EO vs. FO

Can someone tell me a bit about the differences between EO's and FO's?

It seems as though I read somewhere that EO's are almost always preferable over FO's and that FO's tend to be more irritating to sensitive skin.

 

Essential Oils are pressed/extracted from plants with processes that are not supposed to alter the natural structures of the oils.

Fragrance oils are synthetic.

Fragrance oils have a scent that tends to last longer and can be stronger scented; however, some people are more likely to have reactions to them.

However, you can also be allergic to some EOs as well.

 

Some people are more sensitive to one or the other. Unless you notice a trend, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

Not really, no. You can't be sensitive to one group or the other because both groups containe a huge variety of different chemicals and have no common denominator. You can have allergic reactions and/or sensitivity to a whole variety of substances regardless whether they're manmade or natural. Having reactions to one fragrance oil doesn't mean you're having trouble with FOs per se and the same goes for EOs.

As far as the difference between the two is concerned I think Justin explained it all. Neither of them is more harmful or harmless it all depends on the single substance you're looking at. I'd even go so far and say that natural essential oils might be even more problematic than fragrance oils in general because FOs show far less variances and are (at least here in Europe, it is different in the US) tested far more strictly than "natural" oils which can have impurities and differ from crop to crop and year to year.

I know people tend to say FOs are harder to the skin. This is because in the US you can put any FO you like into your product regardless of the origin and a toxic report on the product (if one even exists). This leads to many products with questionable and/or even harmful FOs in them. Other countries/regions (as the EU) are far stricter on what kind of substances are allowed for use (for example and I don't mean this in a judging way: I'm sure you couldn't use 90% of the FOs some US soapers use over here in Europe due to safety reasons) in cosmetic products.

 

Many people who have issue with EOs are reacting to natural molds, proteins, and yeasts that are common in many of the plants used to make the oils. So, to some extent it could be a trend to react only to EOs.

Given that, your post does add clarification and I completely agree about US regulation of FOs. I don't have many sensitivities, but my wife does and I've notice far fewer cologne samples from European makers bother her compared to the typical US colognes.

 

Typically, FOs are associated with a large number of adverse reactions and sensitivities, but not usually real allergic reactions. EOs are more likely to cause real allergic reactions, most likely for the reasons mentioned by Erik.

That said, EOs are typically preferred as far as actual fragrance goes. They tend to be much more complex and retain subtleties that are rarely matched in FOs, as the chemist is generally matching the top few chemicals in the fragrance, rather than the entire gamut in the natural oils. EOs generally cost more than FOs, but not always. Some EOs are prohibitively expensive, such as Rose Absolute and real Indian Sandalwood, but are considered quite superior. Real sandalwood EO costs >$1000/oz, while a sandalwood FO may be only a few dollars.

 

I use both. Some say EOs are better because they are natural but that is not always the case many EOs can be dangerous, for example...bitter almond EO will kill you.

Issy

 

It surely isn't limited to the soapers in the US, I mentioned them because their products are often advertised and talked about here. I've never read about homemade Argentinian shaving soap with FOs here on TSD
I don't want to name names but there is a soaper in the US (who once was a member here in the early days) that even states some soaps as being unusable for people with sensitive skin due to the FOs used. Having talked to an insightful German person I now know that these FOs and many more used in the products advertised in that shop would never be allowed for use in cosmetic products in the EU due to their irritating and possibly toxic nature.
I'm not saying EU soapers are better than those from the US or vice-versa, I just wanted to elaborate on the differences as far as regulation of these substances are concerned and the possible effects on the customer. I know I can trust you and the stuff you use, JoAnna as well as a few others and I know there's people cheating on each side of the ocean - I was just trying to explain the reason why some people find FOs to be generally harder to the skin and that reason is based on what substances you can legally use in whichever part of this planet you create your products.

 

I wasn't even thinking about the home-made varieties. I'm more concerned about what the big companies are using in colognes and aftershaves that anything else.

 

Here is a great site for questions about eo's and fo's.