Fragrance Oils versus Essential Oils

If you have sensitive skin or have allergies to air-borne chemicals, you are probably concerned about the fragrances in the products you choose to use. When it comes to the scent of a product, you have basically three alternatives to choose from.

1. Unscented products

2. Products scented with fragrance oils

3. Products scented with essential oils

You should understand the differences between essential and fragrance oils and the labeling requirements to be a better-informed consumer of these products.

Labeling Requirements

Consumers can not rely solely on labels to avoid artificially scented products. Hypoallergenic alternative products, which usually leave out the colorants and fragrances, are available in the marketplace. They often come in smaller containers and cost a little more but, at least provide some hope that you are not being exposed to unnecessary chemicals.

In general, all of the ingredients in a product are required to be listed on the label. But, there are two very large conditions or  loopholes when it comes to listing fragrances.

1.) Fragrance formulations are considered “trade secrets”. So, companies are not required to list their composition.

2.) When a scent is added to a product to cover up the odor of other ingredients, it does not have to be listed. So the terms, “fragrance free” and “unscented” are very loose definitions. This is true even when a scent or mixture of fragrance chemicals is added to a product. It can be listed as simply “fragrance” in the United States or “parfum” in the EU.

By law, even if the label says “essential oils”, it does not guarantee that the product doesn’t contain fragrance oils. This activity is legal, but can be considered deceitful. So, it is wise to make your purchases from a trusted source.

Encoura disclose as fully as possible exactly what is put into our products. When we list something as a “fragrance oil”, we are using an ingredient that is not 100% essential oil. We will only use fragrance oils that are proven to be phthalate free. When we list “essential oils”, we are using only a pure, unadulterated essential oil or a blend of essential oils. In general, when we use essential oils, we will list the individual oils.

What are Fragrance Oils?

Fragrance oils most often contain a mixture of many different components ranging from natural essential oils to only synthetic compounds. Many perfumes contain more than 100 different components. The problem, for those who are sensitive, is there are no requirements to list the compounds contained in a fragrance oil. Many of the ingredients are known skin irritants. Most synthetic fragrances do include small amounts of organic material to give them a more natural scent. However, real organic materials, such as essential oils, are usually used in very small quantities because of their higher price. Today, there are over 5,000 aroma chemicals available to create synthetic fragrances.

What are Essential Oils?

From Wikipedia – “An essential oil is a concentrated, hydrophobic liquid containing volatile aroma compounds from plants. They are also known as volatile or ethereal oils, or simply as the "oil of" the plant material from which they were extracted, such as oil of clove. An oil is "essential" in the sense that it carries a distinctive scent, or essence, of the plant. Essential oils do not as a group need to have any specific chemical properties in common, beyond conveying characteristic fragrances.”

Essential oils contain the true essence of the plant. Essential oils are very concentrated and should be used sparingly. Essential oils are often difficult to obtain and can be very expensive. So, while they can be a good value, the initial purchase can be expensive. Also, essential oils can be dangerous if applied directly to the skin undiluted. For this reason, Encoura does not sell pure essential oils.

Essential oils are often blended and diluted with carrier oils for use. Common carrier oils include Sweet Almond Oil, Apricot Kernel Oil and Grape Seed Oil. Essential oils can also be very different in quality and price. Encoura refuses to accept the idea of using inexpensive essential oils and insists on high quality oils produced from the best sources.

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