Have you ever smell the neem oil? If I have to describe it, the best I can do is garlic peanut butter. Neem oil looks muddy green and is very viscous, often solidified at lower temperature.
"Neem carrier oil has been reputed for its antiseptic,
dermatological and dental properties. It is rich in fatty acids and glycerides
and together with its healing properties, provides an excellent natural
moisturizing base for skin care formulation. This oil has been used for
centuries in traditional Indian Medicine to aid in the healing of topical skin
disorders such as eczema, psoriasis, rashes, burns and acne."
In this experiment I want to use more than 20% neem oil in soap since no matter how small amount you use it stinks just as much so why not go all the way?! Use olive oil, coconut, beef tallow, and apricot kernel oil in this made up recipe. I also used essential oil mix of rosemary, basil, patchouli, and vanilla oleoresin 20x. I was hoping the herbal scenting from the essential oils would somehow mask the strong neem oder, but it didn't work as well as I expected .. sigh. In addition to the neem oil in this soap I also used carrot juice and heavy cream as liquid to dissolve lye. Carrot juice and the vanilla oleoresin gave that earthy taupe color to this simple soap.