Essential oils - is there is a DST in the House?

[silksand]

A few weeks ago I asked about which EOs to use for a women's deodorant blend, and I've now made up a

small experimental batch based on DrSmellThis' vetiver/vanilla suggestion. I was thinking of using it straight, or

cut 1:1 or so with jojoba oil, but it seems like that is not enough dilution to arrive at a pleasant scent because

the EOs are so potent in their pure state. If I cut 1:10 it starts smelling pretty nice. My concern is that if I cut

the EOs that much, I'll lose alot of the antibacterial property I need for deodorant purposes.

Because of

the harshness of the pure EO mix, I tried adding some things I thought of as milder EOs, like ylang ylang, palmarosa

and peru balsam ... which didn't really improve things much as far as smelling pleasant on the skin

not-very-diluted. This is what I ended up with:

1 part vanilla madagascar absolute
4 parts vetiver
2

parts palmarosa
2 parts ylang ylang
less than 1 part peru balsam

My questions:

1. Judging a

blend in its undiluted state must be quite a knack - I have to take one drop of the blend and mix with 6-7 drops of

jojoba to get a truer sense of the fragrance. Is there a better way, or is it just something you get better at with

practice?

2. How much dilution can you use and still have enough antibacterial quality to do the job as a

deodorant?

3. Straight Mysore sandalwood EO does make a wonderful deodorant; I have a tiny bit of the EO

left over from ~1976 that is divine and I've tried that with great success. It seems much milder than many other

EOs (assuming that what I have is pure, not diluted, and I really don't know, but it was sold in 1/8 oz bottle for

5 bucks or so back then, and is very viscous by now). I've thought of cutting my blend with sandalwood EO instead

of jojoba, but it has gotten pretty rare & expensive lately... any advice, and any online merchants you'd recommend

for sandalwood quality/price? I appreciate all your guidance.

Anyone else who's tried using EOs in this

way, feel free to add your thoughts!

[DrSmellThis]

I'd probably use more vanilla

and less vetiver, maybe 1:2. You had a good idea with mixing. The peru balsam would work best in the pits, and you

could add two parts of that as well. I wouldn't just base your opinion on how it smells undiluted, but rub a small

dab into your pit and smell it in a half an hour to see if it works.

You can probably dilute it 4:1 and still

have the antibacterial qualities, but experimentation is the best method.

With prractice your nose will get

much better. Smell strips are a great way to test blends.

[silksand]

Thank you Doc, much

appreciated.

[DrSmellThis]

You're welcome. Sorry for the

delay.