I have found very different results with a mineral oil vs mineral oil beeswax blend. the oil alone on new stone starts to disappear within a day or two, but leaves a darker finish. I made my own beeswax-oil blend using food-grade ultra-light (like water) mineral oil from STE oil http://www.steoil.com/catalog.asp?productgroup=70fg and triple filtered white acacia beeswax I found on ebay. all of it was really cheap. I ended up making about a 2/3 oil, 1/3 wax mixture in a pan on super low heat, and then let it cool in a canister. It goes on very easily, and has the consistency of cool butter. When I use the beeswax/oil blend, it doesn't really ever fade like the mineral oil alone, but the finish is ever so slightly lighter than with the pure mineral oil. smells lovely too. It also works really really well on my butcherblock. water just beads up, and the block doesn't even feel oily.

Kat, I would recommend that you follow your nose. As long as the purchaser can detect the EO with the theraputic values, you are good to go. If any EO has the properties that you are after, then we are just discussing how much is enough. This is now a discussion of depending on what you are trying to achieve/cure/fix/effect; and this can be different to anyone who may buy your product. If it was CP soap (which I do have some experience) I would add no less then .3 of an ounce to not more then 1 ounce per pound of soap. So, depending on the weight of your lotion bars, you may go from my suggestion. Now, .3 would be for a very strong EO, like Cinnamon/Rosemary/Peppermint, and I would an whole ounce of most citruses like lime/orange/lemon; the citruses tend to be fleeting. Most any other EOs will fall somewhere between these amounts, and rarely outside of these amounts. If you have a specific EO in mind, shoot me an E mail thru this site (hopefully, I will get it), and I will suggest amounts if need be. (There isn't much traffic for me to come here often, although I do visit other forums here). Good luck!

Always used Briwax on ours. This finish is kind of a pain to keep up--it looks trashed unless recently waxed. The waxing requires a LOT of elbow grease to buff out grease, scratches and water marks with fine steel wool before applying the wax. You can A) Use a tablecloth for everyday and save some labor time. B) Wax every few weeks (depends on usage, of course) C) Just let it go and it will eventually get SO bad that all of the marks blend together. My mom did this with hers and it was fine. Kind of like marble etching on the counter.... It is a unique and beautiful finish--just annoying to keep up.

I use Clapham's. I got tired of constantly touching up the mineral oil in the first month. Plus it always felt oily. With the Clapham's, in the first two to four months, you may need to re-apply every three to four weeks. After that it becomes very easy. Just save the rag in a zip lock bag. I used up a whole container already, so I just use the old container to store my rag. Then when you need a touch up, just pull out the rag. There's no need for mineral oil at all. I buff it with my bare hands. Last week, my wife left my silicone baking mats on the counter. When I took them off the counter, they left a rectangle where it sucked up the finish. So I pulled out the saved rag. It was already saturated, so I didn't need to dip into the wax. I just rubbed using a circular motion until the patina was restored. Then I gave it a final buff with my bare hands and it was like the patina was always there. Rubber small appliance feet will also remove the patina. I use Lysol kitchen spray as well as those kitchen wipes and they do not affect the patina. Dish soap, on the other hand, will do a number on the patina. The area around the base of the faucet and soap dispenser needs more frequent attention. I also use the Clapham's on my wood cutting board and chopping block, so it also has other uses around the house.