What are Fragrance Oils Made Of?

 

If you’re looking to add a scent or aroma to things like candles, soaps, wax melts, bath bombs, cosmetics, perfumes, or more, you’ll likely have to decide between scenting your creations with a fragrance oil, an essential oil or a combination of both.

Contrary to popular belief, the two are not the same. While there are plenty of differences between the two, the main difference are the ingredients themselves.

 

What are Fragrance Oils?

 

Fragrance oils are classed as being synthetic and can be made of both synthetic (manmade) ingredients, along with natural ingredients, all of which have been approved for use in products containing fragrance oils. Essential oils, however, contain just natural ingredients.

Fragrance oils are designed to mimic natural scents and aromas. They can be added to a whole host of different products and used in a number of different ways. They can be made from close to 4,000 different ingredients, both synthetic and natural, and fall under the FDA’s (Food and Drug Administrations’) Trade Secret clause. This is the main reason why there is no full list of ingredients printed on the label of the bottle. Products containing fragrance oils will simply have the word ‘fragrance’ listed as an ingredient. This is standard practice in the industry.

 

Types of Fragrance Oil - Natural and Synthetic

 

Natural Fragrance Oils

Despite the fact that they’re known as ‘natural’ fragrance oils, these types of oil are still classed as synthetic as they’re manmade in a lab. They’re referred to as being natural because they are made by isolating a fragrance from a naturally derived ingredient.

If for example, a product contains a vanilla scented fragrance oil, if this aroma was obtained from the vanillin found naturally in vanilla pods, the fragrance oil it contains would be classed as natural.

 

Synthetic Fragrance Oils

Synthetic fragrance oils are a little different, as they are made from synthetic chemicals and ingredients which are not found naturally in nature. Synthetic fragrance oils tend to hold their scents for longer, and usually contain far more ingredients than natural fragrance oils.

As previously mentioned, fragrance oils can contain close to 4,000 different ingredients, so naturally we can’t list each and every single one. What we can do, however, is look at the different types of ingredients commonly found in fragrance oils.

 

Aroma Chemicals

Sometimes, the only way to achieve a certain scent or aroma in a fragrance oil is to use what are known as aroma chemical compounds or resins.

Aromatic chemicals, also known as aroma compounds or resins, are basically artificial, (sometimes natural) fragrances designed to mimic or even to enhance natural scents and aromas. Think of them as the building blocks of fragrances, as they can be used to create all manner of unique and aromatic scents and smells.

Typically found in liquid, or powdered form, sometimes these chemicals are the only way to make a specific oil smell in a certain way.

 

Dilutants

Dilutants and solvents are also commonly used in fragrance oils. In fact, they can both play key roles in creating a fragrance oil, depending upon the other ingredients being used.

Dilutants for example, are commonly used during the manufacturing process when an essential oil is also being used to create the oil. If an essential oil is highly concentrated, the scent could be overpowering. To help mellow it down a dilutant is added.

Dilutants thin out the oils to ensure that the scent isn’t overpowering and can be dispersed more easily across the fragrance oil itself. They ensure that, whatever the fragrance oil is used in, it provides a balanced and delightful aroma.

 

Solvents

If a fragrance oil contains a powdered aroma chemical, a solvent must first be added to it to ensure that it dissolves into a liquid that mixes evenly into the oil itself.

Solvents help fragrances to retain their scents for longer, they improve blending and mixing, they enhance fragrance throw, and they ensure that the scents and aromas are nicely balanced.

 

Essential Oils

Finally, we have essential oils.

Essential oils are derived from natural ingredients such as plants, trees, flowers, herbs, leaves, roots, fruits, spices, and so on. They are basically liquids which contain natural aroma compounds from natural ingredients.

Essential oils provide the natural scents, aromas, and characteristics of the ingredients they are derived from. If for example, you want to create a mint-scented fragrance oil, peppermint essential oil would be one of the primary ingredients.

 

Final Thoughts

So, now we know why fragrance oils don’t have a detailed list of ingredients, what the difference is between fragrance oils and essential oils, and the ingredients a fragrance oil is comprised of. Now that that’s cleared up, the only thing left to do is choose your next favorite fragrance oil, and enjoy it!