Chamomile Essential Oil

[Luanne]

For those of you that use Chamomile Essential Oil or fragrance oil in their soaps, can you tell me where you get it from? The few places I've seen, it's pretty pricey. I do see that Natures Garden has the fragrance oil and the price is much better.

Thanks.

[TallTayl]

The price of chamomile is far too high to (waste) use in soap. To get a nice chamomile scent in soap and not break the bank, infuse some oil with chamomile flowers and use chamomile flower in the lye water (making a tea). Loads of chamomile scent comes through with more depth than any synthesized fragrance I have ever smelled. Camomile infusion with no additional scent is one of my best sellers.

[Luanne]

Thanks TallTayl. I couldn't believe the prices when I was searching online. I was in a soap store in the area the other day and they had a Chamomile & Grapefruit soap that I loved the scent of.

[TallTayl]

Chamo and grapefruit sounds wonderful.

[Luanne]

TallTayl - I'm new to soapmaking. Can you tell me how to do the Camomile infusion and where I would get Chamomile flowers? Also, which ouil would I use with this, or is that personal preference? Feel free to PM me. Thanks. Hope this doesn't sound too stupid.

[Scented]

Take a look on Amazon for some chamomile flowers. If you went with a fragrance oil, I'd tell you to get blue chamomile from Soapalooza.

[TallTayl]

Happy to help...

You can get chamomile flowers locally at most ethnic stores. I have seen them at Wallyworld in the Latin foods aisle. (They make a great tea by the way). You can also use chamomile tea in the bags. No sense buying a ton until you decide if you like it.

I make infusions one of two ways. If i have nothing but time, i add abut 1/4 cup or more of the chamomile into a quart mason jar and add enough oil to nearly fill the jar. I tend to be heavy handed with dried herbs in the infusion jars. shake it up, Then just let the jar sit in a window or on the counter or in a cupboard and shake when i remember for a few weeks. I like looking at infusing oils and always have a few dozen things infusing at any given time. Use a long shelf life oil, like Olive as you would use in your soap.

For a quicker infusion, add the chamomile and oil to a crock pot. Let it get warm for a couple of hours and you will smell some heavenly aroma.

Strain the chamomile well through nylon/cheesecloth/tea bag material, etc. when you are ready to use it. Use it in place of all or part of the olive oil in your soap recipe. That's it. I do this for just about every herb and spice you can think of.

To add more aroma to tour soap make a chamomile tea in your lye water. Remove the staple from a tea bag (unless you are using loose flowers). Add the tea bag/flowers to your water. Add the lye. Let it steep. Strain well and use in your soap as you would normal water. This will add more natural color to your soap.

Let me know if this makes sense.

[Candybee]

I use cheesecloth to strain my herbs from my infusions. I just love using infusions and also making floral and herb waters for my soaps.

But I had not tried the dried chamomile oil infusion. I just got a fresh batch of dried herbs this weekend and one was chamomile. Can't remember if its german or roman thou and it doesn't say on my package but it did on the store bottle. Will have to call and ask. Does it matter which one you infuse? Will one work better or smell stronger than the other?

[TallTayl]

The only one i have used is Matricaria Chamomilla. Not because i have a preference, it is just readily available on herbalcom.com and MountainRose where i buy quite a few bulks.

[Candybee]

Thanks. I will check them out.

I buy my herbs and honey at my local health food store. They sell them in bulk and what I love about the honey is its locally produced and filtered only not processed so it retains many of its beneficial properties-- and tastes uber yummy too! Enough about honey. They have all kinds of dried herbs like chamomile, calendula, peppermint, eucalyptus, catnip, lemongrass, lavender buds, tumeric, paprika. I use spices for color too. Anyway I mention because its another option to check out for herbs, spices, honey, seeds, etc. that you can soap!

Edited December 29, 2013 by Candybee

[ubure]

Roman chamomile has very similar properties like German chamomile, but German chamomile has the azulen in it (which makes its essential oil blue). Roman chamomile is preferred for bathing, it is soothing, smells very lovely. German chamomile has the stronger wound healing properties.

Both herbs can easily be grown in your own garden - I adore chamomile, both varieties. It is summer for me (along with a few other things like lavender, rosmary, sage, fresh cut grass, my bees buzzing around, the sweet smell of honey and beeswax that emerges from the hives...I miss summer!!!)

[Candybee]

I was wondering about the blue chamomile. Didn't know that was the German variety. I do know both have their own benefits and both are great for use in soap. But I think the Roman is more widely used. I have yet to see either chamomile EO that was in my price range.

I use Soapalooza's Blue Chamomile for scent and also do tea infusions with the herb. I will try infusing it in my OO and see how I like that.

[Luanne]

Candybee - Silly question, but does the blue Chamomile give the soap a blue color/tinge?

[Scented]

Not Candybee, but the one from Soapalooza does not discolor in my recipe.

[ubure]

Not Candybee as well, but if you would/could add enough of the essential oil to your soap it would give it a blue/green color. Don#t know how it would turn out after gel, guess it would become brown (but I'm not sure).

[Candybee]

The Blue Chamomile FO I use does not color my soap blue. The FO itsself is a pale yellow color.