Dilution and Carrier Oils

[Meganaut]

I put my imp of Medea in a roller ball with grapeseed oil. First, I filled the bottle halfway with grapeseed, then I dumped the imp in there and put the roller on. The scent seems to be just as strong as it was from the imp, but it still lasts only 4-5 hours on me. It is portable now, at least. The grapeseed oil is light and scentless, so it does make a good carrier.

 

-Karen

[MissMorbus]

I just thought I would add my two cents on this. I mix my favorite scents with coconut oil in a glass dropper bottle to use in my hair. Coconut oil is supposed to be one of the best oils for your hair. I get it from http://www.thesage.com/index.html. Its a fixed oil. I think they sell the bottles too.

Edited March 12, 2006 by MissMorbus

[Meganaut]

Miss Morbus,

Do you rinse the oil out afterward? Does it weigh down the hair?

 

-Karen

[MissMorbus]

Miss Morbus,

Do you rinse the oil out afterward? Does it weigh down the hair?

 

-Karen

 

 

No, I don't rinse it out. I use it more like a serum to tame frizzies when I am styling my hair. I just use a few drops, and it gives my wavy/curly hair a lot of seperation. I have baby fine, soft hair that gets really staticy in the winter, and this helps with that too. I don't really think it weighs it down, it just makes it smoother. Also, I try too keep it away from the scalp because I think it would end up looking greasy after a while. I have long hair so I mostly use it on the length of hair that hangs below my jawline. I would assume you could use coconut oil as a hot oil treatment in the shower too. It has absolutely no scent, so it wont change/affect your bpal. I have also heard that coconut oil is the oil you should use if you want to make a dry oil spray. It is one of the lightest oils and will spray out of a bottle. I haven't tried that though. I think its supposed to be really good for your skin too, so I guess you can really just rub it everywhere. I rubbed a little on my arms while I was doing my hair, and it felt a lot lighter than the jojoba that I have used. Oh, and an 8oz bottle will last forever. I think I have had mine for a year, and I'm not halfway through it. Someone in this thread (I think it was this thread) said that it will pretty much never go bad.

 

Sorry for such a long reply. I hope it helps.

Edited March 13, 2006 by MissMorbus

[nsomniak6]

So, I open my bottle of Jojoba Oil that I've had for a few years now and it stunk. I mean it was definitely rancid. This made me sad because I only got to use about 1/4 of it and it was only about 8 oz. I really do like using this as a carrier oil, so now I have to buy another bottle!

 

Has anyone else had there bottle go rancid?

[emzebel]

Are you sure that what you have is pure jojoba and not jojoba mixed with a vegetable oil?

 

According to this site and several others I found when googling "jojoba" and "rancid", part of the reason why jojoba is such a popular carrier is that it does not oxidize because it is not actually an oil.

[Gale]

I had a bottle of blending oil that went bad. Instead of smelling like nothing, it smelled like rubbing alcohol. Look for oil that has vitamin e added, or else break open a capsule and add it to new oil. That will stop it from going bad.

[nsomniak6]

It said 100% Jojoba on the ingredient list, but I'll defintely check into the Vitamin E thing.

 

Thanks for the replies,

Lori

[birdiefu]

The only two carrier oils I am aware of that have an 'indefinite' shelf-life are jojoba and fractionated coconut oil. Jojoba is in fact a wax ester rather than an oil. Was there any way that the bottle could have been contaminated in some way? Getting residue from your fingers or trace amounts of other substances in there might, over a few years, cause spoilage.

[Teggy]

I was skimming over this thread, but I'm still looking for insight about almond oil as a carrier. I found some on sale and snatched up a bottle. Now I'm not sure what to do with it.

[elfmaiden]

Here's two links I found on Sweet Almond Oil as a carrier, apparently it's pretty popular so you should be fine with it.

 

When I am testing a carrier oil, I usually mix it up in a clear vial to see the colour change, smell any changes, and leave it sit for a bit to see if there is any clouding or seperation.

 

Wiki Entry

&

http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/bulkoil/a-c.php

 

Hope that helps a bit! It made me realized I have some Almond oil hanging about.

 

Jenn

Edited September 4, 2006 by elfmaiden

[stonechiper]

I've been using Grapeseed Oil as a carrier, and for the most part it works fine, esp with stronger scents. However, when I mixed it with Snake Oil I found that the

two don't mix (literally). I wonder if a different carrier would help. I'm not too concerned, I like the cool lava lamp like effect and all, but sometimes the mixture comes out snake oil and sometimes it comes out SNAKE OIL

[Teggy]

I ended up using some almond oil onlywith something non-BPAL and it honestly doesn't spray well. Mixed fine. I got a bottle when it was on clearance at Bath and Bodyworks, and it has virtually no scent of its own. I'm going to try diluting some Rose Red into it so I can use it in my oil ring on my lamp.

[moonarcana]

I like the cool lava lamp like effect and all, but sometimes the mixture comes out snake oil and sometimes it comes out SNAKE OIL

 

 

I'll never look at my lava lamp in the same light again!

