Citrus Blend

[Candybee]

Looking for ideas for a nice citrus EO blend for my shave soap line. I'm thinking; lime, lemon, lemongrass, grapefruit, litsea cubeba...

 

I want the lime to be the stand out note and still have a nice citrus combo that tames it a bit without losing its lime edge. Also, I want it to be a little intense rather than soft if you know what I mean.

 

Here is what I am thinking:

 

4x lime

1x lemon

1x lemongrass

1x grapefruit

2x litsea cubeba

 

How would you make it? Any changes? Should I add bergamot? Is the lemon overkill? Any suggestions would be helpful.

[Jcandleattic]

That sounds good! Maybe some orange in there?

IDK I have no other advice for you.

The one and only time I did an EO citrus blend it ended up smelling like Fruit Loops. I mean seriously just like it would if you opened a box of the cereal and stuck your nose in. LOL Not sure that would go over well for a men's shave soap. 

 

Good luck and let us know how it turns out. 

[Guest OldGlory]

I never had any luck with citrus EOs in soap - they all faded. Ginger Lime at BCN soaped beautifully for me and really held the scent.

[Candybee]

I have ginger lime from Elements. I holds really well in CP but I add a touch of lime EO to make the lime pop.

 

I thought about adding orange but one; I already have a honey citrus castile with orange, lemon, tangerine so I am looking more for a lime and lemon and grapefruit type for this. Also, I have a lemongrass and lime castile that is awesome. I thought about just using the EO blend for that in my shave soap but I really want something unique for it.

 

This is off topic but last Saturday at the market a friend of mine has her mister going and in it was a combo of cinnamon and grapefruit EOs. I was surprized at what a good combo it was. But it got me to thinking about using grapefruit more.

[Candybee]

I never had any luck with citrus EOs in soap - they all faded. Ginger Lime at BCN soaped beautifully for me and really held the scent.

 

I know. Same thing here. But I have found that litsea cubeba really helps to anchor my citrus EOs in my CP soap. Right now I have lemon 5x and orange 5x and they both fade after a while. The litsea cubeba helps. But next time I replace them I noticed that Brambleberry? has the 10x EOs. I've heard from other soapers that the ones that stick are the 10x and the 15x.

[ChrisR]

I'd cut out the Lemon & Grapefruit and cut the litsea down to 1 as it's so strong anyway.  Just my opinion cause I think the lemon is overload and you more than likely won't even get a hint of the grapefruit. 

[Guest OldGlory]

Can you use kaolin in a shaving soap? I have heard that clays will help to anchor sents.

A bay rum with lime should be a great seller in soap, although it's not the EO blend you are looking for. Just a thought.

[Candybee]

Can you use kaolin in a shaving soap? I have heard that clays will help to anchor sents.

A bay rum with lime should be a great seller in soap, although it's not the EO blend you are looking for. Just a thought.

Clay does help anchor a scent and is great in shaving soaps. But I won't be using it in this particular soap. I use a lot of clay in many other soaps that I make.

[Candybee]

I'd cut out the Lemon & Grapefruit and cut the litsea down to 1 as it's so strong anyway.  Just my opinion cause I think the lemon is overload and you more than likely won't even get a hint of the grapefruit. 

I was thinking of cutting out the lemon anyway. I think I will play around with the grapefruit before I decide to keep or toss out of the blend. Litsea is strong but I find I need more of it when I use several parts of other EOs plus I like the scent and its strength as long as it doesn't overpower. So if I am using an 8 part blend I know I will want to have at least 1-2 parts litsea.

 

If I stick close to my other recipe I could do:

 

3x lime

2x lemongrass

1x litsea

 

Hmmm... I still want something else in there and I keep thinking of grapefruit. Grapefruit smells awesome in CP.

 

I have a grapefruit and lemongrass combo that smells heavenly, and I love my lemongrass and lime.. so why not lime, lemongrass, grapefruit, and litsea?

 

3x lime

1x lemongrass

1x grapefruit

1 x litsea

 

That would make it a nice lime with a citrus combo. Dang... wish I wasn't out of grapefruit and lime EO. I could test it out now.

[Scented]

Just going to say get some blood orange and tangerine to open up your citrus choices. Both work well with grapefruit. 

 

Geesh I know citrus, but there are some great herbals that could help make that lime pop too ... possibly experiment with some of them like basil, cedar and I would think juniper berry might just be interesting ... just sayin' 

[Candybee]

I like the idea of an herbal like sweet basil maybe. Or sage? how about bergamot? Of course I don't have any of these except the dalmation sage which I am now afraid to use.

