← all lessons

⊛ learn · lesson 11

natural or synthetic

where each smell really comes from

a word about origin.

natural and synthetic tell you where a material comes from. they don't tell you how safe it is.

natural
synthetic

where does it come from?

tap a note.

natural is not the same as gentle.

an eu scientific committee named 82 established contact allergens among fragrance materials: 54 single chemicals and 28 natural extracts, among them rose oil and jasmine. europe's banned list holds lab-made materials and parts of moss extracts too. the list is about what a material does, wherever it was made.

so which is better?

we found no serious source that gives a rule. an eu safety opinion says natural extracts stay in use partly because a complex mix is hard to rebuild in the lab. and a 1999 traffic report suggested lab-made musk, among other options, to ease the pressure on wild deer.

open the lesson to tap through →

sources