ageing EOs

[pavomi]

how do you age EOs, like patchouli vetiver sandalwood etc.
is it recommended to keep the container airtight or open it frequently to provide some oxygen? does it need shaking? which temperature do you keep your oils for aging?

i'm having some oils ageing for quite a lot of years. it feels sort of random how this process is happening, but the vetiver (9 years ageing) is gorgeous and a complete perfume meanwhile.

all your experiences are very much appreciated, i'd like to start ageing EOs with recommendations by professionals! TIA

 

[pkiler]

My approach is to keep them bottled tightly, never open them, never shake them, and keep them at room temp on the shelf.

 

[GallupPerfume]

What PK said. You don't want to 'add' oxygen to the bottle =oxidation, not a good thing. Also, some naturals if blended, (don't know if your planning on that) will start oxidizing because of, concider adding 0.1% of Tocopherol (Natural vitamin E) to help slow down that process.

 

[birdie]

I made an involuntary experiment a few years back when the cleaners turned off electricity while I was away for three months so they were stored at 30 - 35 degrees C (I live in the tropics). Nearly all of the aroma chemicals were gone, the volatile naturals too, citrus eos dilute flower absolutes etc. But some of the stuff actually got better, Labdanum, Peru balsam, Opoponax, etc. Vetiver, Patchouli and Oud (luckily) especially smelled just fantastic.

 

[Darren Alan]

I age my patchouli, vetiver & sandalwood with the lids off. You want them to oxidize to push the aging process forward. I cap them once a week, give them a good shake & then reopen the caps. Make sure to keep checking on them & when you feel like it's adequately ages, then store them capped. Don't do this with all essential oils. Not all EOs improve with oxidation. Don't do this with citruses or anything highly terpenic.

 

[pavomi]

thanks a lot for all of your opinions! quite contrary here, and it brings us somehow to the question: what is actually happening while ageing materials? is the exposure of the material to oxygen necessary or (counter)productive for achieving the effects of ageing? or is ageing just a chemical process of the material itself? would love to understand this a bit more in details, not a chemist here though.

 

[GallupPerfume]

I age my patchouli, vetiver & sandalwood with the lids off. You want them to oxidize to push the aging process forward. I cap them once a week, give them a good shake & then reopen the caps. Make sure to keep checking on them & when you feel like it's adequately ages, then store them capped. Don't do this with all essential oils. Not all EOs improve with oxidation. Don't do this with citruses or anything highly terpenic.

To accelerarate them yes? Those make sence to do that way.

 

[Darren Alan]

To accelerarate them yes? Those make sence to do that way.

Exactly. I'm just accelerating the aging process because some materials soften, deepen or become more complex with age. If that is what you're looking for. If someone prefers the sharper, more heady aspects of these materials, then aging them faster would be counter productive.

 

[pkiler]

I've stated my mind. I can't recommend to induce oxidation of perfumery materials.
To my mind, leaving the cap off is not just allowing oxidation, but also to evaporate off toppy type molecules, effectively making an oxidized and fractionated EO. On one hand, might be ok, and effective to restack the scent molecular relationship to the bottom. On the other hand, it is also oxidising the EO, which is not readily my choice to do with a material. I would choose to boil or redistill to boil off the top notes that you don't want, for a short period of time, but not to oxidize it for long periods of time.

If your goal though, is oxidation, a bit of H2O2 would accomplish that quickly. But I think that that path would be seldom trod.

 

[mnitabach]

I've stated my mind. I can't recommend to induce oxidation of perfumery materials.
To my mind, leaving the cap off is not just allowing oxidation, but also to evaporate off toppy type molecules, effectively making an oxidized and fractionated EO. On one hand, might be ok, and effective to restack the scent molecular relationship to the bottom. On the other hand, it is also oxidising the EO, which is not readily my choice to do with a material. I would choose to boil or redistill to boil off the top notes that you don't want, for a short period of time, but not to oxidize it for long periods of time.

If your goal though, is oxidation, a bit of H2O2 would accomplish that quickly. But I think that that path would be seldom trod.

