Oils

[PUFF]

Originally Posted by Bill S

I got a small quantity of sandalwood oil and tried to mix it as per the recipe noted above - but it does not mix with the mineral oil. My first reaction was to assume that this indicates it's not actually sandalwood "oil", but some water-based sandalwood scent. The person I bought it from insists it's good quality distilled oil - but is willing to take it back and refund my money. Before I do that, however, I'd like to ask here among more experienced people - is there a trick to disolving sandalwood oil in mineral oil? Is this, as I suspected, not truly sandalwood oil? Is there a simple test I can use?

Hope my reply is not too late
I just experimented with sandalwood oil, obtained from essential oil company. It should be pure, extracted essential oil rather than sandalwood spiked spa (jojoba/coconut) oil.

The sandalwood essential oil 's chemistry is mainly santalol, high molecular weight alcohol/terpene. It contains hydroxyl group which not totally compatible with mineral/petrolium oils. I tried diluting the sandalwood essential oil in mineral oils at 1% and 10% v/v. (didn't try something in between... yet)

At 1%, no problem, clear solution. But at 10%, the solution 's turbid but not separated.

If your oil 's pure, distilled sandalwood essential oil, put less than 1% in your recipe. Or, if you need higher concentration, put some plant based (coconut/almond/jojoba) to improve mixture compatibility.