What is Natural Fragrances and where can I find them?

[Crownite]

I'm looking to create some body butters. In the past I've made my ingredients without the use of added fragrance. I was looking on a website that caters to minimalist skin care products and saw on the ingredients list several times the use of the term "Natural Fragrance". This is mentioned separately from Essential Oils.

Where can I find natural fragrances? Is natural fragrance oils essentially any fragrance oil that is phthalate free?

 

[dixiedragon]

This is my in-expert opinion.

I'm not sure that "natural fragrance" has an official, legal definition. Much like "natural" doesn't have an official, legal definition. You could call a detergent bar artificially scented and colored with Red Dye #40 "natural" if you wanted to.

That being said, I think that essential oils (EOs) are probably the #1 natural fragrance. Some others might be extracts and absolutes. For example, you can't get rose or jasmine essential oil, because to get the fragrance from the plants, you have to use solvents. So some would argue that absolutes aren't natural b/c of that.

If you are making soap (CP or HP) your options for natural fragrances are limited b/c the lye monster will gobble up a lot of things. For example, vanilla extract isn't going to stand up to the raw soap (and the alcohol in it will cause the soap to separate), but it might work in a lotion or in some kind of body spray.

Phthlate free doesn't equal natural.

You can also check out floral waxes (Camden Grey carries some). I made a solid perfume using Rose floral wax that I really like. If you are making a product with water (lotion, etc), you could experiment with hydrosols (I know Majestic Mountain Sage carries a good variety). Also, you can find rose water and orange blossom water at some health food stores and ethnic food stores.

Our general definition is that a body butter doesn't contain water but is all oils, butters, waxes, etc. Vs say a thick lotion or cream, that does contain water. Just letting you know to help you "speak our language" a bit better, as you skim through the forum.

It might help us for you to get more specific. what type of product(s) do you want to make, and what scents do you want to use?

 

[Cellador]

I have used the Plant-based FO's from From Nature With Love. They claim they are not synthesized in a lab and contain "raw botanical sources."
But, they are pretty expensive and I find that the fragrance morphs over time in soap and/or other B&B products.

 

[Crownite]

I wanted to make skin care products like body butters, creams, lotions, face creams. Many of the ingredients I have been using haven't really had a scent to them (except coconut oil and the unrefined shea butter). I added a few essential oils to the mix but the smell of coconut oil often times over powers this so I was looking for something with a stronger fragrance. For example I was making a lavender body butter but the smell of the lavender essential oil didn't "stand out" in the way I had hoped.

 

[dixiedragon]

I am assuming you are using virgin or unrefined coconut oil? Get refined coconut oil and it will have little to no scent.

It's weird that your lavender EO didn't stand out. That's a pretty potent one. Read the bottle. Is it 100% lavender essential oil or is it "lavender oil" - which could just be some lavender fragrance in mineral oil.

 

[Crownite]

Hey Cellador,
I actually ordered a couple fragrance oils from them to try. About how long after use did you notice the morph in fragrance?

It was the virgin coconut oil. I had heard that virgin was more nourishing than refined and in the past the smell didn't matter to me. I'll do more research and experimenting with the refined and see how I like it.

The Lavender oil is from YoungLiving. I'm thinking it had to do with the strong smell of the coconut oil. I'm going to the recipe again with mango butter instead of the coconut (until I can get refined coconut) and see if it makes a difference too.

 

[dixiedragon]

YoungLiving and DoTerra are very very VERY overpriced. I am wondering if you were using a very small amount because your YL lavender was very expensive? If you want some to play with today, check out NOW brand at a health food store. Make sure it says 100% lavender essential oil. If you can wait for a delivery, I like Camden Grey. Liberty Naturals is another good one.

Also, Majestic Mountain Sage has their "amazing dozen" program. 12 1-oz bottles, free shipping.

 

[shunt2011]

I’m also guessing you didn’t use enough. Don’t waste your money on Young Loving. Get some EO from a reputable company like Liberty Naturals, Camden Grey etc, at half the price. Using refined butters and CO will give you better scent results.

 

[Cellador]

Hey Cellador,
I actually ordered a couple fragrance oils from them to try. About how long after use did you notice the morph in fragrance?

I made some soaps with the plant-based FOs that morphed within 6 weeks or so. I made some lotion with it recently and it morphed in about a month....but, the FO bottle had been in my cabinet for almost a year before I used it.

 

[Saponomancer]

I had pretty good luck with WSP's Pumpkin Spice natural fragrance from their small collection

 

[Crownite]

It was the coconut oil that made my product smell off. I tried making a foot balm with the same ingredients essentially but without the coconut oil and used peppermint and tea tree EO instead and it was much better.

 

[dndlyon]

I work in food regulatory and safety, but since we aren't talking food, this is also my in-expert opinion. I only mention it so you'll understand where I'm coming from below.

"Natural" doesn't really have an FDA definition, so at the end of the day, it typically comes down to what natural means to your customer or very clearly defining what you mean when you say natural. Otherwise, it just becomes a bit of a buzzword. If you search a bit on "fda natural flavors" you'll get an idea of how broad the word can be. Since there is no definition, there is no ability to enforce appropriate and consistent use of the word.

"Natural fragrance" can mean anything from a cold pressed essential oil to a chemical formula created in a lab to mimic the same fragrance as the cold pressed essential oil ("nature identical"). And, to dixiedragon's point, someone could technically use the term "natural" on a bar of soap that is made of ingredients from all sorts of sources (red #40).

If you are making products for friends, maybe just explain to them what you mean by natural. If you are buying ingredients or products from someone, don't hesitate to ask them what they mean - afterall, if this is a selling point from them, they are probably more than happy to talk to you about how natural the product is. If you are selling products, just my 2cents, but I like to buy from someone who has their own definition of natural and can tell me about it. It indicates to me that they know their ingredients, they know their process, and they are educated about their products and will provide good value and quality...but again...I work in the food industry and know a bit of behind the scenes product development and production, so I might not be the typical customer

 

[Richard Perrine]

It was the coconut oil that made my product smell off. I tried making a foot balm with the same ingredients essentially but without the coconut oil and used peppermint and tea tree EO instead and it was much better.

Hi. If you use refined CO, there is no distinct coconut odor. I recently and accidentally purchased some non-GMO refined coconut oil at the local Dollar Tree of all places and there is absolutely no odor nor coconut flavor (I like to lick the spoon ). I found 'natural' fragrance oils from Bulk Apothecary and Wholesale Supplies Plus. Results have been mixed.

 

[nighttrain123]

I've been doing some research on this, but bear in mind I'm EU based so it's from that POV.

There is no formal legal definition of natural ingredients or natural cosmetics but there are private standards such as natrue.org. EU regulation says you must be truthful in your claims so you may need to back up your claim to be 'natural'.

Fragrances can to some degree be seen as 'owned' by the International Fragrance Associated. Their definition or standard for 'natural' is to use ISO 9235. Natrue is aligned from this from what I can tell.

Link

I would suggest trying to align with this because it would give you a solid standing should anyone challenge your claims.

What is 'natural' isn't strictly intuitive according to IFRA and Natrue, although it's fairly unproblematic for essential oils which are just cold pressed or extracted with CO2.