Did you ever know that fragrance and essential oil differs widely? Many people do not.
Don’t they work in the same way? The answer is no. It causes huge discussion and argument about fragrance oils vs essential oils in candles making.
Many features need to be considered when it comes to choosing between the oils. I have successfully outlined the main characteristics for you to choose one easily.
First, let us know the definitions of essential and fragrance oils.
What is an Essential Oil?
Let’s start with a clear definition of essential oil from Wikipedia:
“An essential oil is a concentrated hydrophobic liquid containing volatile chemical compounds from plants…”
This oil is a natural ingredient extracted from different parts of plants, barks, herbs, etc. However, don’t think that every plant has oil. No, not all herbs produce oil.
You may be curious to know how essential oils are extracted. Well, there are processes such as steam distillation, cold pressing, or they can also be hauled out with an alcohol-like solvent. In one sentence, we can explain that this is purely a natural-based oil.
Think of some examples, such as tea tree oil or coconut oil, orange oil, etc. These are all essential oils derived purely from their original essence.
What is Fragrance Oil?
From fragrance oil, you can get scented oils, soaps, candles, etc. How? These oils are manufactured by using different types of chemical products with a mixture of natural artifacts.
They are synthesized in such a manner that you’ll sometimes be able to smell fresh roses or maybe enchanting sandalwood, or at times you may feel surrounded by garden-fresh peaches.
Actually, the mixture of various components marks the creation of fragrance oil. Interestingly, popular scents such as civet or musk are derived from animals.
Fragrance Oil vs Essential Oil – Which One to Use?
Now this question is a confusing one. Which one to use or which one is preferable in candles? It is definitely not easy to decide, as there are many aspects that we need to keep in mind while choosing between them.
Let’s not beat around the bush anymore and prepare you to understand the differences between natural/essential oil and fragrance oil in a wider context.
Safety
There has been a huge debate for many years among the people about the safety of the oils. Till date, this creates a huge confusion for the users.
For a moment, think about the body products we use in our daily lives. Do you have knowledge of whether the fragrance oil used will be safe on your skin or no?
Fragrance oil consists of strong chemicals and different elements, as I have mentioned earlier. Therefore, these materials are inspected by the Research Institute for Fragrance Materials (RIFM), which researches the safety issue of these oils.
They examine the ingredients in body products, candles, air fresheners, detergents, and so on.
The International Fragrance Association (IFRA) is another association for policing the fragrance industry globally.
Thus, they assure us of the fact that even if a fragrance oil is a mixture of various toxic components, each of the components is thoroughly examined for being safe on every individual and also on the environment.
Moreover, the solvent used in fragrance oil named as Diethyl Phthalate to make the smell stronger is also proven to be toxic-free.
Despite the fact that natural oil is extracted from plants, that does not mean they are free from chemicals. In fact, natural oil consists of several types of raw components that are originally chemicals.
Researchers have recently found that essential oils are comparatively more sensitive to pets than fragrance oil when applied to the skin.
Price
When talking about price, we definitely sit with a whole lot of calculations. When it comes to cost, essential oils are pricier than the other one. To get one drip of scented oil, you need to use more than thousands of roses.
Whereas, the fragrance oil is generated with scented chemicals with some additives working as the cherry on the top. This doesn’t need many expensive natural ingredients.
Therefore, essential oils are more expensive than scented candles. It is best to employ the artificial ingredients which will provide you long-lasting aroma rather than culminating thousands and thousands of nature’s raw materials for this same aroma.
Aroma
When it comes to aroma, we tend to go for the scented oil. Many suppliers use 1 oz of scent per 1 lb of soy wax. That means they use 10% fully concentrated fragrance oil to our candles to prepare our soy candles with the finest perfume.
On the other hand, essential oils provide a very little amount of fragrance even when they are burned in the candle. As said earlier, it takes a whole lot of oil to attain that strong aroma given out by the fragrance oil.
Moreover, the essential oil cannot provide a wide range of aroma as compared to the fragrance oil.
The Healing Effect
You will be amazed to know that the ‘essence’ that is extracted from the plant has many healing properties. Some people prefer essential oil in their candles for this particular reason.
For example, lavender is used to remove stress and relaxation. For refreshment, the oil of peppermint is used. And for insect repellent, citrus or lemongrass can be used.
Well, this is not it! There are many healing effects in using essential oils. Since fragrance oils are artificial, they do not contain any curing or soothing effects.
I Don’t Want to Hurt My Wallet!
Now, I think you have a clear idea about the difference between fragrance oils vs essential oils in candles making.
I must say that both have their respective pros and cons, yet I prefer the fragrance oil for candles because it is economical as well as eco-friendly. They offer you a massive amount of long-lasting aromatic effects with a variety of scents.
Also, there is less tension about safety as for extra protection, manufacturers use only phthalate-free fragrance oils combined with the natural substance in our candles. Hence, making it a perfectly toxic-free candle for people around the globe!
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