Choosing Essential Oils in Soap Making: 5 Things to Consider

Essential oils are a great way to add quality to your soaps. They offer great smells and beneficial ingredients that have made them popular in aromatherapy and alternative medicine. You can easily add these to soaps to create wonderful, natural scented soaps. Here are some things to consider when using them in your handmade soaps.

1. Physical effects on soap. Essential oils can be a great thing for aromatherapy. This is why many people choose to put it in their soaps. Using essential oils has become really popular. It's a good way to enhance smell and add beneficial properties to the soap. Essential oils can also affect the soap. Some essential oils can make the soap seize during the soap making process, make the soap hard and brittle when it comes out or even cause discoloration.

2. Scent. Because essential oils are very concentrated, they can pack a powerful scent in your soap. Many people find that unless a soap has a lot of essential oils it doesn't carry an odor. Some oils may need 20 or more drops to smell in the soap. I've found that the oils that pack the most scent are the citrus or herb based oils, and the least pungent oils were ones made from flowers such as vanilla or rose.

3. Price. In case you haven't researched. Essential oils can be very expensive. A .5 ounce of tea tree oil can be anywhere around $10. This is hard when it can be a vital part of your soap. You may not use all .5 ounces at once but, keep in mind, if you need a more than a few drops of the oil to make it scented, it may be too expensive.

4. Popularity. If you are selling your soaps, you may need to think differently about the oils you put into your soap. Essential oils are very popular for their healing properties on skin. This is why many people pick out soaps with certain ingredients in them. While you may like certain oils for their smells, properties and price, you may need to find out more about what your customers want in their soaps.

5. Availability. Another aspect of selling soaps is ingredient availability. This counts, especially, for essential oils. Because essential oils are hard to find, many people shop for them online. However, if you're starting out or in a pinch to make soaps, you may not be able to wait for it in the mail. Be sure to know whether you can easily run down to your health store for a slightly more expensive batch or you may have to place orders on hold while you wait.

6. Dangers of oils. While most essential oils are safe to use, especially in soap making, some can be harmful. There are a handful of oils that can be harmful to certain animals. There are also some that can be harmful to pregnant women. There are even some that can be harmful to anyone, causing illness if digested or harmful reactions if used topically. It's important to keep this in mind when making soaps and give proper warnings to those you may be giving them to.