Saturday, March 28, 2009

What is a Natural Fragrance?


natural fragrances: essential oils vs. fragrance oils
Look closely at your label; does it contain "fragrance" or essential oils? What's the difference anyway?

Many cosmetic products contain fragrance oils or perfumes, which can irritate sensitive skin and noses.
Fragrance oils are synthetic chemicals formulated to make an odor. Fragrance oils can also contain phthalates. There have been various studies showing toxicity of these plastic compounds, and other studies claiming the concentration used is not harmful to humans (*as it has only been proven in high dose exposure through animal testing.) You can read more about it here. Along with being prone to allergens, fragrance oils do not carry any aromatherapy or healing benefits, and exist in formulations purely for scenting purposes.

Natural fragrances come from essential oils, fruit and plant essences. Essential oils contain a plethora of aromatherapy and health benefits. They have been used in various medicinal practices, such as homeopathy, since the beginning of time. A terrific resource to begin learning more about health benefits and aromatherapy is an essential oil encyclopedia. This one by Julia Lawless is great to get started with due to the beautiful color illustrations accompanying the info. Many are familiar with lavender essential oil and its mellowing effects, but there are numerous other essential oils that carry health and aromatherapy benefits from healing wounds to revitalizing the skin to calming an upset stomach.

The Grapeseed Co. uses only natural fragrances and is know for their signature scents: blends of botanically derived fruit and plant oils with added aromatherapy benefits. The Grapeseed Co. shop has been set up so that you can not only shop by the product you're looking for, but also by our signature essential oil blends. Each page set up by blends explains the properties and aromatherapy benefits for the scent. Check it out

*The Grapeseed Co. is cruelty free PETA certified; we test our organic products on willing and eager humans and do not support animal testing

2 comments:

  1. Fragrance oils are the #1 known sensitizer in skin care products. The #2? Essential Oils. Precisely because they are plant based, they can be very reactive for some users. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it's safer. I'm an aromatherapist and I despise fragrance oils, but I also recognize the risks of naturals.

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  2. Thanks for your comment. Essential oils used in very small percentages are much safer than fragrance oils. It really depends what you are after in a product, a safe way to scent a product, or a product that is free of any scent for very sensitive skin. This post was about the benefits of essential oils, which many people CAN use who are allergic to fragrances.

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