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, 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.

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

Sydne