New with some essential oils questions-fragrances-

November 8, 2006

Never having studied chemistry I'm trying to remain neutral to the

information from the " green " websites until I've learned more. They

tell you all the toxic, cancer causing chemicals that go into making

fragrances, tell you to substitute essential oils, but never explain

the chemicals in them. I would hate to find that I have up commercial

brand soap, made my own with essential oils then substituted one

dangerous chemical for another. Susan

, " aromamedical2003 "

<aromamedical wrote:

>

> Susan,

>

> Firstly you must not believe a fraction of information on commercial

> web sites in regards safety issues, or much else they say for that

> matter. See the group archives for other posts I have made on these

> issues. The vast majority of such web sites are run by people with no

> training of any kind in anything they talk about or preach.

>

> >artificial fragrances as they are petrochemical based

> This statement proves the person making it is talking out of their rear

> end. The fragrances used in commercial products are highly complex

> mixtures of fragrance materials which often include fractions of

> essential oils. Yes some fragrances can be totally synthetic, but even

> then they are not just made from petro chemicals. In reality many semi

> synthetic fragrances are made by using turpentine and other plant

> extracts as starting materials.

>

> It is just not true that most synthetic fragrances are harmful. Many

> of the chemicals used to construct these are better researched as far

> as safety is concerned than many natural products. That is

> particularly noticeable in aromatherapy where now there are many

> essential oils on which there is NO safety data.

>

> There are other issues surrounding the use of synthetic fragrances, but

> these are more to do with their none environmental friendly production

> that anything else.

>

> Martin Watt

> http://www.aromamedical.com

>

November 14, 2006

, " susan " <ripple95 wrote:

>

> Never having studied chemistry I'm trying to remain neutral to the

> information from the " green " websites until I've learned more. They

> tell you all the toxic, cancer causing chemicals that go into making

> fragrances, tell you to substitute essential oils, but never explain

> the chemicals in them. I would hate to find that I have up commercial

> brand soap, made my own with essential oils then substituted one

> dangerous chemical for another. Susan

If you don't do the work, you very well might end up substituting one

chemical you are trying to avoid with another you are trying to avoid.

There are marine pollutants that are petrochemicals, that are synthetic

chemicals and that are essential oils. That is why regardless of what

ingredients you use, you can't safely make products without doing the

research.

It's hard to research synthetic fragrances because many of them are

protected as trade secrets. So, too bad...you have to just trust the

supplier. So instead, you have to pretty much evaluate them as a broad

catagory with generalizatons...unless of course you " are " a chemist or

have inside information.

Essential oils on the other hand, have loads of information available

to evaluate. They can be analyzed and their chemical profile

determined. But like all things in nature, they will vary year to

year, crop to crop. And quality is also a factor. Go to a Wine

Tasting and see how many different opinions there are for a " good

wine " . But if you want to learn about EOs, there is no lack of

information available from beginner books to advanced chemistry, and

much in between.

As for the resources that " tell you [about] all the toxic, cancer

causing chemicals " but " tell you to substitute essential oils, but

never explain the chemicals in them " . Explaining isn't their job.

That's the customer's job to understand what is in what they are

buying. Even the most BASIC aromatherapy course and book contains

something about the chemistry of essential oils!! But you are not

going to find a shortcut to an education about them on a website

devoted to selling them...that is not their purpose. When you go to a

bakery to buy a muffin, they don't tell you about the different amounts

of gluten in the various wheats they used and how those levels

conribute to the muffins. Know what I mean?

Sue

November 16, 2006

, " CT HERB " <Email wrote:

>

> It's hard to research synthetic fragrances because many of them

are

> protected as trade secrets. So, too bad...you have to just trust

the

> supplier. So instead, you have to pretty much evaluate them as a

broad

> catagory with generalizatons...unless of course you " are " a

chemist or

> have inside information.

----------------------

I have never had a problem obtaining fragrance oil information from

manufacturers. Just tell them you need to know what chemical

constituants they contain. There may be some propietory blends, like

the Chanel or Shalimar lines. But for a basic small toiletry maker,

establish a good relationship with your supplier. They should be

willing to give you this information.

Joanne

----------------

>

> Essential oils on the other hand, have loads of information

available

> to evaluate.

And loads of misinformation to wade through as well.

Joanne

------------------

They can be analyzed and their chemical profile

> determined.

As can fragrance oils. If you ever find a fragrance you want to

duplicate, a fragrance house will run a profile on it for you. I

have had this done before. Also, a really good perfumer can tell you

an amazing amount of information just by smelling a mixture.

Joanne

November 18, 2006

Dear Susan,

Hi there! I agree with Sue. By the way, my middle name is also Sue so

we have 3 Sues here in a row. <;-D Ok, you can laugh at my poor joke now.

I have been working and playing with essential oils and herbal oils

since about 1983 when no one knew much about essential oils in this

country. I had one book by Robert Tisserand that was way beyond my

knowledge but I kept on looking and asking questions. Today I am still

asking questions because there is so much to learn that I still don't know

and this is after taking many, many aromatherapy classes as well as

teaching aromatherapy classes and having my own business for over 16 years

now. Aromatherapy/essential oils area is a never-ending learning process.

So keep reading, digging and experimenting. At one time I was

over-confident and ended up with several sensitivities to the essential

oils so now I focus on working and making aged infused oils. However, I

have found that aged infused oils can be almost as hazardous to work with

as essential oils if you don't have rules and protocols that you follow. I

always tell people to err to the side of caution.

If you read the posts from this group you will learn a lot. Join other

essential oil groups and lurk until you feel confident to ask questions. I

am still asking questions after all of these years and will continue to do

so until I can't talk.

Take care. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Rhavda Emison

www.scentsofsuccess.com

Original Message:

-----------------

CT HERB Email

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 01:44:58 -0000

Re: New with some essential oils

questions-fragrances-