Fragrance Oils
One of the most common questions that we are asked is about fragrance oils.
Natural vs. Synthetic?
What is in them?
How are they made?
Are the Safe?
Are they made with essential oils?
In short most of the fragrance oils that we use are Naturally Derived. This means that while they are made in a lab the carrier oils and aromas are derived from nature identical ingredients. In addition many of our fragrances do contain essential oils. This is mostly limited to the fruit and floral fragrances, such as lemon grass, gardenia, patchouli, and lavender. This type of fragrance allows us to offer a candle that is economical while still friendly to the environment and your health.
All of our fragrance oils contain no ingredients on California’s Prop 65 List of Cancer causing ingredients.
Perhaps just as important our fragrances are made with a base carrier oil that is derived from soy oil instead of petroleum by-products as most fragrances are. This eliminates one of the larger causes of allergies and sensitivities to fragrances. However, some people are actually allergic to the aromas and not the carrier oils.
We are also often asked why we do not use pure essential oils in our candles. There are two major reasons for this. The first is that many essential oils will not burn well in a candle. They are simple not meant for that type of use and must be modified or suspended in an appropriate carrier oil base to make them candle compatible.
The second reason is cost. Essential oils are generally much more expensive than naturally derived oils. On many of our fragrances we would have to triple our price to offer them in essential oils. Even at those prices the oils would actually be inferior to our current fragrances in the quality of the aroma, and the fragrance throw. This would make the candles extremely uneconomical and unaffordable. We caution you to be wary of candle manufacturers who offer candles in essential oils. Look at the price and think about it. If they are selling a 7oz candle for less than 20 or so dollars and they claim that is is made with essential oils, it probably only contains essential oils along with other synthetic fragrance oils.
Future blogs will discuss the environmental impact that the use of essential oils creates.