essentiall oil

[the kid]

does any one know if when lip balm or as rubs does sweet almond oil or grape seed oil get rancid?

[Michael Bush]

I've had sweet almond oil around for years and have never seen it go rancid. All oil oxidizes to one degree or another and changes the flavor and smell a bit (hence the invention of trans fat oils to avoid that) but they do not smell bad, just different. Some might perceive it as "stale".

[summer1052]

Essential oils are the concentrated, distilled oils of plants that are often used for scent, like lavender, rose, or rosemary. Carrier oils, or Fixed oils are things like sweet almond oil, jojoba, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, etc. that make up the bulk of the moisturizer oils in a product. They can go rancid over time.

Mostly, this is a matter of storage. If they are stored properly, in a cool (not refrigerated) dark place, with even temperatures, they will last indefinitely. If stored in warm to hot locations, exposed to sunlight, etc. they can turn rancid. They rarely turn rancid once made into a product like lip balm. It's possible, but more likely they were rancid to start with.

I've never had lip balm turn rancid, whether my own, or purchased. I HAVE seen lotions made without preservatives grow mold in them, but that's another thread . . .

Summer

[the kid]

Thank you all ,, my daughter was the one that posted ,, yes I told her she could use my name ,, we thank you for the reply's ,, guess she will have to give it another try but not make so much
didn't know there was Essential oils and Fixed oils I thought they were the same ,,, learned something new ,,,

[robherc]

Also, slightly off-topic, but might be of interest to you... I've found though (somewhat disgusting) personal experience that oil-based products stored in plastic containers for too long will start picking up a LOT of "that plasticy smell" ... especially if it gets hot or gets a lot of direct sunlight. I have some (well, what used to be) very nice massage oils I made that now all smell like nasty plastic mixed with unidentifiable essential oils.

P.S. The massage oils in question are now SEVERAL years old, so don't panic about leaving stuff in plastic for several months to a couple years; just be aware of what can happen; I wasn't.