Teach Soap

I can't get my arms around this option. I'm leaning toward using EO to scent my soap. But what's the trade offs of using FO or EO?

Maybe the info is right in front of my face and I'm just not seeing it. If so, please point me in the right direction.

hello...i am new to soap making too so I'm definetely not a pro ready to answer this question but I too am interested in your post topic and want to help you get it off and going. So far I have been using just FOs. I was going to use EOs but actually became a bit concerned after reading about how harmful some of them can be. Now I know that a really small amount is used in soap and someone will probably try to set me straight here ,but I find myself feeling a bit concerned because I see people selling soaps with EOs in them that are not intended for pregnant women or people with high blood pressure and no warning is given. It seems that people dont even consider this. On the flip side, I know that FOs are not the most natural thing either. But I also know that just because something is natural, that does not mean it is safe and in many cases is less safe than the synthetic alternative. So, for me, I have been making soaps with regular FOs as well as pthalate free FOs. My current plan is to offer both types while I do more research on EOs before using them in my soaps. I'm a newbie though, but that is where I am at the moment.. I'm looking forward to hearing some other views from some more experienced people.

wow.........this has the potential to be pretty loaded.......lol Some folks are die hard EO only fans. Some are die hard FO only fans. Me? I'm a mostly FO person.

FO's are much cheaper and more cost effective. With an FO, there are literally thousands of fragrances on the market, and the majority of these, you'd never get blending only eo's. With EO's, you have to be a really good scent blender to get something specific other than just the smell of that one EO. Have you looked at the price of some of the EO's? Wowzers.

I do realize that FO's are made of of CHEMICALS........and I'm ok with that. There are some that are for candles only, so of course we wont put that in our products. The skin safe FO's? It's obviously been tested and evaluated and deemed safe to use on the skin so I'm not too concerned. It's important too, to trust your supplier of fragrance to stay on top of things and to get safe formulations. They're all really so good about that. They want to keep their customers and they want to keep them healthy so that the customers can continue to make more products and buy more supplies from them. These companies take better care of us than we realize sometimes............lol

Sheephater said: I was going to use EOs but actually became a bit concerned after reading about how harmful some of them can be.

Thank you for that. SO much. This is a huge huge issue with me. So many new ppl come running in all gung ho and not taking the time to do some research. The majority of these essential oils have medicinal properties that can cause severe adverse reactions in some folks with medical conditions or allergies or pregnancy. Even in animal products, some things, even in small doses can be fatal. Like Tea Tree, it's been found to be generally safe in dogs, but it can be fatal to cats. I wonder how many ppl label their dog soap with that information?

Ida know......being a nurse and knowing what the wrong medications can do for ppl, the use of some of these eo's just sorta scares me. Alot of ppl DO definately do their research, but alot of ppl dont.....

I do use some eo's. Lavender. Cant live without that. Patchouli. cant live without that one either. And I use peppermint and spearmint. Tea Trea. Wintergreen, i do love, but that can cause severe sensitivities. So I very seldom use it. Rosemary, I do soooo love rosemary! I only use it when I know that there is no possible chance that I can be pregnant because it can cause miscarriage. And I wont ever sell or give away anything that has the rosemary eo in it. Just a very personal thing with me and the whole miscarriage thing.

But yea....we all have very different views on what's safe and what's not. And that's what sets us apart, our personal views. Doesn't make anyone better than the other, just makes us different is all.

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Steph
www.cajuncauldron.com

I agree; it depends.
For my "granola" crowd, I only use EO's.
For the rest of my customers, who seem to care only how well it smells or what color it is, I use FO's.
To each his own.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I too keep going round in circles over this issue.

It also opens up a can of worms regarding the use of safe or natural colourants and other additives. Then you get to the point where you question whether your base oils are good enough because they are not “organic”.

There has to be a certain amount of responsibility from customers as well if they have illnesses/medical conditions. I have to continuously read food labels when I go grocery shopping because of food allergies in my family.

Probably the best thing we could do is to educate people about the differences of EOs & FOs and let them make the best decision for themselves. All it needs to be is an additional blurb on your website or on your label. That may then dictate what you use when soapmaking, together with what you feel comfortable with.

You're right Teresa.....we should educate our customers as best we can. We need to educate ourselves first though. I see so many products, leave on products, made with some eo's that are potentially harmful, and no warning labels one way or another. And I do know that "chemicals" can be unhealthy too, but I trust my manufacturers and my fragrance suppliers to keep the yuckies out of our FO. Dont you wish there was an easy way to tell someone "please properly label your products". I guess it is very easy to say that, but how can we say it without offending?

