starting to add essential oils Question!

[SuzyK]

Hi all!

Not sure if you remember me or not, I used to be a lot more regular on here!  I am in the process of adding essential oils to my products and am learning all that I can about it.  I've run into A LOT of "scary" information out there because of problems with the MLM claims and such.   I've used essential oils personally but have never used them in my products and am a little nervous about going forward with them. It's like looking up symptoms online and the worst is always shown!  Is using essential oils similar to fragrance oils?  
have a great day!

[CandleRush]

Which products will you be incorporating the oils?

[SuzyK]

All of them I hope   I make solid lotion, body butters, sugar scrubs, lip balm ( i know some aren't lip safe?), body oils, soaps.

[Jcandleattic]

Hi @SuzyK - I absolutely remember you. 

 

I have personally found that EO's although have great label appeal in soaps, most (not all) tend to fade to nothing within a few weeks to months. With the exception of just a handful I don't find them worth it in soaps. 

 

However, for lotions and other leave on products I think they are great. 

You can find some information about them on the different websites offering them, such as Camden Grey, Lebermuth, Majestic Mountain, etc., Those places will probably have better information for you than just the internet in general. 

 

I know there are some books that are pretty reliable as well as to the use of them, but can't think of them off the top of my head. I'll have to look them up... 

[SuzyK]

Thank you for that info! I have  read info from some of the suppliers so that has definitely helped quite a bit!  It's the other info that causes the stress! lol.  I ordered a book that someone on here had recommended in another post so I'm excited for that to arrive.  The soap I make is melt and pour so I don't know if that make a difference at all?  I have a lot of testing to do!  I'm also glad to be remembered   I keep meaning to spend more time here but it just hasn't happened.

[Candybee]

Hi Suzy. I remember you.

 

I started using EO's in my CP soapmaking several years ago. Like FO's some work great while others not so much. The ones I have used that are tried and true are Lavender, Eucalyptus, Rosemary, Lemongrass, Lime, Tea Tree, Spearmint, Peppermint, May Chang (Litsea Cubeba), Pink Grapefruit, Allspice, Bay, Black Pepper, Anise, Rose Geranium, Lemon Eucalyptus, Patchouli and Amyris. By "work" I mean they tend to have staying power and enough strength to scent even after surviving the lye and saponification. Typical faders are orange, lemon, tangarine, bergamot, and others I can't think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there are more EO's that survive the lye and work great in CP but I tend to reuse the same ones over and over. I love soap scent blends like eucalyptus and peppermint, rosemary and lavender, lemongrasss and lime. Hope that helps.

 

WSP actually carries EOs for lip balms: https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/essential-oils/lip-safe.aspx

But you need to first ask yourself if using EOs in lip balms is what you really want to do. Talltayl uses them so you may want to ask her. Others I know of have tried and find their customers don't want them and expect to find more "traditional" flavors like raspberry, cherry, lemonade, vanilla, pina colada, etc. If you have the right marketing and it goes along with what your products are all about then you can make it work but the right marketing is essential.

 

For candles I just wouldn't even bother. EO's that may work in candles are limited and it can be very expensive. That's my take on it anyway.

 

Have not tried EO's in leave on body products like lotions or face and body creams. Have used them in spray mists thou. I make a bug repellent spray that sells like crazy and is scented with only EO's that work on repelling bugs. I worked very hard on the EO formula blend so that not only does it really repel small biting insects but it smells wonderful. My customer's love it and always tell me how wonderful it smells. But there are several EO's that repel bugs and many blend formulations you can come up with.

 

I also have a line of dog care products that are scented with only EO's. I make soap, spray, and paw butter balm for dogs using EOs. I have to warn you though that the research on safe EO's for dogs took my close to 2 yrs before I came up with formulations I felt safe enough to market to the public. The R&D paid off because I now have a line of dog care products that sell very well and get a lot of repeat custom.

