- Why are the usage rates calculated in ounces? Can I use metric instead?
- Why are there only some essential oils? Can you add XYZ essential oil?
- Where did the essential oil blends in the library come from?
- How do I submit an essential oil blend of my own to the library?
- Why can I only choose up to three essential oils when searching for blends?
- What is the difference between “match all essential oils” and “match any essential oils” when searching for blends?
- How can I search for an essential oil blend by name?
- What product type should I use for calculating my usage rate?
- How are usage rates on essential oil blends calculated?
- Why are the usage rates on my essential oil blend red (or green)?
- Where did you get the constituent amounts for each essential oil?
- I found something wrong in the essential oil blending calculator, what should I do?
Questions about the Essential Oil Blending Calculator
Why are the usage rates calculated in ounces? Can I use metric instead?
As of January 2018, you can now change your usage rate calculations from ounces to grams.
By default, when you click the “Give me a usage rate!” button on a blend in the library, the calculator will use 38 ounces of oils to make soap for calculations. (The perfect amount of oils for popular silicone molds!)
You can change this to a different amount, a different measurement unit (grams rather than ounces), and/or a different product type (something besides soap) by clicking on the “Edit Product Type & Amount” button.
When you are entering your own blend, you may choose ounces or grams up front when you are entering your formula information.
We also have a conversion calculator to help you move between imperial and metric right here on the site. You can convert from ounces to grams and grams to ounces. Please remember these are weight measurements, not volume.
Why are there only some essential oils? Can you add XYZ essential oil?
Every essential oil on the calculator adds another complex layer to the calculator’s exist and my goal was to start with fifty essential oils for a nice amount of variety while also trying to snag the majority of essential oils soapmakers use. The essential oils that made it into the calculator were voted on by the Modern Soapmaking community.
Future additions to the calculator are voted on by the community, so keep your eyes and ears open!
Where did the essential oil blends in the library come from?
A majority of the initial blends in the library come from my own formulary and have been created over my twelve years of soapmaking. Additional blends are contributed by the community! Every essential oil blend includes credit information, so take peek and thank a soapmaker today. 😉
How do I submit an essential oil blend of my own to the library?
I would love to add essential oil blends to the library! If you have a blend you would like to contribute, check the calculator to ensure a similar blend is not already listed, and then submit it right here!
My goal is to run updates on the essential oil blending calculator once a quarter, and I’ll get in touch to let you know when your blend has been added to the library!
Why can I only choose up to three essential oils when searching for blends?
You can choose to search for blends by selecting one, two, or three essential oils. As the library grows, more robust searches may be possible, but for now, test searches of essential oils rendered the best results by searching up to three essential oils.
What is the difference between “match all essential oils” and “match any essential oils” when searching for blends?
The drop-down menu that allows you to match all or any essential oils when searching gives you the ability to control the search results! If you choose “match all essential oils”, the calculator serves up only essential oil blends that contain every single essential oil you choose with more targeted search results.
However, if you are looking more for inspiration, the “match any essential oils” search dishes up more options for you by listing every essential oil blend in the library that contains any of the essential oils you selected.
How can I search for an essential oil blend by name?
The normal search featured on the top right of the site is capable of searching the library for text, such as a names. 😉
What product type should I use for calculating my usage rate? (Updated Jul 2021)
Below, you’ll find an exhaustive list of all the current product type categories in use on the calculator and information about each! If you encounter a product formulation that is not listed and does not seem to have a place, please ask – I’d be happy to add it to the list!
Alcohol Based Perfume & Cologne (Category 4)
- Usage Rates: 5% to 25%
- Use for products like: any perfume product that is diluted with an alcohol base, including aftershave.
Children’s Products (Category 5D)
- Usage Rates: 0.2% to 1%
- Use for products like: any product intended for use by children or infants, such as baby creams, baby lotions, baby oils, powders, etc.
Cold Process Soap (Category 9)
- Usage Rates: 1% to 5%
- Use for products like: cold process soaps
- Important: for usage rate calculations, use the amount of oil in the recipe – not the total amount of oil, water, and lye
Deodorant (Category 2)
- Usage Rates: 0.25% to 1.25%
- Use for products like: deodorant or antiperspirant sprays, roll-ons, sticks, etc.
Eye Products (Category 3)
- Usage Rates: 0.2% to 1%
- Use for products like: products intentionally applied to the eye area of any adult, such as eye shadow, mascara, eyeliner, eye makeup, eye masks, eye pillows, etc.
Facial Products (Category 5B)
- Usage Rates: 0.2% to 1%
- Use for products like: facial creams, facial oils, oil cleansers, beard oils, beard balms, facial make-up such as foundation, and facial masks
Hand Creams & Sanitizers (Category 5C)
- Usage Rates: 0.5% to 1.5%
- Use for products like: body creams, butters, lotions, sprays, oils, foot care products, hair spray, body paint, etc. (basically, any product for adults that does not fit in another category and is applied in a leave-on manner)
Hair Styling Products (Category 7)
- Usage Rates: 0.2% to 1%
- Use for products like: non-spray head-hair styling products such as creams, mousses, gels, and leave-in conditioners for adults
Hot Process Soap (Category 9)
- Usage Rates: 1% to 3%
- Use for products like: hot process and cream soaps
- Important: for usage rate calculations, use the amount of oil in the recipe – not the total amount of oil, water, and lye
Household & Cleaning Products (Category 10)
- Usage Rates: 0.5% to 2.5%
- Use for products like: laundry detergents, fabric softeners, fabric cleaners, soft surface cleaners, carpet cleaners, dishwashing detergents, hard surface cleaners, etc.
