Beauty products and perfumes often contain essential oils, usually for their fragrances, as they have the ability to mask the unpleasant odors of fatty acids, oils, and surfactants required in the manufacturing of cosmetics. Any product used for cleaning, perfuming, changing the appearance, protecting, or correcting the odor of the human body that is not specifically labeled “fragrance-free” or “unscented” may contain essential oils.
Just as these oils have been deployed in food products recently because of their potential antimicrobial properties, the cosmetics industry has also embraced them as substitutes for chemicals. Using one or more essential oils in a cream, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, or gel may negate the need for other preservatives, antioxidants, and antifungal agents, allowing cosmetics manufacturers to tout their products as “all natural.” In addition, a number of essential oils provide desirable benefits to consumers.
Helichrysum essential oil, for example, stimulates blood circulation in the skin and reduces the appearance of wrinkles, making it highly prized in skin creams and lotions. Lavender essential oil’s well-known ability to calm inflammation and heal minor abrasions helps it find its way into many different products. Dental product manufacturers often include German chamomile essential oil in mouthwashes and toothpastes, because of its ability to reduce inflammation in the gums and mouth; it goes without saying that a number of mint oils including peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen are important to the dental industry as well.
Neroli (bitter orange) essential oil, one of the most expensive in the entire essential oil industry, is much in demand in the perfume and soap industries, both for its fragrance and for its ability to refresh aging skin. Rose essential oil is nearly as expensive and equally desired for perfumes, body lotions, creams, ointments, and soaps, earning it the nickname “liquid gold” in the industry. Much less expensive but valued for its ability to calm dandruff and nourish hair, rosemary essential oil provides its scent to all kinds of bath products as well as shampoos and conditioners.
While cosmetics are not to be taken internally, their topical application can pose a risk of allergic reaction, particularly the malady known as contact dermatitis—an itchy, red, blistery patch where the allergen was applied. This sometimes occurs when a substance applied to the skin is photosensitizing, a well-known trait of a number of essential oils (see What precautions should people take when using essential oils?).
The cosmetics industry has gone to great lengths to be sure that the essential oils used in its products do not cause this or other allergic reactions, and the packaging of most cosmetics suggests that users perform a patch skin test before using them liberally on the body. It is entirely possible, however, that consumers will find that they are sensitive to a specific ingredient in a new cosmetic preparation, so the patch test can help users avoid the discomfort of contact dermatitis.
A 2017 review of cosmetic products and literature by Sarkic and Stappen at the University of Vienna discovered that many cosmetic products do not contain essential oils at all, but rather counterfeited versions used for their similar scent and lower price point. These copies were adulterated with the addition of a single raw material, using “nature-identical” compounds isolated from other oils or adding synthetic compounds devised in a laboratory. Some used less expensive oils from the same plant family or oils taken from a different part of the plant that may not carry the same compounds that give the original oil its benefits. Consumers have no way to know if the essential oil advertised on the product’s packaging is the real thing, unless they take the product to a laboratory and have gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) testing performed on it—an expensive process at best, unless the consumer happens to be a lab technician. This creates a level of safety for the cosmetics manufacturer in making the claim that the product contains pure essential oil.
It is unfortunate but true that consumers who buy cosmetic products have no way to know if the product they selected actually contains essential oil. The only clue may be the price: the cheaper the product, the lower the likelihood that the scent comes from essential oil and not from a synthetically diluted counterfeit.