For one, essential oils are not really oils but natural mixtures of organic compounds found in herbs and plants. They are extracted from the petals of the flower, leaves, stems, roots, rind of the fruit, seeds, or even the wood of trees using distillation or expression (squeezing). Fragrance oils, on the other hand, are synthetic and man-made, which are engineered by chemists to yield an attractive scent “inspired” by essential oils.
Unlike essential oils, fragrance oils are not used to nurture one’s well being, although the fragrant smell can give a feeling of satisfaction for smelling good and even let you take a second sniff on that dashing guy or that sassy girl passing by. Essential oils produce specific pharmacological effects through skin absorption and inhalation, which is the very foundation of Aromatherapy practice, a widely used form of natural alternative medicine; fragrance oils are used to scent a wide array of commercial products with the only objective of improving the smell of the product and as such, are oftentimes called “perfume oils.” And while both can cause allergies to some extent to someone, fragrance oils can trigger allergies to people more than essential oils since the former have different chemicals as their component.
Tags: aromatherapy, Essential Oils, fragrance oils, organic