This is asked quite often, much to my pleasure. And usually leads to a discussion of scents, aroma’s and fragrances. What causes the wonderful smells? Why do they smell different from time to time? What are the different types of products that produce smells? Are they natural?
There are 3 different base types of aroma’s used widely in skincare production;
Certified Botanical Essential Oils are the purest form for not only aroma, but also taste and activity as they possess a medicinal value. These will vary with season & crop, just like wine does. This explains why the scent of the essential oil can be different per batch. The aroma tends to be more subtle and richly deeper.
Botanical Extracts are a less expensive natural aroma source. However I tend to steer clear from these due to the process and alcohol content they possess. Very drying to skin as confirmed by using products containing them. You are able to taste the actual extracted plant (think vanilla extract).
Synthetic Fragrances are just that, lab made smells. Sharper with no depth, aggressive to the point of some being offensive. No taste or medicinal value from them, therefore I do not use them.
Due to the demand for purer ingredients and to counter the cost of them, suppliers offer a combination of essential oils and synthetics so that producers can advertise that they use essential oils for marketing purposes. I find this shamefully deceptive. To avoid these products look for a 100% pure essential oil disclaimer seal. The word “fragrance” in the ingredient deck is another clue that it is synthetic in source.
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