Teach Soap

So I'm looking for a warm, vanilla-ish base note for some of my soaps (think: chai blends, warm citrus blends, etc). Plus I want the fixative benefits. Yet everything I read seems to suggest some or all of these are not-so-good for skin in terms of sensitization.

Any thoughts on this? Experience? Advice? (For what it's worth, I've read some extra nasty stuff about benzoin resin but not sure how accurate it is.)

My EO habit is getting a tad expensive and I need to start narrowing things down a wee bit and using them "strategically" when I can!

Karri

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I soap therefore I am.

I can't use Benzoin as it makes me itch. The other two sound fine. Have you thought of ever using Amber or just a tiny titch of vanilla?

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

Hmm, haven't thought of Amber (though I LOVE the smell). How does that go over in CP? I always thought of Amber as more spicy than sweet. Does it turn soap brown? And also ... does it give a bit of stickiness to other EOs?

Interesting!

Re vanilla: what kind? As in FO? I know extract can make a mess in soap, yes?

Karri

_________________
I soap therefore I am.

Depending how much Amber you use (ie: in a blend) it only turns the soap a tan color. I find it helps to anchor some of the more fleeting EO's. For EO's like citrus, I add a small amount of litsea. You can also use a small amount of vetiver or patchouli to give the blend some staying power.

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

I've heard about litsea (or lemongrass) helping fix citrus EOs. I have a lemongrass EO from BB and WOW is it strong! But nice

For the warmer scents it's tough to know what will blend well. Isn't amber more spicy then sweet? i.e. trying to figure out what would sweeten up a chai-type EO blend so it's not all "spice." Would the balsam type EOs be irritating much like benzoin then? I have sensitive skin too but just to certain things it seems so definitely curious.

Karri

_________________
I soap therefore I am.

I have sensitive skin also. Try any in a small amount in a blend and see how you like it. Litsea takes very little, otherwise it can overpower a blend.

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

I actually recently read a quick account from someone who used Copaiba in a chai EO blend, so I assume the scent profile is good, but I don't know if it was used in soap or not.

I just used a combination of litsea and patchouli to ground an orange/ginger blend this weekend -- the patchouli isn't even noticeable. I'm curious to see how the scent may morph over time, though. I also sweetened up a rather bitter coffee EO with vanilla -- the combined EOs smelled nice, but the soap smells awful at the moment. I take it that may be expected with fresh coffee soap and I'm hoping it will improve.

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CP newbie who's turning into a soaping addict!

I'll definitely have to make a batch with some amber, Irena. It's funny you mentioned amber because upstairs I have a little roll-on perfume that's just amber scent and nothing else. I think it was like five bucks at the drugstore. And you know what? I reach for that thing all the time over some of my super expensive perfumes! Do you like it in soap just on its own or do you like it blended with other EOs?

Jenova - I wonder if we were reading the same web page. I saw something on the New Directions Aromatics page for Copaiba Balsam regarding a chai blend. One of the reviewers uses it at 50% of her EO blend I think and said it's awesome. I want to try it so badly! And I think the cost was reasonable too. I love those foody/woody smells.

When you did the coffee soap did you just use EOs or did you sub in coffee for your lye water too? If the latter than that solution really STINKS while you're working with it but then it goes away. I made some soap this way a few weeks ago. Or did you use FOs, not EOs?

Let us know if that patchouli comes through too! Love that one as well but I also recently had it disappear on me in a soap. I don't think I used enough ... mind you, haven't used the soap yet either.

Karri

_________________
I soap therefore I am.

LOL, Karri, yup, that's it, the Copaiba Balsam reviews at NDA I pulled out my bottle over the weekend, planning to give that a try, but I never got to it -- I have a nummy chai blend that would be rather costly to soap as is, so "cheating" with something inexpensive like Copaiba would be great. XD;

I used coffee EO from Soap Making Resource (it's cheaper to experiment with than at most other places I've found ), but didn't use brewed coffee this time -- from what I gather, that wouldn't get me any smell benefit, just color, and the coffee and vanilla EOs already made the soap quiiiite brown! It doesn't stink terribly, like the lye-coffee seems to, but it definitely doesn't smell like coffee OR vanilla at the moment. We'll see how that goes, I suppose!

I don't really like patchouli when it makes itself known But I know it's an element in a lot of scents I like, so I figure its presence may be important in a subtle way. I'm interested to find out if it does become more noticeable over time if the citrus fades significantly.

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CP newbie who's turning into a soaping addict!

I knew it! LOL.

I'm currently a tad obsessed with all things chai ... I recently came upon a cafe here in Lethbridge that makes the best chai latte I've ever tasted (yes, even better than SB's). So of course, I now must make this in soap lest I keep myself awake every night for the rest of my life obsessing about the possibility of it. Ha! But geez, by the time you buy all those EOs, well, that's one expensive bar of soap! So I'm WAY tempted by the copaiba.

I've been curious to try Soap Makers Resource for some EOs. Being in Canada the shipping is killer too. I've ordered some stuff from NDA and they took about a week to ship (vs BB which only takes TWO days. Amazing.) What I did like about NDA is their packaging - the clays come in plastic containers with screw-on lids. Love that.

Sigh.

My husband is gonna start pressuring me to make this into a biz soon. LOL. Pleading that I can't help myself isn't going to be a good enough excuse

Karri

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I soap therefore I am.

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

Karri, I gotta say, I'm not overly fond of either of the two EOs I got from SMR -- the coffee seems a bit weak and bitter compared to NDA's (like bad office-coffee! Eek! I added vanilla to help it out), and the cardamom smells *nothing* like cardamom to me. :/ I have NDA's cardamom (delicious) as well as Eden Botanicals' (slightly more medicinal) to compare with, but the SMR oil is nothing like either of them. :/

(Why is all the awesome-smelling stuff so pricey?? )

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CP newbie who's turning into a soaping addict!

_________________
I soap therefore I am.

I've been lurking for a while, but not posting. So jumping back into the fray, I just bought both benzoin and copaiba. I should get them in a week. I love finding cheaper EO's, so I'm hoping these work well. I'll let you know how they do. I'm planning on using the copaiba to make a chai blend also, along with adding a honey scent to one of my soaps. The benzoin is going into another blend, and maybe to fix the coffee scent from dissipating so fast. I want to use it in a small amount because I've heard it's a sensitizer, though I can't find a limit on it in the IFRA documents.

Oh do please share your results!

Have you soaped with honey before? As mentioned, I used some in my last batch (last night). My soap actually cracked down the center of the mold but thankfully not much. I only used a little more than 2tsp ppo. And I soaped under 100 degrees. Next time I'll cut back a little on the honey I think. It got WAY hot in the mold ... so don't insulate

(I posted my results so far on my blog if you're interested ... link below. 2nd last post)

Can't wait to hear how your chai soap turns out!!
Karri

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I soap therefore I am.