Fragrance Oils v Essential Oils
Are Essential Oils Harmful?
We get asked a lot if we use Essential Oils because of their natural origin.
Before we decide which is ‘better’, let us look at the International Regulatory body that has the trusted authority on fragrance regulation and it’s use for us ‘humans’.
The IFRA or The International Fragrance Association Standards – form the basis for the globally accepted and recognized risk management system for the safe use of fragrance ingredients and are part of the IFRA Code of Practice. This is the self-regulating system of the industry, based on risk assessments carried out by an independent Expert Panel.
In other words we will let the IFRA decide.
What they say about Essential Oils.
The following oils are on their list of BANNED oils for their properties, toxicity, sensitizing effect etc.
They have also restricted but not banned the following oils
Although fragrance oils tend to get a bad rap because they’re not “natural,” the good ones are thoroughly tested and scientifically approved to be safe for use not just in candles, but also in topical bath & body products like soaps and lotions. EVERY SINGLE FRAGRANCE OIL that Matty’s uses has a ‘Conformity Certificate’ held by the supplier from the IFRA. Furthermore and always available is the SDS Sheet. All of our fragrances are Vegan Friendly, as is our wax. Soy Free, Palm Free, Free from Bee harming Pesticides and our wax is GMO free, free from Genetic Modifications. There are essential oils that we do use in our fragrances, but not many. Burning Essential Oils unless you can see the IFRA certificate and the SDS sheet means that they are highly likely to be TOXIC and DANGEROUS. Even if we ignored the safety guidelines the cost is about 500% more per gram, the scent throw is often ‘petrol like’, and the longevity of essential oils when burning is short. Safe, certified Fragrance Oils every time.
| Cade oil crude | Carcinogenic |
| Calamus oil | Carcinogenic |
| Costus root | Sensitizer |
| Elecampane oil | Sensitizer |
| Fig leaf absolute | Sensitizer |
| Horseradish oil | Toxic and irritant |
| Mustard oil | Toxic and irritant |
| Peru balsam | Sensitizer (distilled oil is allowed) |
| Savin oil | Toxic and sensitizer although Juniper phoenicea oil is allowed |
| Verbena oil | Sensitizer |
| Tea absolute | Sensitizer |
| Sassafras oil | Carcinogenic |
| Stryax gum | Sensitizer |
| Wormseed | Toxic |
| Wormwood oil | Neurotoxin |
They have also restricted but not banned the following oils
| Angelica root oil | Phototoxic |
| Bergamot oil | Phototoxic |
| Bitter orange oil | Phototoxic |
| Cassia oil | Sensitizer |
| Cinnamon bark | Sensitizer |
| Cumin oil | Phototoxic |
| Grapefruit oil | Phototoxic |
| Lemon oil | Phototoxic |
| Lime oil | Phototoxic |
| Targets oil and absolute | Phototoxic |
| Oak moss absolute and resinoid | Sensitizer |
| Pinaceae oils | Sensitizer |
| Rue oil | Sensitizer |
| Verbena absolute | Sensitizer |
| Tree moss absolute | Sensitizer |
Although fragrance oils tend to get a bad rap because they’re not “natural,” the good ones are thoroughly tested and scientifically approved to be safe for use not just in candles, but also in topical bath & body products like soaps and lotions. EVERY SINGLE FRAGRANCE OIL that Matty’s uses has a ‘Conformity Certificate’ held by the supplier from the IFRA. Furthermore and always available is the SDS Sheet. All of our fragrances are Vegan Friendly, as is our wax. Soy Free, Palm Free, Free from Bee harming Pesticides and our wax is GMO free, free from Genetic Modifications. There are essential oils that we do use in our fragrances, but not many. Burning Essential Oils unless you can see the IFRA certificate and the SDS sheet means that they are highly likely to be TOXIC and DANGEROUS. Even if we ignored the safety guidelines the cost is about 500% more per gram, the scent throw is often ‘petrol like’, and the longevity of essential oils when burning is short. Safe, certified Fragrance Oils every time.