Can i use lemon essential as perfume?

[dkramf]

Hi!! Very new user here! I have always been sooooo in love with scent of lemons and I am never satisfied with the "lemon scented" perfumes on the market. I was wondering if I can use lemon essential oil? I was thinking about mixing it with some of my amazing shea butter and applying that where you would normally use perfume. But then I started looking into it and heard a lot about how lemon essential oil is phototoxic. So I guess my question is if I can do the mixing with the shea butter that I originally wanted to do or if I were better off choosing a essential oil like lemongrass (and if so how does is smell compared to a normal lemon scent?)

 

[DeeAnna]

I would be very careful with lemon EO on the skin.

Lemon EO can cause phototoxicity if it is an expressed oil. The max recommended concentration according to Essential Oil Safety (Tisserand) is 2%. Distilled lemon EO is much less likely to cause phototoxicity.

Either version can also sensitize the skin if the EO is oxidized. Citrus EOs do not have long shelf lives, so oxidation is likely. Sensitization appears to be as or more likely to cause problems than the chance of phototoxicity.

 

[Obsidian]

I would go with lemongrass myself. It smells just like a lemon to me, its nice.

 

[dixiedragon]

My choice would be to get some steam distilled lemon EO. My understanding is that the heat used in steam distillation damages the chemical that causes photosensitivity. (I could be wrong.) Don't put it on your face or lips, and don't apply it before spending all day at the pool. But it's not going to burst into flames when you step into the sun or anything. There's a risk of sensitization, but I think that's true for most anything. You also might want to mix it up with lemon grass and with lemony fragrance oils. Since you aren't soaping this fragrance, it will be easier to find a good FO. Make sure to read the information carefully and stick to safe usage amounts, since you plan to leave this on. vs wash off like soap.

 

[dkramf]

Thank you so much for the fast replies!
So if I was to just go with the lemongrass (because honestly I think I would be way to nervous about the lemon and if I brought the right thing or not) would that be okay just to use on it own or maybe mixed in with shea butter so it creates a scented body butter? And would it be safe for a pool vacation? Just because I have seen people say that it is wrong when lemongrass is listed together with other citrus essential oils as phototoxic since it is actually not a citrus.

 

[DeeAnna]

I know people use EOs "neat" (without dilution), but I advise against it. I'd add it to the body butter at 1-2% for routine use.

 

[dkramf]

I have also been trying to find out if lemon fragrance oil is safe to use or has the same danger as the essential oil. Because I don't really care for the essential oil properties I really just want the wonderful scent so maybe that's a better option?

 

[DeeAnna]

Check with the supplier for that info for the specific fragrance oil (FO) you want to use. Companies often provide IRFA guidelines for the max amount of FO in various products. Nature's Garden makes it really easy to find the IRFA guidelines, but many other suppliers also do.

For example, NG's lemon FO has an IRFA Category 4 (perfume) guideline of 3.3% max. The NG staff also gives their recommendations, and they suggest a max of 3% for lotions and perfumes. https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/lemon-fragrance-oil

You might find other lemony FOs with a higher Cat 4 limit -- you just have to look.

 

[jules92207]

I use a Verbena Lemon fragrance oil to get that nice lemon. WSP has IRFA linked so I can confidently use it without worry.