Litsea oil (May Chang)
Under the IFRA Standards a rinse-off soap may hold up to 1.73 % of this oil, a limit set by its Citral.
IFRA maximum for soap
Restricted constituents, at the typical levels IFRA's annex gives:
- Citral
- 69 %
- Citronellal
- 1.1 %
- Geraniol
- 1.1 %
- (E) 3,7-Dimethyl-3,6-octadienal (iso-Geranial)
- 1 %
- (Z) 3,7-Dimethyl-3,6-octadienal (iso-Neral)
- 0.4 %
- Longifolene
- 0.2 %
- dl-Citronellol
- 0.15 %
- Safrole
- 0.05 %
Worked out from typical levels. A supplier's certificate for your lot comes first, and its figure is the one to follow.
Check a blend against its IFRA limits and list its allergens in the fragrance and allergen calculator.
How essential oils behave in soap, and how much to use: Scenting soap.
Identity and labelling
Litsea Cubeba Fruit Oil
- Botanical name
- Litsea cubeba
- CAS
- 68855-99-2, 90063-59-5
- EC
- 290-018-7
The EU does not name this oil itself as an allergen to label, but some of its constituents may be: the fragrance allergen tool works them out for a recipe.
What it is and how it behaves in soap
Litsea oil, sold as may chang, is steam-distilled from the small peppery fruits of Litsea cubeba. China is by far the largest producer (Qiu and colleagues), and most of the crop goes to extracting citral, which makes up about 70 % of the oil (FAO). It smells of sweet lemon sherbet, softer than lemongrass.
Soap books use it as the lemon that lasts: Faiola lists litsea among the oils that behave well, Fisher blends 15 % of it into lemon to anchor it, and Grosso uses it to boost fleeting citrus. Industry rates it less tenacious in soap than lemongrass (FAO). Faiola's recipes run from 0.8 to 3.6 % of the oils, but citral holds the IFRA figure on this page below the top of that range, and that figure is the ceiling.
Citral is a skin sensitiser (SCCS), so litsea works best as part of a blend.
Recipes that use it
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: LITSEA CUBEBA FRUIT OIL, European Commission
- Qiu and colleagues, An overview on total valorization of Litsea cubeba as a new woody oil plant resource toward a zero-waste biorefinery, Molecules 26, MDPI (2021). China the largest producer and exporter of litsea oil
- J. J. W. Coppen, Flavours and fragrances of plant origin (Non-Wood Forest Products 1), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1995). Distilled from the small pepper-like fruits; about 70 % citral; mainly used to isolate citral; less suitable for soaps than lemongrass oil because it has less fixative power
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting, Storey Publishing (2013). Litsea among the essential oils that are typically wonderful in cold process soap
- David Fisher, The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making, Creative Publishing International (2018). 85 % lemon and 15 % litsea cubeba anchors the lemon
- Alicia Grosso, The Everything Soapmaking Book, 3rd edition, Adams Media (2013). Litsea cubeba a substitute and booster for fleeting citrus oils
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Pure Soapmaking, Storey Publishing (2016). Litsea cubeba at 0.8 to 3.6 % of the oils
- Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products (SCCS/1459/11), Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, European Commission (2012). Citral among the established contact allergens