Fragrances VS. Essential Oils

For fragrances, we always consider the recommended amount for every application according to the specifications of each fragrance regulated by the IFRA (International Fragrance Association) and approved by the INCI (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients), which is directed by the Personal Care Products Council. These are the experts who test and certify the fragrances for multiple cosmetic uses. This can also change over time as more research is done. This can go for essential oils as well!

Fragrance ingredients in cosmetics must meet the same safety requirements as other cosmetic ingredients. Fragrances must be considered “safe for consumers” (in FDA’s standards) when they are used according to labeled directions, or as people customarily use them. www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/fragrances-cosmetics More information about fragrances are detailed below.

Essential oils are quite different from fragrances because there are no official recommended usage rates (by the FDA or otherwise). We usually follow recommended usage rates from the essential oil companies themselves. which are questionable in their own right. All essential oil companies are regulated by their own scientists when this article was written. Therefore, each and every essential oil company claim is their own and they are not regulated by any other party. This includes claims of “therapeutic-grade”, “medicinal”, “edible”, “scientist-approved”, etc.

Our stance is that we do not consider any essential oil to be safely edible.

The owner of Perma-Earth has worked with essential oils for over a decade at the time of this writing. “I know how to properly test essential oils myself and I have personally compared dozens of different essential oil companies. I make myself aware of their origins and testing. We only use 100% pure, therapeutic-grade (non-diluted, properly extracted, responsibly sourced) essential oils in our products.”

More information about essential oils are detailed below.

Phthalates are defined as a salt or ester of phthalic acid.

Why Are Phthalates Used In Most Fragrances?

Phthalates are used in fragrances as solvents, to strengthen the scent and help it linger much longer. Again, Perma-Earth chooses never to use fragrances which contain phthalates!

Why Are Phthalates Considered Dangerous?

Phthalates are linked to cancers¹, metabolic syndromes² (such as diabetes), and hormonal imbalances³. Many people also associate headaches and migraine triggers while inhaling “phthalated” fragrances.

Where Else Are Phthalates Found?

Mainly in plastics to increase durability. This is just another reason why we attempt to avoid choosing plastics as much as possible.

Parabens are a class of widely used preservatives in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. Chemically, they are a series of parahydroxybenzoates or esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid.

Why Are Parabens Used In Some Fragrances?

Parabens are in fragrances to act as a preservative, help the scent last for much longer, and also increase the strength.

Why Are Parabens Considered Dangerous?

Parabens have been linked to inflammatory responses and immune-system disruptions. Many people have reported increased skin and scalp sensitivity when using paraben-containing products.

Where Else Are Parabens Found?

Mainly in the cosmetics industry. This is ironic considering how irritating it can be for many.

In summary, natural aromatics are made by physically extracting specific volatile fractions from plants without chemically altering them. Natural fragrances are complex fragrance compounds made exclusively from natural aromatics as defined by IFRA (the International Fragrance Association). The ingredients used in natural fragrances can be essential oils, oleoresins, distillates, fractions, concretes, extracts, absolutes, etc.

Natural fragrances, similar to essential oils, are very limited in scope of scent variety (not many choices). Of these limited choices, very few hold up to the standard that many are conditioned to know from fragrances. These include: strength, durability, and “true-ness” to scent ideals.

In short, they are very similar to essential oils, but often less potent and easily broken down by environmental factors. These factors include sunlight, air-exposure, age, etc. Therefore, synthetically made fragrances surpass all of these factors over 99% of the time during testing.

“We know that fragrance oils can be a mix of processed and purified essential oils, synthetic aromatic chemicals, and resins.  We know that a perfumist must use the proper solvents to dissolve powder and crystalline ingredients into the fragrance oil.  A perfumist can either duplicate an aroma by use of gas chromatographic – mass spectrometric (GC-MS) (which shows him the ingredients contained in a fragrance), or he can create a unique fragrance oil by combining the right combinations of top, middle, and base notes.”

-Nature’s Garden Wholesale Candle & Soap Supplies

Sometimes, it’s better to let the experts, or one of our fragrance suppliers, explain the matter in their terms. Please visit this link for a more thorough introduction into the world of fragrances: https://www.wholesalesuppliesplus.com/handmade101/learn-to-make-articles/fragrance-oils-FAQs.aspx

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act requires a product marketed to consumers include a list of ingredients. The product must also be labeled with its net contents, the identity of the item and the name or place of business of the products’ manufacturer, packer or distributor.

Under U.S. regulations, fragrance ingredients can simply be listed as “Fragrance” as they are legally protected trade-secrets. People with questions about allergic reactions to a fragrance can contact the product manufacturer for more information. Learn more about this subject here: Trade Secrets – Safe Cosmetics

We, as non-producers of the fragrance, do not have access to what exactly constitutes each and every fragrance. HOWEVER, if you have questions about a fragrance we use in a specific product, we’ll provide the information we know. This includes specific answers to your questions found on our source‘s INCI and SDS information sheets.

