Teach Soap

I'm trying to find some fragrances for men's soap, and I came across a recipe for this fragrance blend, which is used to make something called Windsor Soap, from Sandy Maine's book, The Soap Book. I've written the recipe in percentages.

Cassia 50%
Cumin 11%
Clove 11%
Lavender 11%
Thyme 7%
Neroli Pettigrain 11%

Is the cassia a bit high? I can't find anything that makes sense (at this time of day!) as to cautions on the usage rate of cassia. Everything I can find says that cinnamon bark and leaf EOs have more eugenol, but I can't get a simple answer for cassia (if there is one!).

Thanks for the input.

Anita

Cassia and clove at that % might be irritating, unless they are used at a low %, well diluted in perfumer's alcohol like eau de cologne.

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

Wow, so .007% for the clove is still too much? I wouldn't think you could even smell it at less than that.

Do you suppose a cinnamon FO would make any difference?

Thanks for the help.

Anita

P. S. Wouldn't you think Sandy Maine would know this????

Brown Windsor was a brand of soap allegedly invented by Richard Sturtevant in the early 19th century. It became a favorite of Napoleon and Prince Albert, and Lewis and Clark carried it on their journeys.

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

Thanks, Irena. You must have some fascinating reference books at your disposal.

Oddly enough, I have the pettigrain.

I had read somewhere that caraway was the EO that made the soap Windsor, but Sandy's recipe didn't have that particular one.

Marilyn Mohr's The Art of Soapmaking has a recipe which includes sassafras. I was going to use that one, but when I got to ordering sassafras from my usual supplier, all kinds of alarms went off. I'd have to get some kind of special approval from the DEA.

I decided to use another recipe for the EO blend.

All I'm missing is the caraway and the thyme. My usual supplier has a $50 minimum order, and I JUST got an order from them. There was great hopping up and down on my part when I discovered I'd forgotten to order the thyme. I may just grit my teeth and order from them again. I just did a quick search through some of the other EO suppliers I have bookmarked, and none of those folks (except my usual, which is Liberty Natural) has the caraway. Argh, argh!

Oh well, such is the burden of the purist!

Thanks again for those recipes. I shall soldier onwards.

Anita

P.S. How are the leg cramps?

Cassia 50%
Cumin 11%
Clove 11%
Lavender 11%
Thyme 7%
Neroli Pettigrain 11%

Cassia and clove are more than a "bit" too high in this recipe. The recommended maximum usage rates are 0.5%. Cassia is am irritant and strongly sensitizing (and is on the IFRA restricted list), and clove is a moderate to strong irritant. So even using the max amount may negatively affect some people.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Tammy, I'm not sure if I was entirely clear in my original post, but those percentages are the percentage of the total EO blend, not as a percentage of the weight of the oils.

I did the math and the cassia would be 1.5% of the soap oils weight (which is high), and the clove would be .007%.

Or am I not understanding that the figures you quoted are percentages of the oil weight?

Also, is the 0.5% rate for each, or for those two in combination?

Thanks.

Anita

NDA carries caraway eo and many others. They have a US store now also.

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~bytheSEAsoap~ Mella bythesea, bythesea, bythebeautiful sea

海の皂

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy