Organic / Natural Fragrances?

This has been asked before and the response was basically no. It's hard enough to find 100% natural food nowadays let alone fragrances. If a scent was 100% natural, it would be a really difficult task to keep it from going stale. Just like food, it would only stay fresh for a limited time in the refrigerator.

You could buy some 100% natural essential oils (which aren't hard to find) and mix some drops with a carrier oil or alcohol. You then have a 100% natural fragrance but I guess you won't smell like Antaeus, A*men or Voleur de Roses.

Take a look at the L'occitane's perfumes. Some of them are completely natural like their Lavender fragrance.

You can try these Â* :

http://www.aftelier.com/cgi/home.pl

http://naturalperfumery.com/

http://profumo.it/

Edited : don't know why the last link doesn't quite work , but if you go to the URL , there sure is a site that has a wonderful selection.

The Art of Shaving Sandalwood is made from essential oils only and is also my favorite sandalwood

I believe Patyka is 100% natural.

i skimmed the article. not sure if they mentioned it, but benzene is a particularly bad one. i believe i've seen a form of it listed as a component in many colognes/perfumes. it's a carcinogen, can suppress your auto-immune system, and has other negative health effects as well. other benzene-like chemicals such as toluene, xylene, and phenol are also bad for you (if i recall).

that doesn't mean i'm going to stop using fragrances, but it is something to consider if you are putting it on your skin every day (remember that chemicals are absorbed through the skin), not to mention inhaling it. :-/

So how do you see what's in your fragrances? Not possible is it?

^
usually it's vague descriptions. but they'll often tell you what kind of alcohol or whatever is used.

in addition, you can check out these resources:
[hr]
1.) http://www.herc.org/news/perfume/risks.htm

2.) http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/
2a) http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2...&showall=1
2b) http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2...&showall=1

I have heard of Grandiflorum. Essential oils mixed with corn alcohol.
http://www.naturaessentials.com/ne_grand_perfume.html

Aubrey Organics also has some colognes and a mens line called Mens Stock with shave cream and aftershave. I have used the shave cream and aftershave lotion and they are really good products; close shave, moisturizing, light natural scent. The shave cream uses natural oil from pine, menthol, benzoin, rosemary, sage and the after shave uses pine, menthol, cedar. The after shave has some sweetness and smells a little like a cross between Gucci Envy and Polo Green. Denatured alcohol is supposedly a culprit to look out for in perfume/cologne cosmetics. At least when I too searched for a natural formulated cologne.

No, there is no benzene in any fragrances.

What do you mean by "a form of it"? There is only one form of benzene.

I am not surprised. Making you afraid of fragrances is the purpose of the lies and misinformation at this site.

Everything is harmful to your health. Even the oxygen in the air you breathe creates free radicals in your body that cause cancer and aging.

Eh, I'm going to die eventually. Pass me the EDP!

poor choice of words maybe. i mean benzo-whatever, basically a benzene ring with something attached to it. i assume you know what i mean. or with one of the H's substituted with something else. i'm pretty sure i saw some "form" of it listed in guerlain vetiver and a couple others for example. but i suppose i could be wrong. i didn't write it down or anything. just from memory.


yeah true. but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try to minimize the danger where you can. i'm not a chemist, nor an expert on the health effects of cologne. but it's always good to have the info. we can use it as we choose.


i'm curious. did you find any factual errors in the original article posted? i only skimmed it.

Sanzio, no one here can honestly tell you if in the long run wearing fragrances are harmful to your health. They don't know. I think what you asking is if it could cause cancer. As you know their are associated risks with everything we do in life. I would guess to say that cologne & perfume use have a very low one. I came back to add that just because a product is formulated of natural ingredients it may still be harmful to your health ie. skin and respiratory allergic reactions. I think it is a good idea to be conscious of what we put on and in our bodies, and what we come in contact with. My belief is everything in moderation. I think we all want to live a long, healthy, happy life.

a good rule to live by.

The principal components of all natural oil of cinnamon have a benzene ring in their chemical structure, the same for all natural oil of rose, oil of clove etc. also the synthetic fibres that your clothes are made out of, also some of the amino acids that your body is composed of contain a benzene ring in their structure.

There is only one form of benzene, it is toxic but nothing can be said about the toxicity of a compound simply because it contains a benzene ring in its chemical structure.

Some of the most potent carcinogens known are natural substances. Aflatoxin from moldy peanuts for one example.

ah, i could have sworn that i learned in college orgo that small substutions in benzene does not automatically render it safe to humans. for example, if memory serves, when i worked in research (years ago), we made sure to use toluene under the hood... but you probably know what you're talking about, so i'll take your word for it. of course benzene is just one example of potential toxic substances in fragrances... meh.


yes.

Some of y'all are concerned about wearing cologne and the health risks........... :-?

I'm 66+ years old and started smoking pipe tobacco in my early 20s. Smoked it 3-4 HOURS after supper every night. I switched over to cigars about 10 years ago and then to Cuban cigars about 3 years ago. I smoke 2-4, 7"x49 ring gauge(a little bigger in diameter than a 'nickel' cigars per day.

Cologne doesn't 'skeer' me 8-).

Dan

Nothing is "safe". Even oxygen is toxic. But small substitutions on the benzene ring do alter the toxicity by orders of magnitude; benzene is a potent carcinogen, toluene (methylbenzene) is not. Certainly, I would only work with benzene in a fume hood but requiring a fume hood to work with toluene; that is an over abundance of caution unless it was only because toluene is flammable.

But, yes, to be as safe as possible one should not wear any fragrances even all natural ones.

hmm maybe that was the reason.


heh well i don't think anyone is suggesting that, but i don't think it's unreasonable to try to find out what exactly is in the stuff that we spray on ourselves every day, and whether or not it's bad for us. for example, http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2...;id=1000000128 taking a sniff of it - surely harmless. drinking gallons of it - surely harmful. spraying it on yourself every day for years? i don't know. somewhere in between i suppose. anyway, i'm not too concerned. but some people might be.

This is such a muddled analysis it would take a while for me to decontsruct it. These people should take a class in critical thinking - or, better, just send me all of what they are smoking.

heh heh. well if you're interested, the methodology is here: http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/info_about.php

Lots of words doesn't make the analysis accurate.

For examples:

If a fragrance lists only "Fragrance, alcohol and water" it gets a low hazard rating. If the same fragrance lsited all of the ingredients it would get a much higher hazard score as your example did.

Triethanolamine is a nitrosating agent?? I don't think so. Triethanolamine is an amine, it could react with a nitrosating agent (such as sodium nitrite in an acidic environment) to form a carcinogenic nitrosamine but it is not a nitrosating agent. Triethanolamine is widely used in cosmetics.

A negative score for containing BHT?? BHT is widely used in foods and considered safe but these people consider it toxic in topical use.

I think a company called "Herban Cowboy" makes an organic fragrance called Dusk. I've seen it at Whole Foods. It isn't bad, but it isn't great either. Fiancee called it "too flowery" giving it the nix.
K

geez, you're getting too technical for me man. i wasn't interested enough to read the whole methodology myself. sure, it's subjective in some sense. science comes up with contradictory results all the time, and even the same study is open to different interpretation regarding relevance. and as we know, there's no such thing as 100% confidence in research. but it seems to me that these people made a pretty good effort in gathering and mining this data. of course i can't personally vouch for the study, and i'm sure you know your stuff about BHT and nitrosating agents, so i'll defer to you on the specifics. but i don't think that finding a few things you disagree with (or even finding a few errors) is enough reason to disregard all the information provided within. baby with bathwater and such.

Even essential oils undergo some processing phase, which I don't consider natural because the plants that are used are engineered and exposed to many fertilizers and chemicals. The only way for sure to get some Grade A stuff is to actually press your own organically grown plants yourself and extract the oils.

As for the dangers of wearing fragrance, I can't say it's completely harmless because I doubt anything is nowadays. I suppose you could reduce the risk by spraying on your clothes, but that would defeat the purpose. I don't think about it much because with all the pollution in the city, fragrance is the least of my worries. If you had any idea what chemicals are used in most food products, you'd think less about cologne.

or more about food. :P

www.oriscent.com

I don't know how natural the oils are but they smell unlike anything I've ever come across. Â*I've tried the sandalwood and aloeswood, Â*so far.

From a discussion on Luca Turin's blog:
http://lucaturin.typepad.com/perfume...profumoit.html

There is mention of this site:
http://naturalperfumery.com/index.htm

Michel Germain (of Sexual fame) introduced an all-natural feminine fragrance called Immaculate back in 2001.

It didn't last (figureatively and literally). ;D

My secret:

Go for regular checkups, meditate, do volunteer work for your community, exercise, take up jogging/cycling, eat healthily, drink plenty of fluids and throw in an apple a day. You'll be fine.

...and die of boredom.

Yeah, I tested it this evening, and I agree: "Dusk" isn't bad, but not worth $30 to me. I have been trying to figure out which essential oils give it that "dusky" smell: I can't tell, but the aftershave balm has carrot, cucumber, collagen, and aloe... and I noticed it's not listed in the Basenotes Directory. Â* Â*Here's the website: http://herbancowboy.com/ Has anyone else tried this and would like to comment?

There are many natural scents available, some great ones. Most of them cant compete on the same field as the synthetically derived and or enhanced contemporary products, either in longevity of sillage or shelf life.
The concern over health effects of cologne usage seems ludicrous to me when you consider how many other much more serious (and obvious) health concerns face most people. Similar to ordering a diet coke with that gutbuster burger and fries.
I would agree with milamber.

One other source I didn't see mentioned yet is Aveda.
Their "Pure-fume" cologne is decent, but short on the longevity scale.
I think Aveda claims to use only natural products.

Art of Shaving Sandalwood claims to be all-natural as well.

...

The thing about natural ingredients is once they are extracted they are no longer in their natural form. So going only with natural ingredients does not guarantee a level of risk that is equal to routine natural contact. And, in fact, there are common items that contain toxins at non-harmful levels, but when concentrated they can cause harm.

Really, I doubt it, what source do you have for this information?

It seems to me that there is some confusion over the terms "natural" and "toxic".

I would have no qualms about putting pure grain alcohol on my skin every day, but I wouldn't drink a pint of the stuff every day. Â*Natural substances are not necessarity healthy to eat or put on your skin (ie. many full-strength essential oils are considered toxic for internal AND external use but, when properly diluted, they are known to be safe or even beneficial). Â*Isn't arsenic (sp) a naturally occuring substance in the blood? Â*I share Andrew B's view that proportion is the dominant issue here. Â*That is not to say that we can blindly trust the FDA to protect us from any and all risks associated with the use and consumption of cosmetics and food products. Â*I don't know if it's true, but I heard in an interview (on NPR) with a cosmetics scientist that the average lipstick-wearing woman ingests a quarter pound of lipstick in a lifetime. Â*Could lipstick be linked to breast cancer? Â*Who knows. Â*In this age of uber-technology, I am sure someone could or has produced a line of completely organic, reasonably non-toxic, long-wearing fragrances with a good shelf life. Â*If there's a big enough market someone will supply it.

PS. Â*Conversely, just because it's synthetic doesn't mean it's toxic either. Â*I think you get my drift.

I don't have all of the answers but do work with plants, food and herbs. Â*"Natural" is a meaningless term. Â*Poison ivy is natural. Â*You wouldn't put it on your skin. Â*Technically, "organic" means that it's carbon-based, which is the majority of natural substances in the world, but of course that's not what you meant either. Â*You meant a plant-derived fragrance, grown organically, as in grown and processed without toxic pesticides and fertilizers. Â*The field of organics is regulated differently in many countries, so you need to be aware of where things are grown and processed. Â*

That being said, you could easily have a sensitivity to a perfectly natural and organically grown substance, the same way that some people have common food allergies and others have seasonal allergies and hayfever. Â*We are all different and there's research being done worldwide about whether some people, of pure ethnic backgrounds, can safely digest certain foods and herbs (that their bodies have evolved to safely digest), while others from other ethnic backgrounds or races, might have sensitivities to those same plants which aren't native to the part of the world where they or their ancestors are from. Â*And since so many of us are now of mixed ancestry, this can be difficult to answer.

But back to fragrances. Â*There are companies that do sell organic essential oils; I'm sorry that I don't have any names offhand to offer. Â*But then again, you might have skin sensitivities to some of these oils anyway, so you should be aware of that possibility. Â*Also, there are many essential oils that just shouldn't be applied directly to your skin, but must be diluted in a carrier oil to be safe. Â*And there are some people, such as massage therapists, that use essential oils every day and have developed sensitivities to the oils normally considered benign, so moderation, as mentioned earlier here by someone else, is also important. Â*There are essential oils to avoid if you have certain health conditions, or are taking certain medications, or even if you're pregnant or nursing (for any women reading this). Â*

I don't know how (or if) fragrances are regulated in any way. Â*But there are organizations, such as the Environmental Working Group, that do report about certain ingredients used in cosmetics Â*Here's a link to their site:

http://www.ewg.org/issues/siteindex/...p?issueid=5005

The skin is the largest organ of the human body and we definitely absorb so many toxins through the skin, but of course naturally ingest so many more in our foods, beverages and even water. Â* There's been some talk that self-tanning lotions might be carcinogenic, but I don't know if this has yet been proven by anyone. Â* I'd really advise reading research done by reputable groups, to ease your comfort about health concerns. Â*I think some European countries often have stricter health codes (but not always) than the FDA, so perhaps you might search some of their national health websites.

As for applying fragrances, why not just open a window when you do so, so that you're not directly breathing in any vapors? Â*That would at least reduce your respiratory intake of any possible substances you have concerns about. Â*Or just apply them outdoors, before getting dressed each morning. Â*I'm sure your neighbors might enjoy the free show. Â* Â*

Hope you find one. Please search for it somewhere else. These threads are so boring and unenlightening. Droning on and on about the safety of everything.

Don't be so afraid. There are all kinds of ways to use natural scents. Seek them out. This probably isn't the best place. It was a "natural" perfumer who pulled all the dynamic out of the Luca Turin blog and prompted Turin to abandon his contribution to those who appreciated the complexity of the world of perfumes and his unique insight.

...

This is only claiming that they use some natural products, not that they use only natural products.


I don't know what preservatives have to do with longevity.

...

I thought the whole purpose of preservatives was to increase longevity. Â*Yes? Â*No?

Preservatives protect longevity as in product shelf-life. The longevity of the scent once it's on your skin is controlled by other factors.

-ben

LOL, you don't really believe that stuff do you? Creed is certainly committed to pure hype.

as i posted a few days ago

"Wherever possible, Olivier Creed insists on using natural essences instead of the synthetic ones used increasingly by large perfume companies these days."

from http://www.creedfragrances.co.uk/site/about_creed (emphasis added by me)

- duck

I''ll buy that.

[quote author=pluran link=1129616721/45#46 date=1147663154][quote author=Sanzio link=1129616721/0#0 date=1129616721]


Hope you find one. Please search for it somewhere else. These threads are so boring and unenlightening.
Droning on and on about the safety of everything.



Well Pluran. Â*I find it curious that you would follow a thread that you find so boring. Â*In my opinion the Basenotes Community is exactly the place to discuss "all things fragrance". Â*Heck, there's even an "off topic" forum. Â*I'm interested in non-synthetic fragrances purely as a niche craft and I appreciated the recs for sources of such fragrances. Â*
Just because a thread bores or annoys you, doesn't mean it has no place in the forum. Â*I do, however appreciate your reference to the Luka Turin Blog. Â*I intend to look it up.

Respectfully,
Eau Boy

Constant contradiction in Science is essential, and I just stay out of the way and do what I want. Worrying is more detrimental to your Health than Inner Peace.

There is a 100% Natural Fragrance! It's called AJNE and it's been on the market for just over a year. They recently launched at Bendel's in New York and you can check out their website at www.ajne.com. They list all their ingredients and the perfumist Jane Hendler is trained in ancient alchemy and she does not use ANY synthetics in her fragrances. Which I might add are just divine and very complex. They average about 20-notes each. You can order samples from her website.

www.profumo.it gives certification of 100% naturality http://www.profumo.it/perfume/companies/guaranty.htm
Rewew by Luca Turin at http://www.profumo.it/internet-docum...luca_turin.htm

The challenge with natural perfumes is not so much their life shelf (alcohol never gets spoiled, it just evaporates; and oils such as jojoba which I use in my oil based perfumes; virtually never go rancid). My experience with natural perfumes is that they last perfectly well for at least two years, when stored properly. Often times, they ever get better after that.

The challenges in natural perfumery are based in some of the aesthetic limitations: a narrower range of notes, as well as challenges of creating a scent that has both enough sillage as well as longevity. There are quite a few independant natural perfume houses that use essences such as essential oils, absolutes, concretes and CO2 extractions and tinctures (of course you may argue that these aren't natural either, because in nature the scent of the plants is "diluted" within the non-aromatic part of the plants, etc.) but this is as close to "natural" as you can get with perfumes.

As for safety - I would like to point out that all aromachemicals and aromatic essences (as the ones described above - essential oils, absolutes) are extremely concentrated, and even when diluted are still very powerful. If they weren't, they wouldn't have had that strong smell!
To create one drop of rose oil, many kilos of roses needs to be distilled. This is much more concentrated than rose scent appears in "nature". I recommend pregnant women to not wear any fragrance at all (or as little as possible and very diluted) when pregnant. Scents get absorbed into the body through the bloodstream and through inhalation without getting filtered in the liver, so they affect the body quite strongly. However, I find personally that although the skin is as sensitive to natural essences as it is to any chemicals, the effect that natural perfumes and essences have on the nervous system and the respiratory system is profoundly gentler. Many of my customers and clients who have suffered allergic reactions (eye-watering, sneezing and respiratory shock) to commercial perfumes containing chemicals had no adverse reactions whatsoever to my "all-natural" perfumes. I know people who developed migranes and headaches when wearing commercial perfumes experience none of these symptoms where they were wearing perfumes from my line.

I personally prefer to use scents only on my pulse points (as opposed to my entire skin) as to let my skin and my body be, while still enjoying perfumes. This way both my skin and my nose (and mind and heart of course) are happy...

For reference: quite a large group of natural perfumers (and me amongst them) are member of the Artisan Natural Perfumery Guild, and are listed both on this site:http://artisannaturalperfumers.org/
and on http://naturalperfumery.com/