Are all fragrances bad for you? 

 

Fragrances in general are complex and the International Fragrance Association, a global organization, has rules set in place to calculate product and situational cumulative exposure to fragrances.

 

As seen on @iotabody

 

Fragrance definitions below:

 

Essential Oils: Authentic essential oils are physically extracted by steam, or expression (cold pressing) of the skin of the fruit. Essential oils have not been altered (via reaction, solvent extraction) from their natural state.

 

Certified Organic Fragrance: A blend of essential oils derived from plants that are grown in accordance with the USDA National Organic Program. The essential oils are processed via physical means (steam or hydrodistillation) without any reaction solvents.

 

Natural Fragrance: Natural fragrances are complex compositions of natural aromatic raw materials such as essential oils, isolates, extracts and volatile concentrates. As opposed to a whole essential oil found in a plant, these chemicals are physically isolated from natural compounds. Natural isolates are blended together to create a scent not found in nature, or a scent which cannot be extracted from a natural source. If only natural isolates are used, companies can declare the scent “natural”.

 

Naturally Derived: Fragrance ingredients that have been extracted using solvents (alcohol, petrochemicals, vegetable oils), ingredients which have been extracted by biological means like fermentation, or ingredients which may have a natural component but have been significantly processed, combined with fully petrochemical ingredients.

 

Synthetic Fragrance: Ingredients which are made in a laboratory. The majority of synthetic constituent ingredients are from petroleum byproducts. Synthetic “nature-identical” ingredients fall into this category as well.