More Glossary of Terms

Here are some more terms you may want to add to list -

Additives: Ingredients added to soaps that impart special characteristics to the finished bar or bath product.

Aromatic: Having a fragrant taste and/or smell.

Astringent: In cosmetic terms, a substance that contracts the pores and tissues, making the surface smoother.

Base Notes (aka lower or back notes): Are most prominent when the middle notes begin to fade. These notes are responsible for the duration of the fragrance on the skin. Traces of the base notes can last on the skin for hours or sometimes for days.

Detergent: A cleaner made with petroleum distillateds rather than natural fasts.

Enflerage: An age-old method of extracting essential oils using odorless fats and oils to absorb the essential oils from a plant.

Fillers: In cosmetic and fragrance crafting, fillers add bulk or extend a product.

Fixative: A fixative stabilizes volatile oils and prevents them from exporting too quickly. A common vegetable fixative is orris root. In soaps and bath products, the fixative can be the soap base, base oil, salts, or dried botanicals.

Herb: The American Herb Society's official definition is "any plant that can be used for pleasure, fragrance, or physic."

Hydrating: Maintaining or restoring normal fluid balance in the body or skin. Hydrating agents are used in cosmetics to keep the skin moist, frm, and young looking.

Middle Notes (aka heart or medium notes): Consitutes the dominate trait of the perfume. These notes will start to appear on the skin about 10 minutes after the fragrance has been applied and can last up to several hours. The middle notes will determine the characteristics or signature of a fragrance and will help classify the perfume into a fragrance family.

Refrigerant: A substance that cools inflammation and eases muscle pains.

Soap base: Soap made from fats and lye with no additives. Also refers to melt and pour soap before it is melted and additives are introduced.

Stimulant: A substance that temporarily quickesn the fuctional activity of the tissues.

Synthetic: An artifically produced substance designed to imitate that which occurs naturally.

Top Notes (aka head notes): Are responsible for a perfume's first impression. Top notes surface right after the perfume has been applied to the skin. These notes tend to be striking and impactful, but are the most volatile and only last a few minutes. Once they have faded, the middle notes will take center stage.

Volatile: Easily evaporated, such as an essential oil that has been extracted from the plant and no longer has the plant's cell structure to hold the scent. Adding a fixative stablizes oils, reducing their volatility and helpng them to last longer.