Temperature and BPAL

[Seanan]

It's been hitting record temps in my part of the Bay Area for the past week; I've just made sure to move my BPAL away from direct light, and to keep it in shade as much as possible. Things seem to be holding up pretty well!

[darkophelia]

Here in Arkansas, we've had quite a few 100+ days. It's also really dry most of the time and we're under a burn ban. We're used to hot and humid, just not THIS hot. I always carry a couple of my oils---if not more---with me in my purse. I used to leave my purse in the car and just carry my checkbook in to do the grocery shopping, but I carry the whole purse now because I'm worried about what the heat trapped in the car will do to the oils. When I have them at home, they are stored in a dark bedroom in a wooden aromatherapy box, and we've always got the AC on. No problems there, then.

 

Small hijack, if no one minds-----Temperature aside, what is the longest anyone has had a bottle of BPAL before it went 'bad'? I know what they say the life expectancy is somewhere around here, but I've had oils for much MUCH longer than that which still smell much as they did when I got them. So in practical terms, how long will a properly stored bottle of BPAL REALLY last before it turns?

[Malista]

...

 

Small hijack, if no one minds-----Temperature aside, what is the longest anyone has had a bottle of BPAL before it went 'bad'? I know what they say the life expectancy is somewhere around here, but I've had oils for much MUCH longer than that which still smell much as they did when I got them. So in practical terms, how long will a properly stored bottle of BPAL REALLY last before it turns?

 

There's a whole thread about aging BPAL here. I don't think there's a hard and fast rule. Some notes age well, others don't.

[tempestteapot]

I did several searchs and didn't find anything so here goes:

 

Do you know if you can freeze the oils and have them stay the same effectiveness?

 

Will it make them last longer (prevent changes to the scents due to aging)?

 

Or will it just totally destroy them?

 

I was thinking about making up some lotion with some of the bpal oils in it, and thought about freezing the ziplock baggie it's mixed in so that when you pull it out of the freezer, you can peel the bag away from the mix and there's no waste.

 

It's a theory anyways.

[aritei]

just the thought of heat near my babies sends shivers down my spine!

[schackjj]

I did several searchs and didn't find anything so here goes:

 

Do you know if you can freeze the oils and have them stay the same effectiveness?

 

Will it make them last longer (prevent changes to the scents due to aging)?

 

Or will it just totally destroy them?

 

I was thinking about making up some lotion with some of the bpal oils in it, and thought about freezing the ziplock baggie it's mixed in so that when you pull it out of the freezer, you can peel the bag away from the mix and there's no waste.

 

It's a theory anyways.

I can't vouch for long-term freezing, but my last order was delivered to my mailbox during a cold snap (it was -30, -35 degrees Fahrenheit, something like that that day) and the package sat in there all afternoon. Some of the bottles were frozen solid, a couple were slushy, a couple still liquid, depended on the formulation, I suppose. Anyway, when they were all thawed out, they were completely fine.

[akw]

I did several searchs and didn't find anything so here goes:

 

Do you know if you can freeze the oils and have them stay the same effectiveness?

 

Will it make them last longer (prevent changes to the scents due to aging)?

 

Or will it just totally destroy them?

 

I was thinking about making up some lotion with some of the bpal oils in it, and thought about freezing the ziplock baggie it's mixed in so that when you pull it out of the freezer, you can peel the bag away from the mix and there's no waste.

 

It's a theory anyways.

I can't vouch for long-term freezing, but my last order was delivered to my mailbox during a cold snap (it was -30, -35 degrees Fahrenheit, something like that that day) and the package sat in there all afternoon. Some of the bottles were frozen solid, a couple were slushy, a couple still liquid, depended on the formulation, I suppose. Anyway, when they were all thawed out, they were completely fine.

 

What I've heard is that heat is worse than cold, but in general, extremes are best avoided. One perfumer/aromatherapist I know says that fluctuations in temperature do more damage than the occasional extreme. So, here's more information that doesn't answer the question.

[kat15lee]

Hello all,

This question is aimed more for a "learned" perfumist or BPAL staff...