After years of feedback, we have concluded that fragrances are safer for those seeking their favorite scents in healthier alternatives. Since our sources do not contain phthalates or parabens, this is much safer. Our fragrances are very similar chemicals mimicking natural scents, except synthetically created. Think of a lab-made diamond versus a naturally-mined diamond for example: they are both essentially the same, but made differently! This is a similar circumstance with synthetic fragrances vs. natural scents.

Essential oils can cause many issues… Some essential oils shouldn’t be used if you have certain health conditions like pregnancy, nursing, kidney problems, etc. Some essential oils have negative and irritating effects, no matter how diluted they are. These include but are not limited to: cinnamon, peppermint, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and more. While it won’t irritate some, it can irritate others. This is especially noticeable in leave-on products. Some essential oils actually cause photosensitivity when used on skin exposed to sunlight… We’re looking at YOU, citrus essential oils!!

Fragrances actually cause LESS cases of irritations than essential oils in our experience. We actually have many MORE reports of essential oil sensitivity in comparison to our phthalate-free, paraben-free fragrance oils! Meaning: essential oils actually cause more irritations than the fragrances we use – according to our customers! We only use 100% pure essential oils or absolutes! Nothing else is added to cause this reaction and it has happened even with the most well-known brands!

Eco-Friendly! SAY WHAT?? Environmentally speaking, synthetic fragrances are much less of a burden on the ecosystem… let us explain. It takes 60,000 rose blooms to produce a single 1 oz of rose essential oil. It takes nearly 16 pounds of lavender buds to produce a single 1 oz of lavender essential oil. To put this in perspective, we use approximately 1 oz of essential oil per 5 bars of soap… That’s at least 3.2 oz of the plant’s flowers alone to scent each soap bar! That’s a LOT of farming and processing just for scenting a few bars of soap! And this is exactly why some of our essential oil products are pricier than their fragranced versions.

The sky’s the limit! Some of our favorite scents like fruits (apples, pumpkins, peaches, etc.), flowers (like lilies, wildflowers, and more), musks, citruses, clean scents, etc. can’t be produced naturally with an ideal outcome or even at all for some body care products. The saponification process alone in cold-process soaps renders many natural fragrances and essential oils worthless. In the end, they are completely void of scent (citruses for example).

Fragrances perform to most people’s ideals. We want to get nourishing body care products into as many hands as possible. We want to appeal to those who won’t even try the more natural products otherwise. We choose to cater to our customers. Therefore, we offer completely naturally-scented (or unscented) products in every category. We also offer what most want as well: strong, safe, and creative scents in a large variety with familiar fragrances.

In the beginning we used ONLY 100% natural fragrances and essential oils. We still do use them! But guess what? Most people weren’t happy – they didn’t stick around for very long either because they missed their old fragrances… So we listened to our customers and fixed that issue! Yes, it’s a completely superficial reason why people want synthetic fragrances. But, humans are creatures of habit and this is backed by science. Scents are strongly connected to feelings of nostalgia in the brain. The olfactory (nasal) system in humans is directly linked to the memory bank of the brain. Many people feel very unhappy, or even lost, without the scents linked with positive memories in their lifetime. This is especially true for during their formative years.

We will always offer 100% natural fragrances and essential oils as well. No need to panic, we keep everything quite separate and we clean all equipment thoroughly between uses. We pride ourselves in offering the best of both worlds to the most quality-seeking customers!

We consider our source brands to be trade secrets. But, we’ll answer any specific questions about what we can find in our fragrance’s SDS (safety data sheet).

An essential oil is a natural oil typically obtained by distillation or pressing and having the characteristic smell of the plant or other source from which it is extracted. Essential oils are considered volatile since they readily evaporate when not contained. Essential oils only contain the volatile organic compounds of a plant. Essential oils are often used in aromatherapy or topical therapy. They are said to evoke natural biological responses in the human body when exposed to these organic chemical compounds.

Essential oils are quite different from fragrances in that there are no official recommended usage rates (by the FDA or otherwise). We usually follow recommended usage rates from the essential oil companies themselves. All essential oil company claims are regulated by their own scientists when this article was written. Therefore, each and every essential oil company claim is their own and they are not regulated by any other party. This includes claims of “therapeutic-grade”, “medicinal”, “edible”, “scientist-approved”, etc.

We consider our source brands to be trade secrets. But, we will answer any questions you have about the qualities or growing origins of our essential oils.

Do you only use certain brands of essential oils? No worries, make your own concoctions with our base of unscented products in our Unscented category!