Why we don't use essential oils

People are sometimes surprised that a skincare brand this focused on plant oils uses no essential oils. The reason is simple. Essential oils are fragrance. They come from plants instead of a lab, and your skin reacts to them the same way.

What an essential oil is

An essential oil is the part of a plant that carries its smell. It is pressed or steamed out of petals, leaves, peel or bark, and it is very concentrated. It takes several kilos of lavender to make a small bottle.

"Essential" here means essence, the scent of the plant. It doesn't mean your skin needs it.

Why they count as fragrance

The smell of an essential oil comes from a mix of compounds. Lavender is mostly linalool. Orange peel is mostly limonene. Rose contains geraniol and citronellol.

These are the same compounds that make up many synthetic fragrances, and they are on the list of known fragrance allergens that the EU requires brands to name on the label. Your skin doesn't know or care whether linalool came from a field or a lab. It is the same molecule.

What they do to skin

They can cause allergies. Fragrance is one of the most common reasons people develop a contact allergy to skincare. It usually builds up over months or years of use, and once you have it, it tends to stay.

They change in the air. Linalool and limonene react with oxygen once a bottle is open. The compounds they turn into are more likely to cause a reaction than the fresh oil.

Some react with sunlight. Bergamot and some other citrus oils can cause dark patches or burns on skin that goes in the sun.

They irritate skin that is already having a hard time. Dry, sensitive or broken skin lets more in, so it reacts more.

"Natural" doesn't mean gentle. It only tells you where an ingredient came from.

The oils we do use

Plant oils and essential oils share a word, but they are different things. Plant oils are fats pressed from seeds and fruit. They don't evaporate, they have little or no smell, and they do real work: they soften skin and slow water loss.

Here is what's in ours:

• Squalane, a stable oil very close to one your skin makes itself. In Oil Cleanser and Face Oil.
• Rosehip oil, rich in fatty acids that help dry skin. In Face Oil.
• Jojoba oil, which is close to your skin's own oil and suits most skin types. In Face Oil and Lip Balm SPF 15.
• Shea butter, a rich fat for very dry skin. In Barrier Cream.

None of these are added for scent, so none of them are fragrance.

What that means for you

Our products smell faintly of what they are made of, and not much else. If you like a scent in your routine, that is a fine choice to make. We'd rather you made it on purpose than find it in your moisturizer.