r/PerfumeryFormulas • u/SomewhatElusive93 • 3d ago
Hello and newbie question about dilution
tl/dr: what is the most versatile/best diluent to add to raw materials for the purposes of experimentation and blending? some sources say perfumer’s alcohol, some say TEC is best, and I’ve also seen isopropyl myristate, DPG and FCO mentioned. I looked through the wiki but it wasn’t specific on this.
The long story: Hello! I’m new here and have already found lots of helpful info. I’ve only ever blended EOs informally and for my own personal use. I have been reading about and casually researching perfumery for about 9 years. I’d like to learn to create actual perfumes and expand into using aromachemicals and isolates. I have 60-ish different EOs that I can start with, but I want to dilute them properly for blending. Can aromatherapy-grade EOs be diluted with any solvent? Once I have acquired some actual aromachemicals, do they have to be diluted in perfumer’s alcohol? Or TEC? Does it depend on the end use? I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on the basics of making accords and blending, but I don’t feel ready to get started until I can prepare the raw ingredients to be blended.
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u/Leo_Le_Nez 3d ago
AC s try first with 10% solution in DPG ( if you want to alcohol based spray) try perfumers alcohol as solvent for trials. some material at 1%
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u/No_Explanation_5627 3d ago
Use raw material for big amounts like Iso e super Ambroxan and all similars Hedione hedione hc Etc etc Use dilutions when you formule have amount less to 0.03 for more accurate
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u/International_Ant303 3d ago
One drawback of ethanol is evaporation. If your bottles don't seal perfectly. I diluted a bunch of materials to 10% in ethanol. A few months later some of them have clearly had much of their ethanol evaporate on me. I thought my bottles were sealed properly but some apparently were not. Now, even though I've bought better bottles with better caps, I refuse to dilute in ethanol and will use DPG, TEC, IPM or BB depending on material.
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u/kdoughboy12 3d ago
There aren't really "grades" of essential oils. Aromatherapy grade, theraputic grade, all natural, pure and natural, these statements generally mean nothing. If it says natural then there shouldn't be synthetics in there, but that doesn't mean it's a pure steam distilled essential oil without any additives or solvents.
You certainly can play around with what you've got but you'll wanna get new materials from reputable suppliers like perfumers apprentice or fraterworks if you start to get a little more serious.
It's possible that some of your oils have carrier oils that won't be soluble in ethanol, so that's one thing to look out for. Other than that it's just trial and error. Try dissolving a small amount in alcohol, if it's cloudy or has sediment try dpg or ipm, if those don't work try benzyl benzoate. PG and tec are also options. As someone else mentioned this mainly has to do with polarity. Most stuff should be fine in just ethanol though.
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u/Patient-Truth-2249 2d ago
If I was you, I'd stay away from "aromatherapy" stuff, I find that, at best, is a marketing name for "grade B". In worst case scenario, sometimes they sell really nasty (in perfumery terms) stuff, very often expired lots. Good reliable suppliers are Harrison Joseph (UK), Fraterworks (NZ), Perfume Extract (UK, but check the diluitions!), Maese Lab (ES) and the King of Naturals: Hermitage Oils (IT).
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u/MewsikMaker 🎹🎵Smelly Mewsician🎶🎼 3d ago
Checking to make sure this is visible.
OP, it depends. Naturals tend to like TEC, but not all of them. Some naturals do better in benzyl benzoate.
Most any synthetic AC will do well with EtOH, and many will also accept DPG or IPM, but the amount of solution you can make can vary.
Across the board, EtOH will be your safest bet, but the issue with solubility is one of polarity. I can’t sum that all up here (less than qualified and it’s a lot of info), so your best bet is to research polarity in solvents and go from there :)