Maybe oxidation works to smooth out the rough notes of poor quality materials, so ppl get the idea that it's a generally good idea?

 

[ScentAle]

I have an Indian Vetiver Absolute aged 18 years that is paradisiac. Really wonderful, it's almost a perfume itself.

Also the 8 years aged Robertet Bois des Landes is really really super. Same the Hiba wood oil 11 years is so wow.

Instead i have other oils aged that with years became weird, unluckyness.

 

[pavomi]

so, i right now received a kilo of a lovely patchouli. i decanted 50 grams to age with regular opening of the cap, and won't touch the big bottle at all. i'll report back in 10 years

 

[Darren Alan]

so, i right now received a kilo of a lovely patchouli. i decanted 50 grams to age with regular opening of the cap, and won't touch the big bottle at all. i'll report back in 10 years

It will be worth the wait...

 

[pavomi]

It will be worth the wait...

for sure! and thank you all for your opinions!

 

[polysom]

Do you age at room temperature or in the fridge? Here it says for blends it could smooth out quicker and better in the fridge.

https://841362.wixsite.com/perfumeformulas/post/aging

I have never aged in the fridge, but if it works for blends, maybe it would also work for single EOs?

 

[Solua Botanica]

Aging oils is a tricky subject to cover with a few sentences. Every oil is different and will tolerate different treatments...
First, we must understand that some oils don't age well and some are fragile. Inform yourself and treat accordingly.
Second, if I have bought a good stock and I have time, the best way to age is to give it time, undisturbed and away from the light.
But there are times where I've had to speed up the aging process, so I tried two things which worked well.

My first idea was to keep the oils in a glass vial with a cork stopper. I made sure to flip the vial ounce in a while, so the 'dry' cork would give a better seal with a film of oil. Things like Vetiver, Patchouli, Ylang, Peru Balsam, Sandalwood did really well. The cork 'breathes' but not quite enough to loose precious aromas. I wouldn't try this method with very thin and volatile oils.
After 6 months to a year, I would compare the color, consistency and odour with the original sealed bottle.
There was a very noticeable difference. Much improvement in a short time !

The other method happened by mistake and it took me a while to figure out what happened.
I had this little box of samples that would get moved around the house quite a bit.
I didn't open them much, but there was a constant change of temperature and humidity every two weeks to a month.
These vials seemed 'aged' compared to the original bottles, which stayed in place.
When I finally figured it out, I started experimenting with those oils that benefit from aging.
I would bring a box in the cool basement, then bring it in the humid bathroom, then move it above the fridge and so on twice a month.
In my opinion, this simulates the changing seasons. If I compare the 'weathered' vials with the original oils, I can smell a positive change.

It's still is a mystery to me, how this molecular magic occurs, but if I can smell benefits, I think it's worth it.
Sometimes, you can't wait forever !
But my oldest and best bottles of Patchouli, Vetiver and Sandalwood are all 20+ years old. Aged naturally...they are amazing !

 

[LaFou]

Why did the basenote logo heart turned to orange color? 🤔
from 💚 to 🧡 why?

 

[julian35]

Why did the basenote logo heart turned to orange color? 🤔
from 💚 to 🧡 why?

Halloween? But what does that have to do with the OP?

 

[LaFou]

Halloween? But what does that have to do with the OP?

Oh yeaaaaa! Duhhhh 🤦‍♂️ Thats because I didn’t go to Halloween party this year! I was at work, 🫠😬 that’s why it skipped my mind!

what does OP means?

has nothing to do mainly with the subject, but I didn’t want to start new thread 🤣😅

i want to contribute to the subject but I really don’t have much experience, all I can do is wish good luck and may the aging be as good as a fine as scotch whiskey and as great as a fine french wine (Premier Grand Cru Classe) 🍀 Latour or Margaux 👌👌

or I just remembered, a fine Cuban cigar like a 1981 Davidoff (before they stopped making Cuban line at 1985) 😏😎🥲 or fuente fuente opus x lost city 🤤🤤🤤