Fragrance oils, also known as aroma oils, aromatic oils, and flavor oils, are blended synthetic aroma compounds or natural essential oils that are diluted with a carrier like propylene glycol, vegetable oil, or mineral oil. Many fragrance oils are blended from essential oils, but because they are not guaranteed to be 100% essential oil they are called fragrance oils.


The Use of Fragrance Oils

Fragrance oils and essential oils are widely used for aromatherapy and other therapeutic uses. Though they are readily available at the aromatherapy stores, caution should be exercised while buying them. This is because the quality of the oil varies drastically from one company and vendor to another. At times, the labeled price is also not the true indicator of the quality of the oil. The adulterated or contaminated oils can have harmful side effects too. There is a wide disparity prevalent in the market, so the user should be highly cautious while buying fragrance oils.

Make Sure You Are Not Allergic Before Using Fragrance Oils

If you have very sensitive skin or are allergic to air-borne chemicals, you are probably concerned about the use of fragrances in your products. You should understand the differences between fragrance oils and labeling requirements so that you can be a better-informed consumer of these products. The problem, for those who are sensitive, is there is no requirement to list the compounds contained in fragrance oil. Many of the compounds are known skin irritants. 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. Today, there are over 500 aroma chemicals available to create synthetic fragrances.

Fragrance Oils Usage Guidelines

Using the oils is in fact very easy, however if you are trying new fragrance oil in cold process soap, please use the following guidelines: Mix the fragrance oil with a carrier oil that you are using as a super fatting agent, or with some oil that you reserved from your recipe. Blending the fragrance oil with a carrier tends to buffer the reaction when it hits the raw soap. Wait until you are familiar with the fragrance oil before you use mechanical mixing. If there appears to be no acceleration, then you may start using short bursts of the stick blender. Keep your temperatures within an average range, not too high or too low and this will help avoid a reaction. Do not use Grapefruit Seed Extract with new fragrance oil, which is used in soap to accelerate a slow trace. If you use fragrance oils and GSE together, you may wind up with an accelerated trace. Using the right procedures, you should be able to use any of our cosmetic fragrance oils in cold process soap without difficulty.