Plum Oil

,
What is it? The oil pressed from the seed of the plum fruit, Prunus domestica L.
Appearance Warm yellow liquid.
Texture Velvety, smooth, rich.
Scent Wonderful scent reminiscent of marzipan and dried fruit.
Absorbency Speed Medium, but on the faster side of medium. Stunning, satiny skin feel.
Solubility Oil
Why do we use it in formulations? The incredible scent carries through in final products at 10, contributing a very luxurious scent that is hard to get without the use of fragrance oils.
Do you need it? No, but it’s a nice luxury oil. If you love the scent of marzipan I highly recommend it!
Refined or unrefined? Definitely get the variety that has the scent in tact.
Strengths Stunning scent, beautiful skin feel.
Weaknesses It does tend to be fairly expensive, but we don’t need to use it at large amounts.
Alternatives & Substitutions If you don’t have the plum oil I think your best alternatives would be apricot kernel oil (USA / Canada) or cherry kernel oil—oils that are pressed from the kernels of similar stone fruits. You will lose the marzipan/cherry note. You can look to replace that scent with a fragrance or flavour oil with a similar scent (I’d start at 0.1–0.2% as it’s a pretty subtle scent). I haven’t found this scent anywhere else in the realm of natural ingredients, sadly.
How to Work with It Use it at 10% of the oil phase to contribute a stunning marzipan-y scent to the end product.
Storage & Shelf Life Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, plum oil should last at least two years.
Tips, Tricks, and Quirks The fatty acid composition is very similar to apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, cherry kernel, and peach kernel oil.
Recommended starter amount 50mL (2fl oz) or less
Where to Buy it I personally recommend the stuff from Essential Wholesale. I haven’t found it for sale from very many shops, but you could always try a different online DIY ingredient supplier.

Some Formulations that Use Plum Oil

Skills

,

Posted on

November 16, 2018