Normally I like to come to you armed with clear data, ideally from reputable medical sources, telling you what’s safe to use on your skin and what isn’t. But today, I’m coming to you armed with this simple fact: I have worked with essential oils for thousands of hours over the last 15 years with no negative side effects, and it takes ninety seconds in an Uber with a Christmas tree air freshener to make me nauseous and give me a migraine that takes hours to resolve. My body doesn’t lie about these things, and I believe it when it tells me that essential oils and synthetic fragrance have different effects on human beings, even if I can’t find the randomized, controlled study to prove it.
That said, the truth is pretty murky when it comes to fragrance in personal care products, and getting murkier all the time with the rise of “safe synthetics” and “natural fragrance” in so many consumer goods. So I’ll do my best to break down the facts as I see them, and hope it will help you make informed choices for yourself, your family, and the people who share space with you.
What is the difference between natural and synthetic fragrances in personal care products?
Simply put, natural fragrances are derived from plants, synthetic fragrances are made in a chemical laboratory. Natural fragrances include essential oils (which can be steam-distilled or expressed), absolutes, and CO2 extracts; for a full explanation of these natural fragrance materials, read this post! Synthetic fragrances are made in the lab, and nobody other than the fragrance house that makes them knows what’s in them, but they can contain hundreds of chemicals (including harmful phthalates and petrochemicals). Companies do not have to disclose the full ingredient list as it is considered a “trade secret.”
Are natural fragrances safer than synthetic fragrances?
The answer is… it depends. Generally speaking, natural essential oils do not contain phthalates and petrochemicals, and that’s a very good thing when it comes to your health. (Phthalates are banned in the EU—anyone else think that’s a bad sign?) But, essential oils have to be used in a careful, educated way, or they can do more harm than good. Every essential oil has a recommended dermal maximum concentration, so it’s important to keep the concentration of each oil below the dermal maximum if you’re using it on your skin, as well as keeping the total concentration of essential oils in the product in a safe range. Certain oils are unsafe with certain medical conditions, like seizure disorders, high blood pressure, and pregnancy, so care must be exercised there as well. And any essential oil can cause an allergy, just like virtually every ingredient you eat or put on your skin can.
Another fact that some folks don’t know is that essential oils emit VOCs (volatile organic compounds), and should not be used all day every day. If you’re going to diffuse essential oils in your home, do so for 15-20 minutes at a time, and do not diffuse them overnight in your bedroom.
All this said, I’d rather you breathe essential oils all day than the synthetic scents in room sprays, plug-ins, cleaning products, or those little sticks that poke out of a glass vase to scent the air. These fragrances contain hundreds (thousands, when they’re all used in the same home) of fragrance chemicals, many of which are increasingly linked to health concerns, especially in the endocrine and autoimmune realms.
Can synthetic fragrances cause skin irritation or allergies?
Synthetic fragrance is notorious for causing skin irritation, and is one of the first things I ask people with sensitive skin, eczema, and psoriasis to eliminate from their lives (in addition to sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate). Until you’ve made a focused effort to get rid of synthetic fragrance, you can be sure that it’s in almost every product you use in your home. From cleaning products to hair care to dishwasher detergent to candles, synthetic scent weaves its way into your life—and potentially into your health. Laundry detergent and dryer sheets are some of the worst offenders; you wear clothes washed in that scent all day and sleep in sheets washed in it all night, so your skin never gets a breath of real, fresh air!
Can natural fragrances cause skin irritation or allergies?
Although essential oils are natural, they can still cause skin reactions. Every human will have a unique set of sensitivities, and there are plenty of people who are allergic to beautiful, natural ingredients like lavender, just like there are loads of people allergic to peanuts or bee stings. If someone comes to me with a skin rash or reaction, I usually recommend using unscented products until things settle down. Your skin can still reap the benefits of using fragrance-free or unscented skincare products, and you may be able to go back to using scented products once your skin feels healthy again.
What are the benefits of using natural fragrances in skincare?
First of all, it’s important to note that natural fragrances have benefits, which is not true for synthetic fragrance. The aromatherapy benefits of an essential oil are unique to that essential oil, but essential oils can be used to soothe things like anxiety, headaches, and nausea, or to promote focus, memory, and self-compassion. Here are a few deep dives on the benefits of specific essential oils.
How can I identify synthetic fragrances on product labels?
Synthetic fragrances are usually listed as “fragrance”, “perfume,” or “parfum.” Just by listing those vague words, companies can use hundreds of fragrance chemicals without having to disclose further details. Natural fragrances will (or at least should) be listed as individual essential oils, like cedarwood essential oil, or cedrus atlantica essential oil, or as extracts, like jasmine CO2 extract, or absolutes, like rose absolute. What you see is what you get with natural fragrances, but that’s not the case with synthetic fragrances.
