Fragrance Oils: What are They?

What are Fragrance oils

There exists a certain "mystique" around the fragrance industry.  Just like jewellery, pure perfume oils vary tremendously in quality. We should understand the differences between fragrance oils and labelling requirements so that we can be a better-informed consumer of these products.

Unfortunately, we can not rely solely on labels to avoid artificially scented products, in general, all ingredients in a product are required to be listed on the label, but, there are many loopholes when it comes to fragrances.

1. Fragrance formulations are considered “trade secrets”. So, companies are not required to list their composition. The courts have held that - fragrance is something that belongs to nature and not to any individual, so a fragrance cannot be patented or copyrighted. On the other hand a brand name can be copyrighted and registered and others may not profit from its use.
2. If a scent is added to a product to cover up the odour of other ingredients, it does not have to be listed. For example if the smell of a product is offensive without the additional chemical, the chemical used to cover the offensive smell does not have to be listed on the label.
3. When the label says “essential oils”, it does not guarantee that the product does not contain fragrance oils. This is perfectly legal.  In my opinion it's unscrupulous.

Why Perfumers like Fragrance oils

• Synthetics allow perfumers to produce new scents not known in nature. They provide floral scents such as lilac or strawberry or apple, which cannot be extracted from the natural flower or plant.

• Synthetics provide consistent quality, whereas climactic and other conditions can affect naturally occurring raw materials.

• Synthetic components make some fragrances available that would otherwise be unaffordable.
• Essential oils are more costly

Why I don't like Fragrance Oils?

Fragrance oils are a synthetic imitation of pure essential oils. While they can offer a lovely scent to a product, they don't offer the botanical properties found in pure essential oils.

Fragrance oils fall into the FDA's jurisdiction and their "trade secret" law, the manufacturer of the fragrance oil does not have to label the ingredients used in making their fragrances. Basically you may never know what in the world is really in a fragrance oil!

Fragrance oils contain many different components ranging from natural essential oils to purely synthetic compounds. Some perfumes may contain more than 100 components and many of these compounds are known skin irritants. Today, there are over 5,000 aroma chemicals available to create synthetic fragrances.  95 percent of the chemicals used in synthetic fragrances are derived from petroleum and include benzene derivatives, aldehydes and many other known toxins and synthesizers capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions.

The FDA does not require fragrance manufacturers to disclose the ingredients of synthetic fragrances because these formulas are regarded as "proprietary." Such "proprietary" ingredients commonly include numerous known carcinogens but are protected under the FDA's "trade secret" law.

Even after banning methylene chloride (a known carcinogen that also causes auto-immune disease), the EPA reported that synthetic fragrances were shown to cause "possible mutagenic and genotoxic effects." and to contain hormone disruptors which are linked to abnormal cell reproduction and may result in tumour growth.

How can we differentiate the "real thing" from misleading claims?
Most quality synthetic fragrances do include small amounts of organic material to give them the more natural bouquet of natural scents. However, real organic materials, such as essential oils, are usually used in very small quantities because of their expense and blend them with synthetic fragrances, perfumes, chemical enhancers and boosters in an attempt to cut costs and create a stronger, longer lasting odour.

"Made with pure essential oils" often translates to an ingredient list with a small percentage of essential oils and a majority of the scent coming from a number of carcinogenic and toxic petrochemicals. Unless a company discloses that they only use pure essential oils, there is a possibility,  you are perfuming your body with a chemical cocktail that is anything but healthy. 

This might be acceptable for dishwashing detergent but shouldn’t your skin care products uses Therapeutic Grade pure essential oils? 
 

Don’t be fooled by the marketing. Read the labels carefully and make an inform choice.

Marlene Daniels

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