Guest guest Posted June 25, 2006 Report Share Posted June 25, 2006 You Wrote: " For instance, I find that 30 or 40 drops of patchouli per pound of soap adds a certain je-ne-sais-quois to many herbal scents. " David what size dropper are you using - does it have a ml. guide of the side for you to know how much you are using? I have two sizes of pipettes each produces a drop of a different size I prefer to work in grams or ounces or even millimeters. My standard soap batch is 7.875 lbs of oils (plus lye water etc.) at say 40 drops of patchouli per lb of fixed oils (I don't use the lye/water to calculate my fragrance) that would be 315 drops of patchouli. Without knowing how much volume or weight of the essential oil is I cannot compare to what I am using. Hope you can translate the 30-40 drops for me. Another question it is not clear to me by what you mean by " many herbal scents " --- are you using the Patchouli in ADDITION to other essential oils in your bars. OR -- is the Patchouli lending the je-ne-sais-quois to some of your base oils being infused in herbs. -- Be Well, Bobbi Guerra www.thepurplesage.com sales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 " For instance, I find that 30 or 40 drops of patchouli per pound … David what size dropper are you using – [Dave:] It’s a standard drugstore eyedropper. Nothing more precise than that. I typed that wrong however, and that should have been up to 40 drops per batch, not per pound. My smaller batches run about 2½ pounds. Another question it is not clear to me by what you mean by " many herbal scents " --- are you using the Patchouli in ADDITION to other essential oils in your bars. OR -- is the Patchouli lending the je-ne-sais-quois to some of your base oils being infused in herbs. [Dave:] I do infuse herbs into my oils, but I think at the time I was mostly talking about how I use EOs for scent (VERY sparingly). I rarely use patchouli as the dominant scent in my soaps. I’ve found that in blending scents, a dash of patchouli lends an intriguing base note. Since the amounts I use are pretty small, most of my soaps don’t hold their scent indefinitely. Anyway, folks like Butch who know more than I do have convinced me that I’m not the one to come to for advice on using EOs. I have a lot to learn. -- Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.4/375 - Release 6/25/2006 -- Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.4/375 - Release 6/25/2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 26, 2006 Report Share Posted June 26, 2006 David, I sell lots of soap have been for nearly 8 years. I use fragrance oils at .7 ounce of fragrance per pound of oils in my soap batch. I DO NOT calculate the lye water when deciding on how much fragrance to add. That being said some man made fragrance oils are a bit stronger then others. One learns by trial and error how much more or less is needed so that the scent the customer bought lasts till that little sliver of soap is gone. Essential Oils are a different ball of wax. Certain oils like clove and cinnamon need to be used sparingly. If ones wants citrus oils to hang around they need an anchor - Patchouli is an EO that can be used for this purpose. My specialty is Lavender EO in soap. I make several types of Lavender with other essential oils. If you are interested, Rainbow Meadow has a great on line fragrance blender (for EO's). You chooses two EO's that you want to use hit enter and you will be rewarded with several blends containing your two oils and a number of others. The beauty of this program is the amount need for soap or lotion or what ever you are making is clearly spelled out for you. It's a good learning tool for which EO's blend well and for usage rates. One still has to learn a bit more to be safe - but we all have to start somewhere. -- Be Well, Bobbi Guerra www.thepurplesage.com sales Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 2006 Report Share Posted June 27, 2006 I sell lots of soap have been for nearly 8 years. I use fragrance oils at .7 ounce of fragrance per pound of oils in my soap batch. I DO NOT calculate the lye water when deciding on how much fragrance to add. [Dave:] I don’t connect those two calculations, either. Essential Oils are a different ball of wax…My specialty is Lavender EO in soap. [Dave:] Sounds like you have a good grounding in both types of scents. Personally I don’t use FOs but I don’t have a problem with those who do. Lavender is also one of my favorite botanicals, and I use it in several of my soaps, along with different lavender EOs depending on the kind of soap. -- Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.5/376 - Release 6/26/2006 -- Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.5/376 - Release 6/26/2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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