Lemon Myrtle in Goats Milk Soap

Hi,

I've just started making soap at home. I have a Lemon Myrtle bush & would love to know how to retain the smell in the soap. I've dried it & ground it & added it to a batch of soap but the smell didn't come through. I also steeped some in oil & added the oil but still no smell. Just wondering if you have any ideas.

Thanks,
Kerryn

ANSWER:

Hi Kerryn. Thanks for your question!

I am not an expert on making essential oils, but that would give you the best results. You may find better instructions somewhere on the web, but I have looked into doing a simple EO distillation before and this is what I found:

EO distillation

I don't imagine you will get a lot of essential oil this way (I could be wrong), however, it will be really pure.

The other way I have seen is less like distilling an EO, and more like doing an oil infusion. I think I would try this first:

Using a ratio of 1/4 leaves to 3/4 oil by weight, (use one of the oils you plan to use in your soap...coconut for example), chop and crush the leaves and mix them with the carrier oil in a crock pot set on low overnight.

The next morning you should have a very fragrant oil. You can use the oil with the chopped leaves or strain them out. I believe this will work. Technically it is an infusion, and I have used Monoi de Tahiti oil, (which is also an infusion), in soaps that kept the wonderful infused fragrance just fine.

Contact me to let me know how this works out. I love Lemon Myrtle, and the EO is awesomely expensive!

Sydne