[darksybarite]

I've been using Grapeseed Oil as a carrier, and for the most part it works fine, esp with stronger scents. However, when I mixed it with Snake Oil I found that the

two don't mix (literally). I wonder if a different carrier would help. I'm not too concerned, I like the cool lava lamp like effect and all, but sometimes the mixture comes out snake oil and sometimes it comes out SNAKE OIL

 

Had something similar happen to me, mixing with fr. coconut oil... separation! Would using an emulsifier help, or is that only used mixing oil and water? I got a bottle of polysorbate20 in anticipation of making linen spray...

[Moryssa]

I realize I'm replying to an old thread, but this is driving me nuts.

 

I've just started looking into the idea of creating rollerballs/atomizers/etc of some of my imps, and from what I understand, I need to dilute or use a carrier oil (which makes sense). I know that there USED to be carrier oils on the BPAL site, but I can not for the life of me find them. Are they still available? Can somene tell me where to find them? I looked at the menu on the side of the page, and didn't see anything that seemed to fit, I did a search for "jojoba", and got 0 results... I tried randomly clicking through the different categories and scanning the lists, and didn't see anything... I tried doing a search on the forums, and couldn't find a link. I'm ready to pull out my hair here!

 

Help?

 

Thanks, all!

 

--M

[LadyKitsu]

I'm having a problem. I would like to try and find (if possible) a carrier oil that is reasonably unscented but THICK.

 

I love using the 1ml rollerballs so I can keep them in my purse but there are just a handful of scents that the oils are thin enough that they tend to seep out around the caps. I would like to find something that is either unscented or has very little scent so I could add 1 or 2 drops to those imps that needed it to keep them from leaking....that's the idea anyway.

 

Does anyone know enough about carrier oils to have an idea? Most of the ones I've been able to find are either unscented but too thin or heavy and stinky

 

I would love any ideas that people might have that have more experiance in carrier oils and the likes.

 

Thanks!

Laura

[Muppetk]

I would like to try and find (if possible) a carrier oil that is reasonably unscented but THICK.

 

The first things that come to mind are avocado oil and jojoba oil. Avocado is definitely thicker than some of the other oils I've worked with, and at least the stuff I have is completely unscented. (I know you can find it for something like $8/4oz from The Vitamin Shoppe.) And while I haven't worked with jojoba yet, I'm told it's technically a wax, so I'd expect it to be thicker. Maybe someone else can speak to the scent of it.

[cranberry]

jojoba is lovely but it's pretty thin. I'd try avocado or sweet almond oil. the SAO goes rancid relatively quickly from what I understand so make sure that it's fresh and stored properly when you get it (if you go that route).

[sookster]

this got me thinking...

i have a bottle of vitamin E oil that i have had forever...

it has no scent and the consistency has never changed one bit...

it is very thick....

i'm no chemist but could it possibly be used as a carrier oil...??

[phantasmmysteria]

this got me thinking...

i have a bottle of vitamin E oil that i have had forever...

it has no scent and the consistency has never changed one bit...

it is very thick....

i'm no chemist but could it possibly be used as a carrier oil...??

 

Vitamin E oil can actually be added to carrier oils that can go rancid (such as the aforementioned sweet almond oil) to prolong its shelf life, so I can't see why it wouldn't be acceptable to use it as a carrier oil. What I do not know, however, is whether or not Vitamin E oil would interact with perfume oils and cause a change in scent.

[LadyKitsu]

I came across the Avacado being listed as "thick", but didn't know how "unscented" that was. I didn't think Vit. Cottage would appreciate me running testers on all their stuff

 

I NEVER thought of using Vit E! I can experiment with one of the GC with Scherezade since it's one that tends to leak out...and I have a 10ml of it Definatly want to experiment before using it on something LE <laughs>

 

I'll look into Jojoba also, all the stuff I've seen is a rather thin oil (so they might dilute it with something)...who knows .

 

I keep the thin jojoba around and LOVE it though for other stuff. The type I normally buy has no scent so as a dilution oil for BPAL (like if you want to make an after shower oil or massage oil) it works GREAT! Dosn't make you feel like a greased pig either

 

Thanks for the help so far, if ya'll have any other ideas though I'd still LOVE to hear them

 

Laura

[phantasmmysteria]

I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner: what about coconut oil?

 

The stuff is a soft solid at room temperature, and melts at 76 degrees. It's also very good at discouraging rancidity, though I don't know about the smell of it.

[cranberry]

there's a number of types of coconut oil. virgin coconut oil has that coconut smell so that wouldn't be a good choice, but regular coconut oil (likely 76* or what it is, 92* or something) is super stable, resists rancidity, and has a long shelf life. the 76* and 9x* degree coconut oil has absolutely no smell.

 

the only thing is that they are solid until 76 or 9X degrees. so maybe 76 mixed with something else so it would be more liquid phase.

[sookster]

ok...experiment time...

i mixed the tiniest bit of vitamin E oil with some snake oil...

 

discovery?

this makes the most decadent massage oil ever!!

 

my concoction?

1 ml vitamin E to 3/4 mls snake oil...try it out for your own self

with any blend you love and i guarantee you will be pleasantly surprised