# EO Combinations



## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Because of sensitivities to FOs I am switching to EOs only. I have many citruses, lemmongrass, lemon, 5x orange, rosemary, pepermint and Patchouli, I should be getting a Bulgarian Lavender when the 'slow boat docks'. The citrus ones are all so strong and some smell medicinal, I've searched on EO blending sites but all I see is those blended with hte each other. I am looking for a flowery, sweet EO to blend with and a woodsy one. However I can't buy the ones that sell for hundreds of dollars. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Dorit don't fool yourself. First you won't sell half as much soap as you would if fragrances oils were in your line. And there is just as many problems with essential oils as there is fragranced oils. You are just thinking you are picking between chemicals and natural, when using essential oils you had better know a lot more about them...can pregnant women use your soap, can babies, can someone with high blood pressure and very honestly given a choice even in a health food store, most pick fragranced oils over the medicinal scents essential oils give you. I originally did essential oils, the scents are very limiting and eventually one of my stores asked me if I did anything else...think about it, minty, floral if you want to call it that, earthy and herby....then you got what left? You would have to have a very high end yuppie following to sell only EO soaps....plus your limiting yourself when you want to add toiletries, and you will.

Fix your ventilation problem, store you molds and cut/curing soap away from where you work...you have to soap in a area with good air quality to start with.

rainbowmeadow.com if you put in the essential oils you have they will make up mixes for you...they also have hundreds of recipes already made up, I use one of theirs. Vicki


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

Vicki, Shucks, and I thought I had an easy fix. I now see that my choices to blend EOs that are affordable are limited. But I got SOOOoooo sick its taken 3 dYA to recover, and I'm not one to malinger. Im soqping today come hell or high water. I am looking into ventilation and storage options. My site is still in progress and changing almost daily, I put my newest mountains and rocks on there. The are not that time consuming and I hope to use them as a draw on my display.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

There are just as many EOs that bother me as there are FOs so don't throw the baby out with the bath water.  Finding a separate area to store soaps in helps a lot.


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I cut out the fragrances that really made me sick and now I'm trying to work on my ventilation as well. My husband went to HomeDepot to look into putting exhaust fans in the closet where I cure but the guy there thought it was overkill and would be too expensive to run over time and talked him into an air purifier. Well that most certainly didn't work. I am going to have to bite the bullet and just do it right and spend the money on a good exhaust and work on only running it when I'm soaping. It will make my life happier.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

I think you may be right about the baby and the bathwater. I entered my room today and it was ok. I soaped w 2 EOs and still feel ok. There are some FOs that I can not do without, so for those I will open all doors and windows and run the fans full throttle. I'm still going to go with most EOs. I;ve never had such an experience before, it was scary.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

A cheapo exhaust fan for a bathroom is under $30 and a better one is right at $100.


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

All aromas have + and - range. If your fragrance, be it EO or FO is too strong then tame it down Some our bodies just won't take while others it can. Citrus by the way are far more astringent in EO than in FO and the same with mints of any kind. That is why you want to use a blend made by an aromatherapist or the online site Vicki gave you. I can mix scents with EO's and get away with it as it is for personal use for my diffuser but my soaps I make sure I have it mixed right. EO's are harsher on skin and some, especially citrus, can cause photosensitivity if it is not well blended into the soaps.
Tam


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

I went to Rainbow Meadow and saw what can go with what else. I hope to blend only 2 EOs at a time. Lillian, who I buy EOs from, said .5 ounces per pound. Is this not a good rule of thumb?


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## Caprine Beings (Sep 19, 2008)

Not always. Some of your more lighter scents need to be doubled to one part of strong scent just to get a hint of that milder scent. I am not sure how to explain it. Its like mixing a tea or making a salve/ointment. Certain amounts of things are used to the benefit of the mixture.
Tam


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Each essential oils is either a top note (think mints) a middle note or a base note (think patchoulli, cinnamon, clove etc.) By combining these three notes you come up with a scent. So two would be very limiting...take something simple like Eucalyptus, by adding just a small amount of mint (I prefer peppermint) lemon grass, tea tree and then a base note of patchoulli...it isn't just an in your face top note of eucalyptus.


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## Dorit (Apr 20, 2011)

OK, thanks, I will start to use 3. You were right, some FOs aren't as bad as others. I bought a respirator, looks like something out of a 50s sci fi movie


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