 

Hope this helps you some. If you have any questions I will try to help you as best I can.

 

[SuzyK]

Thanks so much for all of that!   I've had to think through the lip balm and will definitely keep the flavors I have already and probably just add a few that are lip safe. Lip balm is one of my best selling products so I don't want to ruin that!

I don't do anything with wax at the moment because I was using the ones that were discontinued and now totally gone so I haven't had the energy to try to replace it.  

 

I plan mainly to do some body oils and also in the other products I currently have (solid lotion, body butter etc....)  And also keep my best selling fragrance oils! I can't stop selling those!

It's taking FOREVER for the essential oils I ordered to come in but they're finally arriving tomorrow so I can start testing.  I also have some books coming.  One that I got was not helpful so I'm returning that one.

[kandlekrazy]

I've used them in all B & B products and like everyone said some work really well.  My scrubs, body oils and lotions I could use just about any EO but the lye kills some in soaping.  Now with glycerin soap, M&P, it's a whole different story.  Find a company that will give you wholesale pricing if you buy so much a year (not a MLM!).  I was getting 50% off but I did have to pay shipping charges and had to place at least 1 order of $100 per year or multiple smaller orders.

[Dana]

Hi Suzy! I remember you too! Seems this thread is full of us "oldies but goodies". I have been in business for over 17 years. I wanted to incorporate e/o's in my products several years ago so I bit the bullet and took a certification course in aromatherapy. It so intrigued me that I went on into clinical aromatherapy and herbal medicine. There is A LOT to learn about essential oils. They are way more than just AROMA-therapy. I wish they would have never called it that. It makes it sound like its all about the aroma. Anyway, along with the main course study, there are additional classes you can take. One of them is formulating products. Maybe something like that would interest you? Let me tell you- it's so much to learn. But I am so glad I did, because I feel confident in my formulating now. I even do consultations and make individualized ointments, creams, lotions and such. 

[SuzyK]

@kandlekrazy are you saying they work better in m&p or not at all? That's what I do.   I won't buy them from an MLM company for sure. I think the one I bought from says they're already wholesale pricing.  But it's taken over 2 weeks to get my order so I may find someone else to get them from next time.

 

@Dana It is nice to see familiar names and "faces"!  I joined here so long ago!  I did look into some of the aromatherapy courses and such online and it would be good to learn! Just kind of expensive! I'm already doing an online marketing course right now.  I'm looking forward to the books I'm getting and I'm sure they'll help me quite a bit.

[kandlekrazy]

Yes, you can use many EO's successfully in M&P since there is no lye it doesn't destroy them.

[Dana]

On 11/12/2019 at 11:25 PM, SuzyK said:

@kandlekrazy are you saying they work better in m&p or not at all? That's what I do.   I won't buy them from an MLM company for sure. I think the one I bought from says they're already wholesale pricing.  But it's taken over 2 weeks to get my order so I may find someone else to get them from next time.

 

@Dana It is nice to see familiar names and "faces"!  I joined here so long ago!  I did look into some of the aromatherapy courses and such online and it would be good to learn! Just kind of expensive! I'm already doing an online marketing course right now.  I'm looking forward to the books I'm getting and I'm sure they'll help me quite a bit.

@SuzyK what I learned from taking the course has been essential to purchasing quality oils and knowing where to purchase. The industry is not regulated (and that is probably a good thing!) but you need to know what you are actually getting. Companies can put anything they want to in those bottles and call them "essential oils". I wanted to learn what was actually in the bottle. Was it a good crop? Where were the plants grown? (certain areas of the world grow certain plants with higher percentages of the constituent that makes that oil do what its suppose to do) I HIGHLY recommend taking a course if wanting to get into this field. Its worth it!

[SuzyK]

Thank you!  That's good to know which questions to ask about the oils.   Hopefully I can eventually take a course.  One book I got wasn't great so I'm sending that back but I got a few more that have been really helpful!