I'm very concerned about the hot summer coming... can I place my BPAL in my fridge? Will it cause any crystalization, or cause the oils to separate?

And which oils are most suspectible?

I guess I can ask on other forums... but I was hoping a staffer could help me.

[tikiera]

The temperatures are climbing in Southern California. I am worried about the perfume.

 

Is it safe to store in the frig?

 

We don't have air conditioning, and I have put them in the coolest spot in the house - but it's only getting hotter.

[poisons_sanity]

I would say it is safe to store in a fridge. I know a lot of girls that do that with their BPALs to keep them fresh for swapping.

[tikiera]

I would say it is safe to store in a fridge. I know a lot of girls that do that with their BPALs to keep them fresh for swapping.

 

Thanks!

 

I will move them into the fridge before the heat wave fully hits.

[evanesce]

I left a pack of imps in my cars glovebox through the summer and they're fine.

 

So, its not reccomended but it's not a garunteed perfume killer

[tikiera]

I ended up putting ice in a plastic bowl, the bowl in a large baggie and then put a notepad in my large, padded BPAL box, put the ice on it, and closed the bowl. It too a long time for the ice to melt (several hours) so the box must not have been very warm to start, and the the padding acted as insulation. So the add ice theory worked very, very well. Just to repeat with more ice after about 8 hours. Just a few cubes and we were going through ice anyway.

 

The BPAL was even cool when I put in on this morning - noticable cool on my skin for a little while. Made me want to slather.

[mrsveteran]

For what it's worth, there are little "desktop fridges" you can get (I got mine at www.thinkgeek.com) where you can set the temperature to what you like. They're meant to hold maybe a couple of soda/pop cans or a sandwich. I have mine set at 67 degrees (much warmer than the fridge, much cooler than the house in summer), so it's always at a constant level of coolness, but not too cold and not too hot. I store all my oils in there and it's an instant "cool dark place." These little fridges generally are under 100 bucks, and don't cost too much to run since I'm keeping the temp between 65 and 70 so it usually doesn't have to work that hard. That might seem like a lot of money to spend on perfume storage, but considering what I've spent on oils so far, it's almost like I'm protecting my investment in smellies.

[charmingdetails]

That's such a great idea, Mrs. Veteran! It's like a little wine cellar for BPAL.

 

I've moved my BPAL downstairs for the summer, because of the whole heat rising thing. Seems to do the trick!

[fiddlefox]

Ugh I live in FL and have an outside mailbox, it gets really hot in there. I might be getting a cooler before i go off to college again but I wonder how much damage has already been done to my oils...

[mrsveteran]

Ugh I live in FL and have an outside mailbox, it gets really hot in there. I might be getting a cooler before i go off to college again but I wonder how much damage has already been done to my oils...

 

I'm in NV and it gets pretty hot here as well, but so far a few hours in the mailbox hasn't seemed to harm any of my oils, even during the worst of summer. I think it's more of "over the course of time" it's better to keep them in a cool, dark place, rather than "if they get over 80F then they're rancid canola oil." It may also be that different notes do better in higher temperatures, so the oils that I've gotten may just be ones that do okay ...

[kwsix]

I would say it is safe to store in a fridge. I know a lot of girls that do that with their BPALs to keep them fresh for swapping.

 

Thanks!

 

I will move them into the fridge before the heat wave fully hits.

Make sure the temperature of your fridge isn't set too low. I decided to put one of my precious bottles of the original 13 in the fridge, because I'm concerned about the oil degrading over time (especially the citrus). But the fridge got too cold, the oil froze, and it just didn't smell the same, although it did smell good. I still wore it; in fact I emptied the bottle. But it definitely changed the scent, and I don't plan to ever put BPAL in the fridge again.

Edited October 9, 2007 by evilmistressoftoast

[mrsveteran]

Make sure the temperature of your fridge isn't set too low. I decided to put one of my precious bottles of the original 13 in the fridge, because I'm concerned about the oil degrading over time (especially the citrus). But the fridge got too cold, the oil froze, and it just didn't smell the same, although it did smell good. I still wore it; in fact I emptied the bottle. But it definitely changed the scent, and I don't plan to ever put BPAL in the fridge again.

