Fragrance gets a bad rap- and rightfully so. It’s usually derived from synthetic ingredients that damage the skin and add to overall toxic load. But what about essential oils?
What’s the difference between essential oils and fragrance?
"Fragrance" or "parfum" on a label is a legal umbrella term. It can hide one ingredient or two hundred, and companies aren't required to tell you which.
An essential oil is the opposite of that. It's a single, identifiable extract, distilled or cold-pressed straight from a plant. Lavender essential oil is lavender. Eucalyptus essential oil is eucalyptus. There's no umbrella term to hide added ingredients and chemicals, because there's nothing to hide.
Are Essential Oils Right For You?
Here’s the truth: essential oils aren’t risk-free for everyone. They're still active plant compounds, and some people with very sensitive skin do better with something completely unscented (as many of our bars are).
Naturally occurring compounds like linalool and limonene show up in a lot of essential oils, lavender and citrus especially, and can be a trigger for a small number of people even though they come from a plant. The difference is you can actually look that up, because we tell you exactly which oil is in your bar. You can't do that with a label that just says "fragrance."
If you're someone whose skin easily flares/gets irritated, try one of our fragrance-free and essential oil free options.
