Heroes or Villains? The Truth About Fragrance Oils and Essential Oils
- Michael Douglas-Smith
- Nov 7, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
If you’ve ever wandered over to a skincare aisle or scrolled a soap blog, you’ve probably seen it: fragrance oils portrayed as villains and essential oils as heroes. But is it really that simple?
As makers, this topic hits close to home for us at Douglas-Smith Soap Co. We handle these ingredients in their most concentrated forms, so we take safety seriously — for ourselves and for the people who use what we make.
In this blog, we’ll separate the myths from the reality, exploring how both fragrance oils and essential oils can delight your senses — or irritate your skin. From safety and stability to longevity and scent impact, you’ll learn how to choose and balance them in the bath and candle products you purchase with confidence.
What Are Fragrance Oils?
Fragrance oils are aromatic blends formulated in a lab to smell amazing and stay consistent from batch to batch. They’re created with a mix of aroma compounds and natural ingredients like essential oils, extracts, and resins.
They may include:
Natural isolates (single scent molecules taken from plants, like vanillin from vanilla beans)
Synthetic aromatics (lab-made versions of natural scents or completely new ones)
Stabilizers (to make the scent last in soap or lotion)
They don’t come directly from a plant the way essential oils do, but evidence shows that doesn't automatically make them “bad.” Here’s why:
Labs = Controlled Quality
Labs allow precise control over purity, safety, and consistency.
Many life-saving medicines, vitamins, and even food additives are made in labs.
Natural ≠ Always Safe
Some natural substances (like certain mushrooms or plant toxins) can be harmful.
Safety depends on testing, formulation, and proper use, not whether it’s natural or lab-made.
Why Labs Are Important
Labs help replicate beneficial compounds found in nature without relying on scarce resources.
They ensure products meet strict safety standards before reaching consumers.
Bottom line: Lab-made doesn’t mean harmful; it often means safe, consistent, and sustainable.
Today’s cosmetic-grade fragrance oils are more carefully formulated than ever before and tested for safe use on skin (de Groot & Schmidt, 2022).
Why Do People Worry About Them?
Labeling rules – In the U.S., “fragrance” can be listed as one single ingredient on a label, even though it may contain dozens of components. That lack of transparency makes people uneasy.
Skin sensitivity – Fragrance ingredients are among the most common triggers of skin irritation and contact dermatitis in cosmetic products. Even though they’re meant to smell good, they can irritate skin or trigger allergic responses — (please note: this is true whether they come from essential oils or synthetic blends) (Johansen, 2015). If you’ve got sensitive skin, you may have to patch-test.
Outdated ingredients – Some older fragrance oils used phthalates and other ingredients now linked to health or environmental concerns. Today, most suppliers and makers have moved to phthalate-free formulas that follow IFRA (International Fragrance Association) safety standards.
What About Essential Oils?
Essential oils are extracted in a distillery from herbs, flowers, and plants, most often through steam distillation. That involves heating the components until a gas is released, then condensing the gas back into a liquid. It’s a gentle process that ensures the sensitive compounds don’t break down. Despite this carefully controlled distillation process, essential oils are considered to be "natural" but “natural” doesn’t mean risk-free. Furthermore, being made in a distillery doesn't automatically make something better for you than if it were made in a lab.
Distilleries are designed for safe, large-scale production of food, beverages, and essential oils.
They follow sanitation and safety regulations to ensure products are safe for consumption or use.
Many natural products (essential oils, spirits, plant extracts) come from distilleries and are perfectly safe.
Bottom line:
A distillery excels at extracting aromatic compounds from natural materials at scale.
A lab excels at precision, repeatability, and controlled formulation.
Neither is “better” by default—performance, safety, and quality control matter more than where something is made.
Many well-formulated products use both, depending on the goal.
Why Do So Many People Think Essential Oils Are Always the Safer Choice?
“Natural” feels safe — but nature can be potent. 🌿
People often assume that because essential oils come from plants, they’re automatically gentle. But natural doesn’t always mean mild — peppermint, cinnamon, clove, and citrus oils, for example, can irritate or even burn skin when used at high concentrations. Certain essential oils can’t be used in leave-on products, and others can’t be used with certain health conditions. Mother Nature makes strong stuff!
They forget that oils are concentrated chemistry. ⚗️Hagen et al., 2016
Label confusion and “clean” marketing blur the facts. 🧴
Terms like “pure,” “therapeutic-grade,” or “clean” make essential oils sound safer than formulated fragrance oils. But, like the term “fragrance,” these aren’t regulated terms either— they’re just marketing language. Without understanding usage rates or safety data, even a “pure” oil can be misused Johansen, 2015
Heroes, Villains, and the Truth in Between
So before picking a side, let’s separate myth from fact. Here’s the science we actually have:
Essential oils can cause delayed hypersensitivity reactions and allergic contact dermatitis in some individuals, and certain oils (e.g., tea tree, ylang-ylang, lemongrass, sandalwood, clove, jasmine, and narcissus) are more frequently implicated in sensitization and skin reactions.Hagen et al., 2016
History of Hormone disruption — Mixed evidence: Mainly linked to phthalates, which are much less common today (Kunz, Fuchs, & Weisshaar, 2021).
