Essential Oil Focus: Litsea Cubeba

Litsea Cubeba essential oil also goes by the common name: May Chang. It is commonly distilled by steam from the leaves and flowers. Mainly produced in China.

I like to think of this as a cross between Lemon and Lemongrass as far as the aroma goes. It has that strong lemony citrus scent, with a slight green - tea like undertone. Not as green as lemongrass. In Cold Process soap, Litsea sticks like a dream. If you want those citrus notes without worrying about the fleeting nature of citrus oils - then you should try Litsea. Either alone, or as an anchor to the citrus oils.

Aromatherapy benefits: Reported to be slightly antiseptic and astringent.
Considered to be an uplifting oil.

Litsea can be a skin sensitizer, so keep in amounts of 1% or less in leave on products.

You can purchase Litsea from The Scent Shack for $23.95 per pound, or in smaller sizes if you need it!

Phthalates in Fragrance Oils

Recently, safety concerns have been raised in congress and in the media about substances called phthalates. Although one type of phthalate is commonly used in fragrance oils, it is NOT the kind that has had safety concerns.
The kind used in FOs is diethyl phthalate (DEP); the types of questionable safety are dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP). The latter two chemicals are used in some plastics, not in fragrance oils; they make plastics better able to bend without breaking.


The IRFA is the International Fragrance Association. It establishes safety guidelines for fragrance materials. You can see their official position on the use of DEP by viewing the articles available on their website here. The RIFM (Research Institute for Fragrance Materials) is the primary U.S. authority on fragrance material safety. All of The Scent Shack's manufacturers follow IFRA and RIFM guidelines.

About 3/4 of our FOs contain DEP. None contain any other types of phthalates. For those who want to pass this information on to their customers, here is a list of the FOs we carry that do NOT contain DEP (and thus, no phthalates). Please feel free to email with any questions.

Bayberry Spice
Black Cherry
Blueberry
Brown Sugar
Citrus Splash
Coconut
Cornucopia
Dutch Chocolate
Freesia
Gingerbread
Heather
Lilac
Mistletoe
Pomegranate
Sage Leaf
Secret Garden
Whispers of Bay

We now have Clary Sage Essential Oil

Just arrived in the last couple weeks:
Clary Sage essential oil (Salvia Sclarea).

Steam Distilled from flowering tops and leaves.

Clary Sage has a tea like odor with floral notes and a hint of citrus.
Blends well with other florals such as lavender and rose geranium, or other woody scents such as fir needle.

Aromatherapy benefits:

Reported to be used for relaxation and depression help. Also a slight antiseptic.

$29.95 per pound! Try some today!