO to the FO. That word "blend" kind of leaves it open to anything.

I don't think you're required to disclose your fragrance components at all, but obviously this person is choosing to market the EO component of her soaps.

 

[artemis]

It's also possible that this person doesn't realize the difference between and EO and FO. I've seen this many times before.

This I would believe. My brother and his wife are occassional soapers. They don't know the difference between the two. We were nearly in an argument once before I realized we weren't both talking about EOs.

 

[wetshavingproducts]

As essential oil & absolute mean two very different things, they are mutually exclusive and cannot be used to describe the same item if used correctly. That said, people call all sorts of things all sorts of blah.

 

[bumbleklutz]

Seen on soap labels today "vanilla absolute essential oil" and "white tea & ginger E/O blend".

I finally came to the conclusion that as far as this person is concerned, any EO/FO mixture is considered an EO blend- and at this point I think I'm being generous in assuming that there's any essential oil at all in there. Seems misleading at a minimum. NO idea what vanilla absolute essential oil could be- unless I'm totally wrong and that actually IS out there? The list of organic ingredients is also a wee bit improbable.

I saw something similar to this the last week at a local shop. The soap was labeled "all-natural" and fragranced with "watermelon essential oil blend". Seriously? Watermelon essential oil? Another soap; this time a liquid soap by the same soap maker was labeled "all-natural", and the second or third ingredient listed was coco-betaine.

As it happened, a different soap maker was in the store promoting her soaps. They were labeled "handmade without the use of harsh chemicals". When I checked the ingredients; the following was listed: Palm oil, Olive oil, Coconut oil, Canola oil, Shea butter, water, essential oils, mineral colorants. Notice that sodium hydroxide is not listed? When I asked her what process she used to make her soap her response was; "It's all made naturally using the 'cold kettle' process." So, I had to ask, don't you have to use lye to make cold process soap? The answer, after some sheepish looking around- "Yes, but people don't like to see that on the label."

It seems to me that some people either don't understand the difference between eo's and fo's, or they realize that the term "all-natural" is essentially meaningless and abuse it for their own gain. In the second case, it seems to be a severe case of "what they don't know won't hurt them." Either way, when I see things like that it makes me glad I don't sell; and it makes me angry that those who do sell, and do it honestly; have to try to compete with those that have no regard for the rules.

 

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

I get not putting lye in the ingredients since it's not in the final product. The rest frustrates the hell out of me.

Truthfully, I don't feel the need to be a stickler for fine detail- but I DO feel the need to not be deceptive. Is E/O blend generally understood to imply a blend of essential oils with fragrance oils?

 

[dibbles]

I get not putting lye in the ingredients since it's not in the final product. The rest frustrates the hell out of me.

Truthfully, I don't feel the need to be a stickler for fine detail- but I DO feel the need to not be deceptive. Is E/O blend generally understood to imply a blend of essential oils with fragrance oils?

As a consumer, I would interpret EO blend as a blend of essential oils. I would think of FOs being labeled as fragrance. But technically an EO/FO blend could be called an essential oil blend. A bit misleading I think. In my opinion, that should be labeled as "fragrance, XX essential oil" in the ingredients list.

 

[earlene]

Oh, now that's interesting, dibbles. I had never thought of EO's as not being fragrance. I have occasionally listed my fragrance with the one word: 'fragrance' rather than saying essential oil fragrance. (FYI, I don't sell.) If there is room to list a particular fragrance, I have done that, but usually I don't, unless I know it's one that can cause sensitivities.

 

[Arimara]

I get not putting lye in the ingredients since it's not in the final product. The rest frustrates the hell out of me.

Truthfully, I don't feel the need to be a stickler for fine detail- but I DO feel the need to not be deceptive. Is E/O blend generally understood to imply a blend of essential oils with fragrance oils?

That's why it's better to be honest and list oils as olive oil being sodium olivate in bar soaps and potassium olivate in soap paste. It's not lying to anyone and you're telling the truth.