General safety: Cosmetic-grade fragrance oils are designed and tested for safe use on skin (de Groot & Schmidt, 2022).
Finding the Perfect Balance
So how do you actually pick the right scents for your bath, candle, or soap products? The truth is, it’s not about heroes versus villains — it’s about knowing what each one does best. Here’s how to think about the strengths of fragrance oils vs. essential oils when choosing products:
Long-lasting vs. pure aroma: Fragrance oils are your go-to for scents that stick around. While essential oils give that fresh, botanical smell, they are sometimes a little delicate under heat or light and can fade in cold process soap and candles.
Skin-friendly choices: Both types of oils can cause reactions in sensitive skin, so it’s smart to start simple and see what works for you (Johansen, 2015). For example, if you know you have a sensitive nose and skin, but you want to try a handmade soap, start with something unscented. Then use your nose and brain to guide you as you try scented options. Your brain is a pretty good guardian to your needs, and if you listen to it, it will usually tell you right away if it’s not for you.
A little preference in every product: If you’re looking for something that lasts, think of fragrance oils as trusty sidekicks that carry the scent all the way to the last candle burn or soak. If you’re drawn to products derived from roots in nature — essential oils can be your heroes that bring authenticity, aromatherapy perks, and that “wow” factor for your senses (Tisserand & Young, 2014).
When you understand their strengths, you can lean into your preferences to pick and combine scents for bath and candle products that are safe, enjoyable, long-lasting, and wonderfully aromatic — without worrying about who’s a hero or villain.
When shopping, the key is quality and transparency. Look for makers who use phthalate-free, IFRA-compliant fragrance oils, have access to allergen and safety notes, and follow IFRA guidelines in their formulations. This is key for both fragrance oils and essential oils. Always patch-test if you’ve got sensitive skin.
The Final Plot Twist
We’ve proudly curated something for everyone — safely scented (according to IFRA guidelines) with options that contain essential oils as well as options that contain phthalate free fragrance oils . We have unscented options, and even customizable ones. We invite you to stop by our store for a sample to patch-test, or, if you’re shopping online, send us a message to find your perfect match. Your nose and your skin will thank you.
Now that you know the difference, we invite you to let your inclinations come forward! We hope this inspires you to explore a variety of scents with curiosity and joy — to find aromas that make your everyday feel a little more intentional and a little more beautiful. From our hands to yours, happy shopping!
Check out our website! Enter DREAMY in the promo code at checkout and get 15% off each item.
If you made it THIS far, THANK YOU for reading!
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Have a topic you'd like to learn more about? We invite you to make your suggestions in the comments below!
Treat Yourself and Your Skin Well,
Michael and Kevin
References
Bramble Berry. (n.d.).Essential oils vs. fragrance oilshttps://www.brambleberry.com/fragrance-and-essential-oils/essential-oils-vs-fragrance-oils.htm
Corsini, E., Galli, C. L., & Pesatori, A. (2019). Contact allergy to fragrances: In vitro opportunities for quantitative risk assessment.Cosmetics, 6https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/6/1/3
de Groot, A. C. (2020).Fragrances: Contact allergy and other adverse effects. Dermatitis, 31https://www.contactderm.org/UserFiles/file/Fragrances__Contact_Allergy_and_Other_Adverse.3-1.pdf
de Groot, A. C., & Schmidt, E. (2022). Essential oils – Natural products not necessarily safe.Contact Dermatitis, 87https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8243157/
Ghasemi, H., & Gharajeh, K. (2023). The therapeutic potential of essential oils in managing skin conditions: A scoping review.Pharmaceuticals, 17https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/17/5/571
Hagen, S., Warshaw, E. M., Belsito, D. V., Fowler, J. F., Taylor, J. S., & DeKoven, J. G. (2016). Allergic contact dermatitis to essential oils.DermNet NZ.https://dermnetnz.org/topics/allergic-contact-dermatitis-to-essential-oils
Johansen, J. D. (2015). Fragrances: Contact allergy and other adverse effects.Dermatitis, 26https://www.contactderm.org/UserFiles/file/Fragrances__Contact_Allergy_and_Other_Adverse.3-1.pdf
Kunz, S., Fuchs, M., & Weisshaar, E. (2021). Ubiquity, hazardous effects, and risk assessment of fragrances in consumer products.Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology, 60https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-020-00275-7
Rahmi, D., Yunilawati, R., Jati, B. N., Setiawati, I., Riyanto, A., Batubara, I., & Astuti, R. I. (2021). Antiaging and skin irritation potential of four main Indonesian essential oils.Cosmetics, 8https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9284/8/4/94
Schaefer, L., & Holtman, G. (2012). Adverse effects of aromatherapy: A systematic review of case reports.Wiener Medizinische Wochenschrift, 162https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22936057/
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