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When I use Fragrance Oils (which are synthetic) I always choose fragrances that have been researched by big perfumeries as they have spent millions of dollars in research and they have products that sell, sell, sell. When you are selling to the general public, they are most likely going to want these synthetic fragrances. I do love to use natural fragrances, i.e. essential oils, too. They have benefits that synthetics cannot match. But I haven't found much information that I could benefit from as a soap maker by using essential oils. So it is more of a guessing game trying to develop your own essential oil blends.
In order to create soaps that sell using Essential Oils, you should sell the benefits of the essential oils that you use. For instance:
Bug repellent soap could include citronella, bergamot
benefit: natural insect protection that can be used in conjunction with a natural bug repellent.
Common cold soap could include Eucalyptus and Peppermint
benefit: helps open up breathing passages
So you name your soap appropriately and sell the benefits of those essential oils.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. One site that I found on-line that talks more about blending essential oils can be found here. This site addresses top notes, middle notes, and the lower notes of fragrances and gives ideas on how you can create your own custom blend.
I found another site that has essential oil recipes. This would be a good place to start for ideas on blending and the amounts of each oil in the blend. They have a lot of other kinds of recipes too. I haven't tried any of these recipes, so I can't say if they are any good, but they looked interesting.
I normally use 1 oz. of essential oils per 2 pounds of soap, but when I am making soaps with mint in them I normally use about 1/2 the amount (1/2 oz. per 2 pounds of soap or even less). The reason I found to do this is that the essential oil in the soap is irritating to sensitive areas of the body at 1 oz. per 2 pounds of soap.
Another good resource is this list of essential oils.
I hope this gets you started in using natural essential oils in soap. Remember you need to sell the benefit of the essential oils you use. I'd be interested in your comments about oil blends that you have tried, liked, and have thought sold well to the public.
9 years ago
3 comments:
I learned the hard way with peppermint essential oil! I love to blend it with rosemary, but the first time I did that the peppermint took over. A little bit goes a LONG way.
My favorite blends are citrus blends. I absolutely love sweet orange, grapefruit, and lemon essential oils blended. I sometimes use a little of the lemon rind to make a rather exfoliating bar. It tends to discolor to brown, but it's still very nice.
I have used those same essential oils also. The citrus oils tend to fade if they sit in storage long, so make sure you have a venue to sell them right away when you make that soap.
I also have added citrus peel. I used McCormick's dried orange peel and it did stay orange in the soap. I used just a small amount along with poopy seeds. Again, a little goes a long way in an exfoliating bar, so less is best....maybe less than a teaspoon per pound of soap.
That soap I called Gardener's Delight.
Enjoy!
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