When someone picks up a hand crafted, artisan soap they will immediately smell it and this will draw them in to buy your soap or place it back down and move on. It's a shame but very true, the soaps may be created to contain oils/butters that will cleanse, nourish and protect your skin, helping to combat certain skin problems through the oils and the therapeutic properties of essential oils but if the aroma doesn't entice you to buy them then they will be left on the shelf.
So how do you blend essential oils for your soaps, so the fragrance lasts throughout the bar?
Using a few tips you can blend many lovely, long lasting aromas to use in your soaps, the first is to remember perfumes are based on top notes, middle notes and base notes. I have written a blog you might find interesting to read called How to Make Perfume, this will give you an insight on blending which you can put into practice when blending oils for soap.
Perfume, we know contains many different esential oils or aroma chemicals, many of which are very expensive, however, when it comes to soap we need to keep costs down to an acceptable price.
By using top and middle notes together you can produce an aroma that will last throughout your soaps.
Top Notes
Lavender
Orange
Bergamot
Grapefruit
Clementine
Tangerine
Mandarin
Lemon
Lime
Lemongrass
Neroli
Peppermint
Middle Notes
Lemon Myrtle
May Chang
Rose Geranium
Geranium
Juniper Berry
Coriander
Cypress
Chamomile
Cinnamon
Marjoram
Palmarosa
Rosemary
Ylang Ylang
Lemon Vebena
Black Pepper
Pink Pepper
Tea Tree
Blends
Lavender holds it's aroma in soap very well and can be used by itself, however, it blends very well with the following ;
Lavender and Ylang Ylang
Lavender and Rose Geranium (or Geranium)
Lavender and Palma Rosa
Lavender and Chamomile
Lavender and Juniper Berry
Lavender and Black Pepper
Lavender and Tea Tree
Lemon essential oil does not hold it's smell in soap so to get a 'lemony' smell opt for using Lemon Vebena, May Chang, Lemongrass or perhaps Lemon Myrtle. You can still add another note if required. Tea Tree is great to add with any 'lemony' smell and will also provide antibacterial, anti viral and antiseptic properties to your soap.
Orange and Geranium
Orange and Ylang Ylang
Orange and Cinnamon
Orange and Coriander
Orange and Juniper Berry
Orange and May Chang
Orange and Lavender
Orange and Black Pepper
Bergamot and Geranium
Bergamot and May Chang
Bergamot and Lemon Vebena
Bergamot and Rosemary
Bergamot and Rose Geranium
Bergamot and Lavender
All the mints, Peppermint, Spearmint and Garden Mint are all top notes, however, due to the strong smelling menthols in them the aromas will hold fairly well in soap for a long while. Try blending peppermint and spearmint together to get a double mint.
Peppermint and Cinnamon
Peppermint and Lemon Vebena
Peppermint and Black Pepper
Neroli also is a strong smell that will last very well by itself, however, it's lovely blended with Lavender.
By choosing your essential oils carefully you will soon learn to make perfect blends for your soap.
Enjoy your soapmaking and if you are new to it please have a look at the Blog on How to Make Natural Soap
x Diane