Guest guest Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 I was just musing .... I know there has been discussion here and elsewhere on the " therapeutic value " of the EO's used in soaps - and whether there really is any since the saponification process that occurs during the making of Cold Process soap really does change the chemistry EO's added to it (and it seems like a reasonable conclusion that the therapeutic value of any EO would be changed, diminished, nullified or what have you). But I make almost all of my soaps Hot Process and add the EO's well after all saponification is finished. I do that for several reasons including: A. since I have little ones around it is a safer to never have " raw soap " that still contains lye sitting around to cure. and B. a lot less EO is needed to scent the soap since it doesn't get eaten up in the saponification process. It has occurred to me that it stands to reason that since the EO is not getting saponified with the other oils Hot Process soap also keeps the integrity and chemical make up of the Essential Oils more in tact and therefore the " therapeutic value " of any oil would stay more intact too. Its sort of like using the finished soap as one would use any other base material which EO could be added to. Granted a lot of the EO gets rinsed off the skin after lathering but I can still smell the scent of the oil on my skin after washing so some must have stayed on the skin. Plus there is the value of EO inhalation via the olfactory system ... Anyone wanna discuss this - agree, disagree, other ... And if anyone knows of any studies or anything done on this that'd be great too! *Smile* Chris (list mom) http://www.alittleolfactory.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 2, 2003 Report Share Posted August 2, 2003 At 02:31 PM 8/2/2003, chrisziggy wrote: >I know there has been discussion here and elsewhere on the " therapeutic >value " of the EO's used in soaps - and whether there really is any since >the saponification process that occurs during the making of Cold Process >soap really does change the chemistry EO's added to it (and it seems >like a reasonable conclusion that the therapeutic value of any EO would >be changed, diminished, nullified or what have you). This is a reasonable assumption. However I have many customers who swear that my calendula soap (CP method) clears up skin problems, i.e. dark itchy patches, little rashy-looking patches, etc. I have one customer who has excema, and she always buys 6 bars from every batach I make cuz she says the soap keeps her skin clear. So... my jury is still out on what does/does not remain after the saponification process. It could be the calendula oil and calendula water that I use in the soap that is helping these people rather than the EO. -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 Chris what hot process do you use? Do you hot process it without eo's then add them in another process later? I do my soap in the oven, usually adding the essential oils right before. I'd love to hear of a method that will cut down on my use of essential oils and save on the properties too! -Jennifer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 " chrisziggy " <chrisziggy writes: > I know there has been discussion here and elsewhere on the > " therapeutic value " of the EO's used in soaps Yeah, I've seem these discussions, as well. Anecdotal evidence suggests (to me) that the therapeutic value does indeed remain . . . . too many people rely on tea tree oil soap, for example, for skin problems. I have systemic candida and when I get a rash I use it or another soap I make that contains neem oil and tea tree & lavender EOs . . . . it does make a difference. Since the candida is systemic, nothing topical is going to get rid of ot completely, but if it's still active and I *stop* using these soaps and switch to something else, it immediately gets worse. My mother has terrible eczema on her hands, which is nearly gone now that she uses my tea tree oil soap exclusively. Sure, it might be argued that it's a placebo effect . . . and for me I could consider it. But not for my mom! She was so convinced that it would make her hands worse that it took me 2 years to convince her to try the tea tree oil soap! When she finally did, she called me 2 weeks later saying that her hands were better than they'd been in over 20 years! Was it that she was no longer using evil corporate soap? Possibly . . . but she's since tried some of my other soaps and her hands, while never getting as bad as they used to, do start breaking out a bit again until she goes back to the tea tree - now she carries it w/ her wherever she goes; won't use anything else. > B. a lot less EO is needed to scent the soap since it doesn't get > eaten up in the saponification process. I've heard other people say that, too . . . but I always had to use as much EO in hot process as in CP to get the same scent. Could be that it was evaporating off from the hot soap, but if I waited *any* longer to add the EO it was too thick to stir it in thorougly. I'm pretty strong, and I stirred and stirred for a long time (*way* to long to make it an easier way to make soap! ;^P), but I'd still get streaks of unincorporated EO. EO evaporation is another consideration when talking about their effectiveness in HP - I'm not really so sure that they're subjected to much less heat in the long run . . . > It has occurred to me that it stands to reason that since the EO is > not > getting saponified with the other oils Hot Process soap also keeps > the > integrity and chemical make up of the Essential Oils more in tact > and > therefore the " therapeutic value " of any oil would stay more intact > too. I agree that this *sounds* reasonable . . . but (and this is simply questioning on my part - mebbe someone else knows the answer to this) *do* volatile EOs saponify in the same way that fixed oils do? I don't remember ever having seen a SAP value for an EO, but I have to wonder if you could make soap from straight EO (if anyone would be crazy enough - or extravagant enough - to try it)? I mean like using a pound of, let's say, lemon or lime EO (or a more expensive EO, heaven forbid!), water and lye (though I'd have *no* idea how much lye to use) . . . Would this even turn into soap? > oil I can still smell the scent of the > on my skin after washing so some must have stayed on the skin. Plus > there is the value of EO inhalation via the olfactory system ... Yeah . . . and I can still smell the scent when I use CP (or CPOP, which is what I ususally do now - even *more* contention about EO viability w/ this method). So if the rational is that the therapeutic value lies in inhalation - and that scent is the perceivable indicator of the EO's viability - then it doesn't stand to reason that since CP soap also smells like the EO used, that it, too, retains at least *some* viability? Again, I could entertain the arguement that the effect's psychosomatic . .. . but tell that to the customer (who had no idea that rosemary EO is energizing) who complained to me that he'd been having trouble getting to sleep since he started using rosemary soap in the shower before going to bed . . . (I learned that the hard way myself after making rosemary soap for the first time in the evening . . . and not getting a *wink* of sleep until the *next* night! ;^P) My final, entirely personal, thought . . . (I know that there's less (or no) " rational " support for this one, but . . .) I'm not entirely sure that EOs don't work at least in part on an energetic level, like homeopathy . . . if I'm right about this, then it really wouldn't matter whether the EO gets saponified or not. ;^) Just my thoughts, for what they're worth . . . (2 cents don't buy much these days! ;^P) rox ______________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 3, 2003 Report Share Posted August 3, 2003 At 02:57 PM 8/3/2003, gentlelake wrote: >I agree that this *sounds* reasonable . . . but (and this is simply >questioning on my part - mebbe someone else knows the answer to this) >*do* volatile EOs saponify in the same way that fixed oils do? Good question! Since it's the fatty acids in the oils that are combining with the lye and liquid to saponify into soap, and EOs don't have any fatty acids (or do they?), it could be that the EOs don't go through saponification at all. Hmmm...... -- Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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