What’s the difference between fragrance oils and essential oils?

Many people ask us about essential oils and fragrance oils and the difference between the two. So, here are the main differences:

Essential oils are oils extracted from plants and are a natural source of fragrance. Many people prefer to use products containing essential oils because they feel that they are better for the environment and for people’s health. In many respects this is true, as they do not contain synthetic petroleum based ingredients, however there are some negative aspects to essential oils to keep in mind:

1. Some essential oils can only be obtained through the use of solvents (harsh chemicals). This contributes to environmental pollution.
2. Natural doesn’t mean safe. Essential oils have powerful medicinal properties, and can trigger seizures, increases in blood pressure, skin sensitivity, hormone imbalances, allergic reactions, headaches, abortions, liver damage, and other conditions. Pregnant or nursing women should not use products containing essential oils, as many can have negative effects on them. The same is true for babies (exceptions for babies include chamomile and orange or mandarin; these are considered safe). Not only can they be toxic to humans, they can also be deadly to your pets. Dogs seem to tolerate essential oils well, but some animals, such as cats, can suffer liver damage over a period of time from simply inhaling essential oils.
3. It is impossible to obtain essential oils from certain plants, which is why there generally aren’t any fruit essential oils (with the exception of citrus). So, those of us who love fruit and berry scents have to resort to fragrance oils, or abandon those scents all together. The same is true for all those dessert-type smells, like cake, caramel, and chocolate.
4. The production of essential oils requires enormous amounts of plant material just to produce a small amount of oil (for example, rose essential oil is reputed to require 1 ton of petals to produce a little under a pound of oil). This has in some cases led to the endangerment of plant species (sandalwood is a well-known endangered species, due in large part to its extensive use as an essential oil). And think about all the land and water resources spent on growing these plants, just to produce tiny amounts of fragrant liquid.
5. Essential oils can often be very expensive, which adds to the cost of producing products, and ultimately results in higher prices.

Fragrance oils are synthetically produced using petroleum or coal tar. Some contain essential oils along with the synthetic ingredients, but as fragrance oil ingredients are considered trade secrets, they are never divulged to the public. The use of fragrance oils in products has one major advantage: the wide variety of scents available. As stated above, many scents are not available as essential oils. The negative aspects of fragrance oils include:

1. They are synthetically produced and may be harmful to humans and animals, although they are generally considered safe by government health departments.
2. They do not have the positive medicinal effects that essential oils have. Their sole purpose is to make products smell good.

Traditionally, fragrance oils have been blamed for respiratory tract and skin irritation, however these are usually due to sodium laurel/laureth sulfate present in personal care products.

The only way to be 100% sure that products are not harming human or animal health or the environment is to use unscented products. However, we at Purple Urchin prefer to surround ourselves with delicious scents and cannot envision living in a world devoid of fragrance! For this reason, we use both essential oils and fragrance oils in our products in small quantities. Many of our products are 100% natural (meaning they are unscented or contain only essential oils to scent them) and others are between 97% and 99% natural (meaning they contain fragrance oils).

We encourage you to do your own research and make informed decisions about the products you purchase, and to only use products that you feel comfortable with.