Natural Vs Synthetic: Essential Oils and Fragrance.

We all love a beautiful scent. From floral to citrus, or perhaps earthy, we usually have a favorite type of scent and like our homes and products we use to convey something of our personality. Scents bring back memories and transport us instantly to fun or sad times. Even unscented makes a statement about what we like. Perhaps straightforward and clean. However,  if we are able to use them, most like scented products. But what goes into the scents we use? And are they actually good? We all know scents affect our moods, and even how well we sleep at times, which can in turn eventually affect our health. But are they healthy for us in and of themselves?

You do not have to research very long before you will see the battle between synthetic and natural scents. We take the side of the natural and this article is to explain our positions. Please understand nothing we say here is of any medical value, and has not been evaluated by any agency whatsoever. This is purely our opinion. You need to do your own research and form your own opinions about what is best for your family.

So let’s discuss the good, the bad and the ugly and how to discern the difference. We’ll start with stating the obvious that natural does not automatically mean it is good for you! Essential Oils come from plants so you could probably get a fairly strong Poison Ivy *Essential Oil* if you wanted to… Ever brush against a vine and you can’t seem to get rid of it? That’s because the oils themselves got onto your skin and the allergic reaction begins. Around 85% of people are allergic to poison ivy and around 10-15% are extremely allergic. For those that are it can be miserable or even land you in the hospital. See tip* below for if you ever do unwittingly brush up against it.

What exactly are Essential Oils? They are the volatile scented oils that are separated from the water and other juices of plants. Essential Oils are hydrophobic, meaning resistant to water, thus are called oil, even though they are not made up of fatty acids like *true* oils are. Essential oils can be extremely powerful and strong. And they need to be carefully handled and not use them too strongly in a formulation or they can actually damage your skin. If you are pregnant, breast feeding, or have cancer or any other serious medical condition we highly recommend speaking with a knowledgeable health care practitioner before using any scented product, natural or not! Many essential oils are safe under most circumstances, such as Patchouli or Lavender. (We do not recommend using any Essential Oils neat (undiluted) without proper study and knowledge.) However, all Essential Oils should be used with caution.

Do think about this though. If you handle a citrus fruit (something God obviously intended most people to be able to do, with exceptions for certain conditions) you are handling essential oils neat (straight) in small quantities, and your hands, if left unwashed, will remain scented for quite some time.  If you pick a flower, same.

But if you contact poison ivy… same. That is why we need to be careful.

We have been committed from our founding to create only products that are actually good for your skin, not second rate.

Another good question we have been asked is concerning natural fragrance oils that we make available in a few of our body products. Are they safe, and why do we even use them? We did lots of research on these fragrances before using them in any product. The simple explanation of what they are is isolated parts of the essential oils blended together to form a new scent, AKA Essential Oil Isolates. They also use other plant parts such as plant esters to help form the scent. They are 100% natural, and almost always can actually be safely used in higher concentrations than essential oils due to the “milder” parts of the oils being used*. (We keep all Essential Oils in the safe range, and the Essential Oil isolates below what is considered safe!) Think of the Essential Oil isolate fragrances like most of the food you eat. Do you eat anything with chocolate in it? Well, you eat the chocolate only after it has been broken up into constituent parts and separated. This is true for almost every part of our lives.                                                                                                     *Please note that just because something is deemed safe by certain agencies does not mean we share that opinion and then use that item in out products.

We do offer Essential Isolate Scents in a few products due to the scent profile they offer that are difficult or impossible to replicate using only straight Essential Oils. We are always completely transparent on every single ingredient that goes into our products and list them on every product page so you can see if it is essential oils or essential fragrances. They are an option in our Soft Lotion Bar, our Softstick, and our Buttery Soft Lotion Concentrate. All those products have both Essential Oil and 100% natural Essential Oil isolate options as scents! All other products are available in Essential Oil scents only. We are comfortable using both, but do have Essential Oil options in the products we have those in, with the exception of our Chocolate Softstick as the Chocolate Natural Flavor Oil is part of the awesome *flavor* they have. (Regular Softstick has both options available.)

There are many paraben-free, nasty ingredient-free scents on the market today and truth be told they are probably much better for your skin and body that the ones available just a few short years ago. But synthetic fragrances still commonly contain petroleum byproducts and other cheap, not so good for you, filler ingredients.  And close to 75% of scented products do still contain Phthalates! Phthalates are associated with hormonal disruption, reproductive issues, and are believed to be carcinogenic. Take care to read ingredient labels and purchase your products from transparent, trustworthy companies. May 2024

*If we get Poison Ivy on our skin and have access to dish detergent we go immediately and wash with straight dish detergent. It is essential oil that got on us and detergent strips oils. We then follow up with a clay mask of some type and wash again.

If we are outside in the woods and away from home we always grab a handful of soil (preferably clay) from the ground, wet it slightly from the canteen, and apply to the contaminated spot. Leave on until dry, wash or rub away and repeat. The soil will help absorb the oils from the plant.

This is what we do when coming iin contact with Poison Ivy because we know we do not have any dangerously serious allergies to it. Always seek medical treatment if you have had any kind of allergic reactions in the past or present. This is not meant to replace your physicians advice.