# Anchoring scents with citrus peel



## KUrby

Anyone do this? If so how are you dehydrating your peels? 170 in the oven for ???
I heard that you could do this and want to know how.. don't want to loose all the scent.
K


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## sunnygrl_ks

I pretty much let the freezer dry them out... i get a bag and just start chucking the peels into it until its full, then zap them in the coffee bean grinder...what i don't use goes back in the freezer.


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## Sheryl

Hmmmm  that's a good idea. Why hadn't I thought of that. :yeahthat

Sheryl


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## NubianSoaps.com

I can't see how that could even work. Scent is made up of top notes, mid notes and base notes. Without a base note...Patch or Cubia Listia etc...your citrus top notes will dissapate. It's what I use my patch for, to seat my high not only essential oil scents. Vicki


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## KUrby

I want to do a orange soap and a grapefruit soap.. so How would you divide the scent? using Patch?
k


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## Sheryl

:/ ohh gee Vicki, you just zoomed over my head like a jet plane. :help2

I have a lot to learn.....someday explain that to me :sigh

Sheryl


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## NubianSoaps.com

With Lillians Grapefruit, her blend, my blend for eucalyptus and the lemon, I simply add about .5 patch (it's a really good one) to my scent....well for 7 pounds to 14 pounds of butters and oils. It doesn't take much. Vicki


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## KUrby

I am only going to do a small batch just one tray on the MM mold. OP. Lillian suggests 1% EO up to 1.8% so say that is .80 ounce of scent. Would you use say .65 for orange and grapefruit and .15 for Patch?
I am not mixing grapefruit and Orange these will be seapart batchs


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## NubianSoaps.com

Sorry I can't do it in my head...but obviously if I am using 4 or 5 ounces of scent and use .5 of patch, it's alot less than what you are stating. You don't have to smell the patch in the batch for it to seat your citrus or mint scents. Vicki


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## Guest

I recently soaped Lillian's Autumn/Winter Blend for the Swap and I used .5 oz of Patchouli (MM batch) to seat the scent. I just used a bar in the shower this morning and I couldn't smell the Patchouli, but the blend smells divine! 

Sara


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## kidsngarden

Vicki-

I did the math so between 8-10% of your fragrance is patch or you can see it this way - 9 part citrus to 1 part patch.

Bethany


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## NubianSoaps.com

Thanks Bethany! I couldn't do any of this without my calculator and borrowing my duaghters brain! Vicki


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## KUrby

And only GOD knows I couldn't do ANY of this without ALL of you and special thanks to vicki and Lillian!! :thankyou2
vicki is my soul support group, I would NOT be doing what I am doing or have my goaties without her.
K


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## Guest

Orris Root and ground citrus peel will act as a fixative for soap because the fragrance adheres deeply to them and does not fade out. I use 1 Tbl ground citrus peel for 7lb butters and oils. It is the same thing as using dendridic salt, which is crystallized in a vacuume so that it is very porous, to anchor fragrance for bath salts. 

I like to hang citrus notes on patchouli too! Base notes also serve the purpose of a fixative but in a different way. They give power to the fragrance while the powders make it stick like glue.


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## KUrby

Christy do you dry your own citrus peel.. if so could you please tell me in detail how to do it?
Karen


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## Guest

:rofl I have never even thought of drying my own! 

Christy


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## KUrby

Well heck :crazy
k


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## NubianSoaps.com

I can see a fixative working in dry products, but I can't imagine it working through saponification. The only thing that works in soap chemically would be a complete fragrance...bottom note, top note, mid note. Like in lotion. In soap if you burn off anything it's always your top notes. Now I am going to have to go through all my old notes  Vicki


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## KUrby

I will try orange EO with a little patch and see how that soaps. :/
K


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## Guest

Burn off is just evaporation. If the scent is gelled or solidified is stands to reason that the evaporation rate is going to be decreased :

I personally wouldn't use orris, but I think Benzoin powder is also used as a fixative. The citrus peel should be ground to a vary fine powder...

Christy


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## Guest

I think there are a lot of contributing factors in how well natural fixatives work in soapmaking, but for what it's worth here my notes on the ones I know of...

Natural fixatives

Citrus Peel 
Binding agent pectin
Creates a gel type bond used to reduce the evaporation rate, increase perceived odor strength, and improve stability when added to more volatile components.

Benzoin
Binding agent –resin 
Plant resins form a glue type bond, gums formed by solidifying plant juices, are used as a fixative to bind together other rapidly diffusing essential oils. Resin keeps more of the top floral and citrus notes intact. 

Orris
Binding agent – starch
Starch contains a plant derived polymer works as a fixative by creating a Covalent bond, a chemical effect of forming a bond with the polymer which stabilizes the fragrance.


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## sunnygrl_ks

the last time i made my orange eo I just used the orange peel, rooibus tea (out of the bag), and the eo ... this was last years fall soap and i have a couple still left in my pile (the rooibus is way rough right out of the bag, so decided to keep for myself) and it still smells orangy, not like it did when first soaped but i think that must be a really good keep for a citrus.


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## Aja-Sammati

I use orange peel and grapefruit peel- and I don't know _why_ it works, but it does, it is holding great in my orange oatmeal, I used freeze dried zest for that one, not powder :lol I am going to try using litsea cubeba, though. I can't stand patchouli, and I can smell it in anything...


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