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Hi Anya,
I’m wondering about essential oil (and absolute?) fractions. I think they are approved by the Guild and considered natural enough? Could you explain a bit about the fractioning process?
The main thing I would like to know though is whether there are any producers who sell them in small quantities. I was drooling over a few of the big French suppliers’ website, but they won’t sell less than several hundred dollars’ worth of one essence.
Dear Fallah:
The Guild has the strictest rules concerning isolates. I believe I explain about the process on an earlier blog post. http://anyasgarden.blogspot.com/2012/05/natural-isolates-and-natural-perfumer.html
True, obtaining them can be problematic for the small businessperson. I’m trying to work out a deal with a French house, but that will involve group buys, so there are a lot of details. If you wish to vet a supplier, please write to me privately and I’ll see if I can help.
HTH,
Anya
Hi,
I’m a bit confused, what I was referring to is not fractioning at the molecular level, I meant essences that are produced I think like how yang 1 2 and 3 are produced. Is that not different from an isolate? is that what you are negotiating with a French house?
Hi Fallah:
I understand your confusion. Actually, the ylang ylang fractions and say, geraniol are both created via fractional distillation. That means the distiller stops the process at certain points, or just one point, and collects the distillate as a “fraction” of the whole oil. The ylang ylang “isolates” are not singular isolates, such as geraniol, in that they are much more complex chemical entities, yet they have truly been isolated into different grades due to their differing scent profiles that come through at various points in the process.
The singular isolates, such as geraniol are not 100% pure geraniol, there is always a touch of some other chems in the distillate, it can’t be avoided, but the geraniol is probably at least 98% geraniol alone.
HTH,
Anya
Sticky and solid absolutes: how do we deal with those?
I would like to dilute them so I can use a dropper to add them to my mixes.
I got Linden blossom absolute ( sticky like toffee candy) and Cassis buds absolute ( solid ).
I thought of heating them and heating my alcohol too and then to scratch the most I can from the bottle into a beaker that I could be heated or not, but I am not sure and wonder if the stycky/solid absolutes won’t solidify into a residue at the bottom of the bottle once the mixture cools down.
I am also wondering about how to calculate the amount of alcohol and the percentage my dilution will be. An expert advice would be much appreciated! Thanks Anya!
Dear Isayah:
I guess you’re still working with the “dropper method” which means you can step up to the more professional “weight method.” You can get wax carving tools on ebay to help scoop out the thick/solid stuff. You need some small beakers and a small scale. I teach the process step-by-step to my students, and it’s too detailed to go into here, but it’s foolproof and professional, and I’m proud I pioneered it for natural perfumers.
DON’T heat your alcohol. Once you add the alcohol and stir, yes, even after weeks, the solids can settle to the bottom. So what? They’re the waxy parts that didn’t dissolve in the alcohol anyway. Just use the alcohol dilution and you’ll be fine.
HTH,
Anya
Oh, I forgot to mention I use 94% perfumer’s alcohol.
Hello Anya,
I have a question regarding the FDA.
For us natural perfumers and/or suppliers, is there any interaction we need to be having with the FDA? We pretty much ignore everything the IFRA mandates…so where does that leave us with the FDA?
Many thanks for your input!
~JK
Hi JK
Anyone who produces a personal care product should adhere to the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/GoodManufacturingPracticeGMPGuidelinesInspectionChecklist/default.htm
I just realized this link, and others are missing from the Guild Yahoo group, maybe a moderator deleted them because the links were outdated. I’ll try to get them all back up in the next week. There was a good discussion on INCI labeling there in the past year, and a guideline for that in the Files section. The FDA is rather lax about the labeling requirements about listing the ingredients, but you can’t make claims that push your products into the realm of a “drug”.
HTH,
Anya
Hi Anya,
My questions might be better answered on the npi yahoo group site but I’ll ask them anyway. In your experience have you found any difference in the competence of bottle caps be they lined with teflon, polypropylene or phenolic polycone? I ask this because even though my kits arrived with no actual leaks, I can smell the oils through these bottles and their caps. If molecules are able to escape, can’t air can enter the bottles, speeding evaporation? Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Hi Susan:
The scent you’re detecting probably comes from a little spillover when the essence was bottled – esp. the labdanum! That stuff is wicked, lol. If the bottles arrived with no leaks, the seal is good. Even if there was a leak, sometimes that is due to a faulty cap, which is a statistical occurrence. After selling hundreds of the kits, thousands of perfumes, samples, etc., I have practically zero complaints about evaporation even years on. When you get to the rubber dropper bottles after performing your dilution exercise, yes, there is sometimes some evaporation over time through the rubber, esp. with volatile top notes. That’s just a thing we all have to deal with.
HTH,
Anya