Insect Repellents (Category 5A)
- Usage Rates: 1% to 9%
- Use for products like: topically applied insect repellents for adults
Leave-On Body Products (Category 5A)
- Usage Rates: 0.5% to 1.5%
- Use for products like: body creams, butters, lotions, sprays, oils, foot care products, hair spray, body paint, etc. (basically, any product for adults that does not fit in another category and is applied in a leave-on manner)
Lip Products (Category 1)
- Usage Rates: 0.25% to 1.25%
- Use for products like: any product applied to the lip area, such as lip balm, lipsticks, lip wax, etc.
Melt and Pour Soap & Liquid Soap (Category 9)
- Usage Rates: 0.5% to 2.5%
- Use for products like: melt and pour soap, liquid soaps and cleansers
Mouthwash & Toothpaste (Category 6)
- Usage Rates: 0.1% to 0.5%
- Use for products like: any product used inside a adult’s mouth, including toothpaste, mouthwash, and breath spray
Non-Skin Contact Products (Category 12)
- Usage Rates: 5% to 11%
- Use for products like: any product intended for usage in a non-skin contact fashion, such as air fresheners, candles, deodorizers, reed diffusers, shoe polishes, toilet blocks, textile sprays, fabric starch, room sprays, etc.
Oil Based Perfume (Category 5A)
- Usage Rates: 1% to 3%
- Use for products like: any perfume or cologne product that is diluted with an oil base, such as roll-on perfumes for adults.
Facial Shaving Products (Category 5B)
- Usage Rates: 0.25% to 2%
- Use for products like: any product topically applied to skin intended for use on a man’s face
Solid Perfume (Category 5A)
- Usage Rates: 2% to 10%
- Use for products like: any perfume or cologne product that is prepared in a solid base.
Wash-Off Products (Category 9)
- Usage Rates: 0.5% to 2%
- Use for products like: any product that is intended to be washed off that is not a soap, such as bath gels, bath foams, bath mousses, bath oils, bath bombs, bubble bars, bath salts, body washes, body scrubs, shampoos, conditioners, foaming facial cleansers, shaving creams, shaving soaps, shaving gels, etc.
This calculator does not include Category 8 (genital wipes) or Category 11 (feminine hygiene) products.
We encourage you to regularly check that your products, blends and formulations are compliant with current guidelines. As always, this information provided on this calculator are to help steer product makers in the right direction. You alone are responsible for any products you create using this information.
How are usage rates on essential oil blends calculated?
Usage rates are calculated first by product type, and then by safety standards. You are able to choose from eighteen different product types (from different kinds of soap to different kinds of cosmetics!) which uses five different usage rates (from lightly scented to strongly scented) to find preliminary usage rates. From there, the calculator evaluates the essential oils and their constituents in the essential oil blend against the current IFRA standards to ensure you have safe usage rates at your fingertips.
If you are calculating the usage rate on a soap product, do not use the total amount of the water, oil, and lye in the formula for the recipe amount. It is safest to use the oil amount only when calculating essential oil usage rates.
Why are the usage rates on my essential oil blend red (or green)?
The safety of an essential oil in a blend’s calculated usage rate is denoted by a green background or a red background. If your usage rates are all green, they have been checked against IFRA standards and are clear for safe usage – carry on with your awesome self!
If your usage rates are red anywhere within your blend, they have surpassed IFRA limits and should not be used in your handmade creations. You can either eliminate that essential oil in the blend, use a lighter scent load that checks out as okay, or reduce the amount of that specific essential oil in the blend.
Please note that some blends cannot be used in particular products. They remain in the calculator because they CAN be used in other product types. Simply put, just because a blend is all red for soap, does not mean it cannot be used by someone else for a different kind of product!
Where did you get the constituent amounts for each essential oil?
The challenge with this calculator is that unlike fragrance oils, essential oils have variables due to their botanical nature. Every batch of essential oil can have varying levels of constituents, some essential oils can even lack certain constituents while others have them. However, constituents are what the IFRA standards are largely based on!
I took a lot of time and care in creating the essential oil profiles in the calculator. Each essential oil profile was created from a sample of actual GC/MS analyses performed on essential oils that have entered the marketplace, GC/MS analyses from scientific literature and studies, and reputable research sources, such as Tisserand’s Essential Oil Safety.
All the possible constituents for each essential oil were compiled into a spreadsheet and then averaged and weighted for inclusion. If a constituent sometimes appeared in an essential oil and sometimes did not, it was included in the calculator as a safeguard. My goal was to ensure that the broadest range of coverage existed within the calculator so that recommended usage rates would be safe for the majority of use cases.
I found something wrong in the essential oil blending calculator, what should I do?
Please let me know! The calculator can be updated, added to, or amended, and I appreciate all the eyes on it that can help make it the best possible resource for the community!
