Allergens, fragrances and essential oils

Introduction 

It is not uncommon to hear certain natural detractors speak of allergens in the essential oils used in the composition of natural perfumes. Unfortunately, it is now rating applications that penalize products that contain it, even in small quantities. So let's try to see more clearly! 

Allergens in cosmetics 

An allergy is an unusual or overreaction of an organism's immune system  alive as a result of contact with a foreign substance (allergen). Allergy is a response  individual, specific to the person. Even if it can be severe, an allergy remains a phenomenon  rare in the population. Thus, people predisposed to react to an allergen must remain vigilant in order to avoid any contact (depending on their level of reaction) with the allergen. 

In cosmetics, European regulations list 23 allergens (limonene, cinalool, geraniol, etc.) whose presence must be mentioned on the packaging above a certain threshold. The thresholds are 100 ppm for rinsed out products and 10 ppm for unrinsed products, ppm meaning part per million. Perfumes are leave-in products, the limit is set at 10 ppm or 0.001% 

In a natural formula, these allergens are not added on purpose, they always come from natural ingredients. Natural allergens are naturally present in the multitude of molecules that make up essential oils. 

At Virevolte, we believe that declaring natural allergens is a good thing, the food sector does it too and it is part of our duty of transparency with our customers. On the other hand, we do not believe that these ingredients should be penalized by rating applications. Essential oils are systematically singled out by these decryption applications. They are our only alternative to synthetic products, without them only synthetic ingredients could be used. 

Essential oils are also natural ingredients that bring benefits beyond the fragrance : calming or soothing effects as well as antimicrobial benefits, tonic, anti-acne…. are assigned to them. All the molecules extracted by distillation are part of the totum of the plant and are an integral component of essential oils including allergens. For millennia, men have been confronted with these molecules present naturally in the environment. 

The risk of allergy, what is the difference between food and cosmetics? 

If we take the example of milk, which causes allergies in some people, has not become a pet peeve in the eyes of the general public, then why would essential oils be so when the allergenic aspect of a cosmetic remains? related to the user? Two different people exposed to the same substance will not necessarily react in the same way. And the risks associated with perfume allergens such as irritation or allergies only concern people who are sensitive to these substances... 

Admittedly, a person allergic to one of these molecules can experience discomfort if they are exposed. This is why we believe that a transparent and legible display on the products is important. But, this does not present a “danger” for the general public. These risks of reactions are very limited, the mention of these ingredients in the INCI lists has more of an aim informative than sanitary. The aim is to facilitate their detection for sensitive people. 

Moreover, the European Scientific Committee for Consumer Safety (CSSC) has published an information sheet explaining that only 1 to 3% of the European population has declared an allergy due to perfumery ingredients. 

Note that when peeling a mandarin or an orange, exposure to limonene is 1000 times superior to that of a cosmetic. And yet, peeling an orange presents no risk for non-allergic people. 

We can therefore affirm that perfume allergens are to cosmetics what fruits cockles are to foodstuffs. They are mentioned on the packaging to secure the people who can't stand them, but they pose no risk to people who don't. allergic. In food, the presence of these allergens does not affect the overall rating of the product given by "decryption" applications. So why do it in cosmetics? 

En conclusion 

We would therefore like rating applications to continue to identify for allergic people the allergens in the products but that the presence of allergens no longer intervenes in the rating of products to place cosmetics on an equal footing with food and get out of a rating system unfavorable to natural and organic cosmetics. 

Certified organic cosmetics certainly represent the most successful form of sustainable cosmetics by promoting the use of renewable resources and by contributing to the development of agricultural land cultivated organically. 

The transparency that the applications bring to the consumer remains interesting, but it seems unfair to us to disadvantage a source of natural fragrance while the use of natural ingredients contributes to advancing the cosmetics industry to offer the consumer ever healthier products for man as well as the environment. 

At Virevolte, find the composition of each of our perfumes as well as the details of the ingredients, where they come from and what they are used for in our formulas on each product page: eau de parfum Noir Délit, eau de parfum Rose Métamorphose, eau de parfum Orée Dorée, eau de parfum Vert Désert.