IFRA Guidelines for Essential Oils

[AliOop]

@Hoppy_Cosmetics can you provide a link to where this book can be found? I found her site, but didn't see the book offered. I found another site that would allegedly allow me to download and read Tisserand's book for free. The site seemed sketchy so I didn't want to risk it.

 

[MLSB]

IF I were selling to the general public, then I probably would. As I just sell to friends, I use an essential oil calculator. Brambleberry.com and Wholesale Supplies Plus both have them listed as fragrance calculators.

Keep in mind those EO calculators really pertain to their products. Each vendor has a recommended usage rate onTheir EO that they sell.

Also the sage.com has their EO calculator as well.

But seriously please use the recommended % usage rate from the vendor that you purchase from to be at the safe regulation usage in your products. As different products have different usage rates

 

[HoppyCosmetics]

can you provide a link to where this book can be found? I found her site, but didn't see the book offered.

This link is here, and if you scroll down the page, there's a few different options. You can view it online, buy the ebook or a printed copy. I bought the ebook and put it in my kindle app to read. You don't have to be a member of her site, there are parts to click that say "not a member?" to buy other books too.....

https://www.leajacobson.com/EOsingles?r_done=1

 

[Lynne]

I just purchased Robert Tisserands book and I don't see usage rates for soap or wash off products. Please am I missing something?

 

[DeeAnna]

Essential Oil Safety isn't an IFRA publication, so it does not list usage rates by IFRA category or by the type of product (soap, lotion, etc.). It does give recommended rates for dermal use. That's what you want to focus on.

 

[Lynne]

Thanks so much for the reply =) Yes, I understand all you said however dermal use does not explain how much to use in soap or other products? Is there a formula I must use please? Not the greatest at math, but I do have a calc.

 

[DeeAnna]

There is no math formula you can use. The recommended dosages are based on health and safety information and institutional rules, none of which can be explained with math.

If you're wanting info that is easier to apply directly to what you're making, I suggest using something like EOcalc.com. Essential Oil Safety is more of a research tool; it's not going to give you those easy numbers.

EOs are also covered in the IFRA guidelines if memory serves me. It's been a while since I checked, however, so I don't know if that data is behind a membership wall or pay wall nowadays.

 

[Lynne]

I don't know how to read the IFRA either. That is why the EO calc came along. EO calc does not have all the oils I am interested in.

There must way to do this, other than use EO calc. I know that many many soapers use Tisserands book.

Lynne

 

[TheGecko]

I trust the IFRA about as far as I can toss and elephant. They are a club, they aren't a regulatory or governing body. That doesn't mean I just put whatever the heck kind of scent I want in willy-nilly, I do the research.

 

[DeeAnna]

I don't know how to read the IFRA either.... I know that many many soapers use Tisserands book. ...

I regret to say here's no middle ground, really, if you really want to use EOs in a responsible, safe way.

For the less common EOs, you will have to research the EO in depth using Tisserand, IFRA, and similar resources -- or find someone who will take the time to do the research for you.

The other alternative is to stick with EOs that someone has already researched and produced simple numbers, such as the info in EOcalc. If EOcalc can't do what you want for the EOs you want to use, then you're back to doing the research.

This situation is a lot like soap making -- either a person sticks with established recipes created by knowledgeable soap makers -- or they do the research to understand what fatty acids do and the proportions of those fatty acids that make a nice soap as nice as it is. There isn't much of a middle ground for soap makers either.

 

[Lynne]

Hopefully someone else pipes up then.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

You can try the aromaweb.com website for additional information. For example, here's the safety information provided for Allspice essential oil:

"Numerous sources indicate that Allspice Oil can act as a mucous membrane irritant. Tisserand and Young recommend a dermal maximum of 0.15%. They indicate that it may interfere with blood clotting. Reading Tisserand and Young's full profile is recommended. [Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, Essential Oil Safety (Second Edition. United Kingdom: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2014), 393.]"

Using a percentage calculator, like the one here, you can calculate 0.15% based on the oil weight in the batch. For example, 0.15% of 1000 g of oil yields 1.5 g of Allspice EO. What you won't get using this simplistic approach is the safe usage rate for blends where multiple eos mixed together contribute to the total concentration of a limited constituent in the blend.

 

[Lynne]

Thanks Mobjack, so for soap I just use Tisserands dermal percentage for my oils, and just forget the IFRA categories? I believe DeeAnn was trying to say the same thing and I just read it wrong, sorry DeeAnn.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I stick with EOcalc (which is based on the IFRA guidelines) most of the time, but use Tisserand and Young’s book to research safe usage guidelines for any EOs not listed on EOCalc. As I mentioned above, simple calculations done oil by oil are not going to give you safe usage levels for blends.

 

[Lynne]

"As I mentioned above, simple calculations done oil by oil are not going to give you safe usage levels for blends."

Yes, of course. Some math for blends.

 

[Marie4me]

The max topical usage rate for spearmint is 1.7% if that helps. I suppose you could mix it with a bit of peppermint or eucalyptus to stretch it out, since they have higher usage rates.


I recommend an affordable book called "Essential Oil Safety Files by Lea Jacobson". It'll save you a lot of money rather than buying the tisserand book. The tisserand book is in-depth and alot of reading, but the lea jacobson book is basically just straightforward easy to read usage rates of every essential oil, up to date. I think she's an American aromatherapist.

Would this book happen to have coffee essential oil included? I've been searching high and low and can't find a safe use rate for it!