If you’re a regular in the aromatherapy world or simply love oils and scents, you likely have already come across this term: natural fragrance oil.
Now, you might be confused as to what exactly natural fragrance oil is and that’s perfectly alright. After all, many other people are just as bewildered by the apparently ‘new’ addition.åç
This is why today we’ll be exploring what natural fragrance oil is. Let’s jump right in!
Natural Fragrance Oils
To start, let’s talk about the typical fragrance oils first. These are made from synthetic compounds and are often made in a laboratory. Most are composed almost entirely of petroleum by-products. This includes benzene derivatives, aldehydes, esters, toluene, and other chemicals.
Which begs the question, how can something man-made in the laboratory be called natural?
Well, in the case of natural fragrance oils, they’re made in a laboratory. However, instead of being created from synthetic materials, they’re made by isolating natural aromatic components from a complex scent. These are called isolates and they’re natural since they’re isolated from a plant.
How Are Natural Fragrance Oils Different From Essential Oils?
Both natural fragrance oils and essential oils are extracted through the same process. The only difference is that, with natural fragrance oils, you’re extracting an isolate. Or, to put it another way, you’re extracting a single scent molecule.
As for essential oils, you’re basically extracting the entire scent compound.
Pros of Natural Fragrance Oils
For starters, natural fragrance oils offer more in terms of variety. When you’re looking for a specific scent, the isolates from different essential oils can be mixed to make a new scent.
Plus, the scent of natural essential oils may be affected by elements and things like weather conditions as well as temperature. This will, of course, affect the consistency in terms of quality and aroma.
However, since natural fragrance oils are made in a lab where almost every factor is controlled, consistency ceases to be an issue.
For the same reasons, natural fragrance oils last longer and are more intense. Meanwhile, essential oils tend to lose their potency and aroma over time.
Cons of Natural Fragrance Oils
However, just like everything else in the world, natural fragrance oils are far from perfect. In essential oils, you can find a certain synergy formed from the interaction of hundreds of constituents. But, this synergy is sorely missing when you extract just the one isolate.
Sure, the isolates might offer some aromatherapy benefits separately, but research has shown that the benefits are amplified when you’re using an oil where nothing is added or isolated.
Besides that, many therapeutic properties that you get from essential oils can’t be duplicated in natural fragrance oils. Sure, you might get the same delicious scent but you likely won’t get to enjoy the same therapeutic effects.
All things considered, natural fragrance oils are excellent to complement essential oils. However, they aren’t meant to replace essential oils completely.