[Scented]

clary sage might be good. Sage organic is um too expensive IMO. 

 

Hey how about some rosemary?

 

One of my favorite EOs is rosewood ... and I think it's a rosemary and myrrh combo that I really like with some other stuff ... 

[Candybee]

I love rosemary with lavender or spearmint. Barbara L gave me a small bottle of patchouli lime. Sounds good eh? I haven't soaped it yet because it just smells wrong somehow. Could be lovely in soap you know but I hate wasting good oils. So I am a little shy about mixing some EOs with lime.

[Scented]

Oh Patch and lime together might just be great. Lime and cypress together would be really good too ... so here's where the testing comes in because I pretty much think lime is going to eat up everything definitely at 1:1 and 2:1 and 3:1 ... but I hedge on saying it would at 3:1.

Patch pretty much mellows anything it cuts IMO unless you have a bunch of patch and a little bit of lime. So you might try like 5 drops patch and add one drop lime and let it marry and see what happens. You can always add to, but can't take away (I say that to remind myself lol)

Try your small bottle out and see! Patch mixes don't always come to life the minute the cap comes off ... then again I haven't met but maybe one patch something that didn't and I would be hard pressed to tell you what it was now. 

Edited August 29, 2014 by Scented

[Candybee]

I just smelled my patchouli lime again. BTW-- its from Moonworks. I can't put my finger on it but something in it that has a sharp note.. maybe there is some litsea in it? IDK... its just not what my lime and patch EOs would smell like if I mixed them. KWIM?

[Scented]

KWUM. It probably isn't litsea though. I would think that would have been a waste lol. What'd Moonworks call it? 

Anything I ever soaped that was MW based, any sharp notes disappeared. 

[Candybee]

It's one of their EO blends. Its just called Patchouli Lime.

[emilyspoppy]

Dear Candy & Pals;

 

While doing research for making shaving soaps from M&P base, I contacted Dr. Robin Chang, PHD, owner, of Gemlite Fragrances. His company offers an extensive line of EO's and a good line of FO's for candle and soap production.

 

Robin advised me to proceed carefully when using citrus-type EO's. He explained that reports of photo-sensitivity issues are common with them. He went on to tell me that sometimes synthetic (FO) fragrances may be a bit safer to use than the natural ones.

 

You might want to check on this.

 

HTH

 

Dave

[emilyspoppy]

http://www.za-beauty.com/articles/photosensitive-phototoxic-essential-and-citrus-essential/

[Candybee]

Thanks Dave. I know about the skin sensitivity and photosensitivity of some EOs present. It is why you use low % of EOs in your soapmaking and also why I do blends which also helps to minimize the effects.

[emilyspoppy]

Thanks Dave. I know about the skin sensitivity and photosensitivity of some EOs present. It is why you use low % of EOs in your soapmaking and also why I do blends which also helps to minimize the effects.

Shows your experience and talent. I open someday to have just a bit of your soaping skills.

 

I hope you had a nice holiday.

 

Dave

[ChandlerWicks]

Shows your experience and talent. I open someday to have just a bit of your soaping skills.

 

I hope you had a nice holiday.

 

Dave

:hello: Hi Dave, great article, I didn't know any of that stuff!

[Candybee]

I started doing a lot of research on EOs and how to use them safely when I decided to use them in my CP soapmaking. There are safe ways to use them and some not so safe ways. Plus I knew EOs can be irratants or even make you sick or be deadly in certain applications.

 

What really blows me away are these pop-up aromatherapy companies like Young Living who recruit affiliates to start businesses selling their EO blends. There is no requirement that the affiliate have any prior knowledge about them or how to use them safety. I once spoke to one of these people at a craft show. She was showing how you could put one of their EOs directly on the skin. When I told her that was not safe and did she know that some EOs can be harmful. Her response was: "Oh, that was because it was not a pure EO and that theirs were pure." I wanted to smack some sense in her.

Edited September 2, 2014 by Candybee

[Guest OldGlory]

I was recruited by a company like YL - and they were all about direct application of EOs, including citruses. Wonder how many lawsuits these companies are involved in each year. Kind of a scary way to do business if you ask me.

[Candybee]

Shows your experience and talent. I open someday to have just a bit of your soaping skills.

 

I hope you had a nice holiday.

 

Dave

 

I am no expert Dave. I also think you are on the right track researching FOs and EOs for use in your soapmaking. The article sheds some very important light on some of the known dangers of EO use. 

 

It does not specify in what particular application the EOs are being used and in what %. So it is important to research in what form or application its use may be effective including the percentage it may be used safely.