Soap Making: Essential Oils Vs Fragrance Oils
By Lori
Kimble
Scenting your handmade soaps is a matter of personal preference.
If you are are making soaps for your own use, then you can decide
to use either fragrance oils or essential oils based on what you
like. If you are selling your soaps, consider your market.
Essential oils are all natural plant essences. They can be
derived from the plant material by several methods such as: steam
distillation, CO2 extraction or cold pressing.
Steam distillation is done with a still. Pressurized steam is
forced through the plant matter. The steam then passes through to a
cooling chamber, where the steam is converted back to water. The
essential oils from the plant are then skimmed off the surface of
the water.
CO2 extraction is where liquid carbon dioxide is used to extract
the oils. It is similar to the steam distillation in that pressure
is used to extract the oils. When the carbon dioxide is allowed to
return to its gas state, the essential oil is separated out and
collected.
Cold pressed is the process by which the plant material is
physically pressed until the essential oil is extracted. Citrus
essential oils are commonly processed this way, as the peels are
full of essential oils.
There are some scents where there is no essential oil available
(such as banana) or the essential oil is much too costly or
environmentally irresponsible to use (such as sandalwood or
rosewood). This is where fragrance oils come in. Fragrance oils are
a mixture of aroma chemicals. The mix can either be part artificial
and part synthetic, or all synthetic. It just depends on the type
of fragrance oil. Fragrance oils are not perfume oils, they are
aroma chemicals which are not diluted, and like essential oils,
should not be placed directly on the skin. They need to be diluted
into your final product.
Fragrance oils are usually very complex, and can contain
hundreds of aroma chemicals. When using fragrance oils for your
soap, make sure that you are purchasing from a company that sells
oils specifically for soap making. Reputable suppliers will have
scents that are formulated according to the RIFM (Research
Institute for Fragrant Materials) standards. This means that the
scents are safe for use in bath and body products. You do not want
to use fragrances that are meant for candles or potpourri in your
soaps, as they could be irritating to the skin.
If you plan on selling your soaps, you want to think about the
market you are targeting before deciding which to scent your soap
with. If you are going for the natural crowd, then essential oils
are your best bet. If you are trying to please a broad audience,
then offer both. Some people buy soap for the scent, and don't
necessarily prefer an essential oil over a fragrance oil. Which
ever you choose, get the best quality you can for your
products!
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Author: Lori Kimble
The Scent Shack has been providing quality essential oils and fragrance
oils via the internet since 2000. We also offer a wide
selection of other soap making supplies such as colorants,
molds, books and more.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lori_Kimble
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