Alot of ppl really go overboard with the all natural thing I think. I do have a few customers that prefer things more natural, but the majority of my customers just want to be clean and have soft skin and smell good. I was watching a dicussion recently on another forum <gasp!> and this one gal was really really bad into the all natural thing.......because "that's the only safe way". Um....crude oil is all natural too, are we putting that into our toiletries?

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Steph
www.cajuncauldron.com

I am sure there will be lots of cons for FO's, but for me I use what sells, and that is about 20% EO soaps, and 80% FO soaps. I personally like FO's and because I can be a bit blending challenged FO's are pretty much done for me.

I'm not on the natural or non natural soap box, for me it's more I'm happy either way as long as they smell wonderful.

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Goldenearthgirl

I have pretty much all FO's, but only because it just ended up that way. I buy what I think smells good.

i've been soaping for well over a decade now, and with me, its a matter of what fragrance effect I'm looking for. I only purchase from sources I'm comfortable with for both EO and FO. I'm not certain what beneficial effects of EO remain after saponification, and I make soap because my skin is extremely sensitive. I've never had any problems with a FO breaking me out.

There are some fragrances that are inexpensive enough that it just isn't worth getting them as an FO: Patchouli, the mints, jasmine, lavender, tea tree, etc .

This past year, the two biggest fragrances for me at craft shows were an Egyptian Musk that smelled very cottony, and a straight lilac. Both were FO.

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Belinda Hutchings
www.wyldbynature.com

Hi All -- We haven't visited the forum in a while, but we're gearing back into holiday soapmaking. What fun! Hope it's OK to add to this thread:

We use both EO and FO, depending on the customer and the type of scent we want. They're all great fun to use and we're starting to make our own EO blends. Does anyone have advice as to the behavior of each in soap? Do you know if you need less EO than you would FO -- Is one "stronger" than the other? Does one last longer than the other?

Thanks for any tips!

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Suz & Anna, www.bubbleheadsoap.com

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I've heard that due to the saponification process, the theraputic qualities of EOs do not come through to the final product. On the other hand many people seem to believe that the dangerous qualities do. How is that possible... to both lose the good and keep the bad? What is it exactly that makes EOs dangerous and how can THAT make it through the saponificatin process unaffected? Does that make sense? I'm confused because I thought the real danger was in handling the concentrated oil, once it is diluted and saponified, what exactly is dangerous?

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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Spotted-H ... l&filter=2
http://spottedhipposoap.blogspot.com/

Many essential oils are distilled where heat is involved. Depending on the flash point of each essential oil, some of the top notes will dissipate, while others will make it through the saponification process. I would say some of the therapeutic properties will come through. As far as %, it is best to research each EO for a safe %.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

If you want to get to grips with EOs - safety, precautions, and the ones not suitable for during pregnancy (there are quite a few, I recently was getting together some goodies for some friends and had to do some research!) then I would recommend this book as a good guide. I got it from a little shop where I was buying my oils. I knew about some, but wanted to learn more about others. I looked at the more hefty looking books and was told "no, you need this one, this is the best".

I'm one who prefers EO's in general so far, and I go for FOs when there is a scent I want that is non EO, like Vanilla Cream, or Chocolate. I prefer EOs because I think the theraputic qualities can be better. I'm also not sure you would get the same positive effect on the skin. Lavender is a classic super skin caring for oil, and I don't think a Lavender FO would give those benefits in the same way. If I want a really expensive oil, like with Jasmine, which I love, I tend to go for a 5% or 10% dilution version.

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"The question is: does it work on stage? If it works on stage, does it fit the theory? If it works on stage, but doesn't fit the theory; throw out the theory." Bertolt Brecht

I specifically read through this topics looking for the same answers.

As some may know, I'm a totaly newbie. I haven't made any soap yet. I'm still reading up on everything.
I really really wanted to go the EO route because of the chemicals in FOs. When I looked up the EOs on
BrambleB, I read the disclaimer and have to admit that I have a lot of concern, to the point where I don't
want to have them around, LOL. My concern over lye is the reason why I decided to go with M&P soap, over
the CP kind.

What I'm going to try and find is the correct way to handle and use EOs in M&P soap.
So far I see alot of warnings, but not so much the proper instructions. If anyone has
any info to help with it's use, please feel free to post.

Thanks again for all of the imput.

Joey

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Joey