Are natural fragrances less likely to cause headaches compared to synthetic ones?
Absolutely. In fact, some essential oils can help fend off a headache, like basil, peppermint, rosemary, lavender, grapefruit, and palo santo. That said, each human being is different, and scent is very connected to emotion and memory; in theory, an essential oil could trigger a headache for someone for myriad reasons, but it’s vastly less common than with synthetic scents.
What are some common natural fragrance ingredients?
Natural fragrances should be listed as individual essential oils, extracts, or absolutes, with the specific plant name in either English, Latin, or both. Here are a few examples from our labels:
- daucus carota (carrot) seed essential oil*
- jasminum (jasmine) grandiflorum extract*
- commiphora myrrha (myrrh) CO2 extract*
For more on the definitions of essential oils, extracts, and absolutes, read this article.
More and more brands are using the term “natural fragrance” on their labels, and there’s no standard definition for that term, so it’s best to email the company and ask them what their definition is, or, even better, if they can give you the actual ingredient list in their fragrance. If they have nothing to hide, they should be willing to share that information with you!
Do synthetic fragrances last longer than natural ones in personal care products?
100% yes. Synthetic fragrances often contain fixatives and extenders that can make a scent last, well, almost forever. If you’ve ever bought a piece of clothing from a second hand store that’s been washed in a conventional, scented detergent, you know that the smell will NEVER, EVER come out, no matter how many times you soak it and wash it. Or maybe you’ve been hugged by a friend wearing synthetic fragrance, and you realize you can still smell it on you nine hours later. That’s the staying power of synthetic fragrance.
The question is whether having long-lasting fragrance is a) necessary or b) desirable. As someone who has a very hard time tolerating synthetic fragrance, my answer to both of these questions is no. Nothing in nature smells the same from dawn to dusk, and I don’t want to either! I want to experience the aromatherapy of a product as I apply it, and maybe smell it softly here and there throughout the day as it wears off, but I don’t want to leave a chemtrail of scent behind me. When you wear a strong synthetic scent in a room, you’re making the assumption that everyone else in the room likes that scent and wants to smell it, and that’s rarely safe to assume.
Are there any regulations on the use of synthetic fragrances in cosmetics?
In short, not really. There are quite a few fragrance and cosmetic ingredients that have been banned in the EU, but very few are regulated in the US. (Insert your own commentary here about why the US is always so far behind when it comes to protecting consumers, but I promise it’s got something to do with dollar signs.) For now, it’s up to consumers to educate and protect themselves, and that’s unfortunate, because it’s very hard to know what’s safe these days, and there is a lot of conflicting information on the internet.
Here’s what the FDA website has to say about fragrance: “FDA requires the list of ingredients under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). This law is not allowed to be used to force a company to tell “trade secrets.” Fragrance and flavor formulas are complex mixtures of many different natural and synthetic chemical ingredients, and they are the kinds of cosmetic components that are most likely to be “trade secrets.””
Is there such a thing as safe synthetic fragrance?
Depends who you ask? I think most companies that use safe synthetics believe their fragrances are safe, though they do not have data to prove it. (Nor do we have data to prove that all natural fragrances are safe.) Most “safe synthetics” are phthalate-free and paraben-free, and that’s a great start. Proponents of safe synthetics argue that synthetics are more consistent, less expensive, and less of a strain on natural resources, all of which are true. (And a reminder to make sure you or the brands you support are sourcing all natural ingredients sustainably!) There is still a concerning lack of transparency with safe synthetic fragrances in most cases, although some brands are starting to provide complete ingredient lists, and that’s a step in the right direction.
Can natural fragrances provide the same range of scents as synthetic fragrances?
Natural essential oils can provide a different range of fragrances than synthetic fragrance, but there are some scents that are very difficult to create naturally, like lily-of-the-valley or lilac. So, synthetic fragrances can cover more bases, but no synthetic scent can fully capture the scent of a real rose or fresh ginger: only essential oils can do that.
What are the best natural perfume brands?
Because I rarely wear any scents I have not created myself, I don’t have a ton of experience with natural perfumes! But I’ve been in the industry for long enough to have a few suggestions.
100% Natural Fragrances
-Ojai Wild (I have their Redwood Leaves scent, and it’s beautiful.)
Natural + Safe Synthetics (Phthalate-Free with 100% Ingredient Transparency)
Heretic (Some scents are 100% natural, others use synthetics. My two favorite scents, Dirty Vanilla and Smudge, are completely natural.)
With love and all the good smells,