 

*nods* Excellent point, and that's one of the things I was worried about with our "regular" fridge.

 

That's why one of those little desktop fridges are great: you can set them to a reasonable temperature like 60 - 70F so they don't get too cold or too hot.

 

MV

[Indigo78]

I see that this thread has been inactive for some time...This is where my question fits, though, so lets wake it up! I am wondering if the Lab has ever considered packaging with dry ice. It gets pretty warm where I live: I get home about an hour after the mail comes, and as much as I rush to get home when I have a CnS, I am rarely here when it arrives.

 

Today an order came, and I couldn't wait to start sniffing. One oil, which was lukewarm from the couple of hours it sat in the mailbox, smelled SO incredibly different between when I opened it this afternoon and right now...I can't help but wonder how much degradation occurs in just that short amount of time.

 

I would SO pay for dry ice packaging if it were available - any thoughts?

Edited June 19, 2008 by Indig0

[BelleAnge]

I am worried about my stuff this winter. I live in PA and we get a lot of days in the single digits and below zero. Even with heat on, I have had shampoo and shower gels freeze. Also had a bottle of oil turn solid. So I am worried that too much cold might damage my BPAL. I am starting to think that maybe for the winter, I should store my oils away so they don't get so cold. The place where I live is over 100 years old and impossible to heat.

[darkblade]

I see that this thread has been inactive for some time...This is where my question fits, though, so lets wake it up! I am wondering if the Lab has ever considered packaging with dry ice. It gets pretty warm where I live: I get home about an hour after the mail comes, and as much as I rush to get home when I have a CnS, I am rarely here when it arrives.

 

Today an order came, and I couldn't wait to start sniffing. One oil, which was lukewarm from the couple of hours it sat in the mailbox, smelled SO incredibly different between when I opened it this afternoon and right now...I can't help but wonder how much degradation occurs in just that short amount of time.

 

I would SO pay for dry ice packaging if it were available - any thoughts?

 

 

I don't work for the lab, but being very cold makes glass more brittle, and shipping with dry ice tends to be -very- pricey. That's how they mail ice cream and meat.

 

I've often found that the problem isn't that the mail is hot, it's that it quickly BECOMES hot when sitting in the mailbox.

[phantasmmysteria]

I see that this thread has been inactive for some time...This is where my question fits, though, so lets wake it up! I am wondering if the Lab has ever considered packaging with dry ice. It gets pretty warm where I live: I get home about an hour after the mail comes, and as much as I rush to get home when I have a CnS, I am rarely here when it arrives.

 

Today an order came, and I couldn't wait to start sniffing. One oil, which was lukewarm from the couple of hours it sat in the mailbox, smelled SO incredibly different between when I opened it this afternoon and right now...I can't help but wonder how much degradation occurs in just that short amount of time.

 

I would SO pay for dry ice packaging if it were available - any thoughts?

While I have definitely noticed that oils do smell different immediately after coming out of the mailbox (whether it's from extreme hot or cold temperatures) as compared to when they've had a chance to "settle" for a couple of days, I don't think it's caused by degradation of the oil from the temps as much as it's caused by the way oils just smell different at different temperatures. I really can't imagine that these oils are that fragile.

[sookster]

personally, i am more concerned when receiving oils in the coldest of winter sub-zero

months simply because of possible glass bottles cracking/breaking...

 

i think the oil is hearty enuff to handle the extreme temp issues in my humble opinion =)

[ClareN]

My mailbox is set into a little brick wall, so when the postal worker actually puts the package inside the mailbox everything stays very cool. However, it's happened once or twice that they just shove one end of the package into the slot, and the end that's sticking out gets heated up in the direct sunlight. I've noticed that the oils can smell weird at first but after they cool down they seem to smell fine. I do try and keep an eye on the mailbox when I have a package coming to avoid the heat issue, though. I never have problems with oils getting too cold, for obvious reasons (*points at flag*).

 

For those who are concerned about temperature issues, I wonder if it would be possible to insulate your mailbox in some way to protect your BPAL from the elements? I don't know anything about insulation but if you lined the inside of your mailbox with um, insulation stuff, would that help?