Yesterday’s blog post stimulated a great deal of interesting conversation and feedback, as well as even more thought on my end.   I never regret thinking and questioning deeply. I hope that when I ruffle feathers – mine included – the movement created is ultimately a good thing.

It seems there are a few concurrent issues here:

• Green versus natural (e.g., don’t use essential oils distilled from endangered or threatened species; please see Cropwatch for more information)
  
• Safe usage of essential oils on the skin – independent of any trade organization’s mandates
  
• Regulation and recommendations and the politics therein
• The negative perception of fragrance oils by proponents of natural products (I share this perception!)
  

I speak sometimes about architecture because I live with a LEED-certified (green) architect, and I am fortunate to know other professionals in the industry as well.  I’m no expert in that field, but I hear discussion of a green concept called E-cubed:  Economy, ethics, and environment.   The dilemma is how to make balanced choices which satisfy all three.  I think most of the issues above fit into these categories.

And these categories are endless quagmires.  Is it more ethical to pay workers a low wage to harvest for essential oil distillation, is it more ethical to forbid clearing land (and risking deforestation) for a plantation, or is it more ethical to use a mindfully-created synthetic to satisfy our craving for, say, a sandalwood scent (sandalwood is endangered)?  Further, which is worse for our skin:  Too much cinnamon essential oil, which can lead to acute cross-sensitization and allergy (many aromatherapists would recommend not using it at all in a leave-on product such as a lotion), or a synthetic fragrance which is purported to carry a carcinogenic risk?  OK, what about phthalate-free fragrances, which have eliminated the carcinogen?  Perhaps you see how fuzzy this can get.

I have always been dead-set against synthetic fragrance.  I still am.  But as I learn more, I am coming to understand that they are not all created equally.  I also used to be against fragrance that is natural in source only (example:  you can obtain an almond-like scent by isolating and altering the naturally-occurring aromachemical cinnamaldehyde, which is present in cinnamon bark essential oil). So you arrive at a new class of fragrances.  Are they natural?

Bergamot essential oil, altered to be free of a chemical called bergaptene, is used by aromatherapists as a skin-safe product, allaying risk of photosensitization.  Now, IFRA ruffles a LOT of feathers, and some essential oil producers feel they have gone too far with their attempts at regulation.  Still, I have also learned that some essential oils which are banned by IFRA can be made skin-safe through a similar fractionation process, harvesting out the risky aromachemicals.   Are these still natural?

It is also true that some essential oils are not pure, especially when purchased in bulk.  So are they really natural?

There are indeed very harmful fragrance oils.  Please make sure, when you purchase products that are not naturally scented, you select phthalate-free fragrance.  If the package doesn’t say, ASK.  Phthalates are petroleum derivatives that are not good for our environment or our bodies (it is a reported carcinogen).  Even portions of these fragrance oils are created from naturally-occurring aromachemicals at times.   I would never use these, but you know what I’m going to ask…

I’m not a chemist, and I have thus far solely used essential oils in Sarva’s products.  I am still in the learning phase about these issues as they apply to fragrance–creating new materials that are natural in source–and I’m also currently wondering whether they can help us get around some the troubles as viewed from an E-cubed perspective:  (a) safe skin usage;  (b) environmental depletion; and (c) economic impact for those who harvest and distill plant matter.

In short: Are we seeing the evolution of a product made from natural aromachemicals, a new class of fragrances that addresses all of these issues?  I believe we are.

I don’t have the answers.  I still believe in nature; I still believe in essential oils.  When it comes down to it, I’m talking about 3-4% of a product formulation.  But that 3-4% carries a lot of weight in my book.    And it seems to me that we as humans are learning how to work in harmony with nature.  I think we should give this concept a chance.  And that is where I will be focusing my research.

Thanks so much for exploring this topic with me.