Room and Linen Spray woes!

[La Bamba]

Hi everyone
I wonder if someone could help me please.
I'm hoping to make a room spray (and a linen spray too, at some point) and I'm going round in circles!
I market my products as 100% natural ingredients so that complicates things.
I found a COSMOS/ECOCERT room spray base but it's horrible. It's oily, and leaves a slippery mess everywhere. It doesn't spray properly either; it pumps out a splodge instead of a fine spray no matter how fine a spray head I use.
So, I started looking at Perfumer's Alcohol but it has some distinctly unnatural components like Monopropylene Glycol.
Then I looked at some recipe examples but they use IPA - again synthetic.
Then I read that you can use Alcohol Free Witch Hazel which seems as rare as rocking horse poop to buy in anything larger than a litre!

So I guess my questions are thus:

Do I change my marketing to say 100% natural fragrance instead of 100% natural ingredients (for this product only)?
Is there anything out there that I can use to make a room spray which IS natural?!
Do I just give up on the whole idea?

Any and all ideas are gratefully received.

Thanks so much

 

[shunt2011]

Personally, marketing anything in the B&B world is just a ploy for marketing. The term is used freely. EO's are touted as natural but many are extracted with chemicals. Oils too are extracted using chemicals. So, use your own judgement. I personally avoid vendors at shows that tout and advertise all natural. Arsenic is natural. I consider natural something that's not processed and from the earth. Especially when they make claims on top of it.

 

[atiz]

I make a spray that I quite like and it's super simple, just water, polysorbate, and some EO and preservative. 'Natural' can mean so many things that it is mostly meaningless... So I'm not sure you would consider this viable (but without some solubilizer you aren't going to get rid of the oily mess you describe).

 

[msunnerstood]

I make a spray that I quite like and it's super simple, just water, polysorbate, and some EO and preservative. 'Natural' can mean so many things that it is mostly meaningless... So I'm not sure you would consider this viable (but without some solubilizer you aren't going to get rid of the oily mess you describe).

This is what I do as well

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I make my room & linen spray similar to @atiz & @msunnerstood but I don't use preservative. Adding 20% alcohol to the batch preserves the spray and gives a finer mist that doesn't clog the sprayer.

I use 50/50 vodka (80 proof) & distilled water. 80 proof = 40% alcohol by volume. So adding an equal amount of water reduces the amount of alcohol to 20% by volume. Polysorbate 20 or 80 isn't necessary but I like to add it so you don't have to shake, shake, shake before you spritz, spritz spritz.

One of my favorite EO/FO blends for room spray is Lavender EO & Vanilla FO. It is calming for little ones who don't want to go to bed. Very nice sprayed on the bed linens before bedtime.

 

[shunt2011]

Also keep in mind if you are planning on selling you cannot use drinking alcohol in products.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Also keep in mind if you are planning on selling you cannot use drinking alcohol in products.

That may be true, Shari, but it would be good to know your source? I don't sell my linen & room sprays but I've always understood that "alcohol denat." on the list of ingredients in commercial products meant ethyl alcohol or ethanol denatured with something like 5% lavender essential oil (medicinal purpose) or some other additive to make the alcohol undrinkable. ???

Vodka, by definition, is ethanol cut with water to at least 80 proof (40 percent purity).
https://www.wired.com/2013/03/whats-inside-vodka/Alcohol or Ethanol is used as a solvent in cosmetic products.
INCI: Alcohol
https://cosmetics.specialchem.com/inci/alcohol

 

[earlene]

I searched that out, too, Zany, as it relates to the United States. I've closed all the pages, so I can't give you the links unless I started all over again. It's late, so I won't do that right now.

WSP's site has the most succinct information that is easy to find & read. Some of the links no longer work, though. The us gov sites have really broken a lot of links lately; it's frustrating! Here's a link to the WSP article. Much of what I read there was borne out in other tidbits I found at the ATF & TTB sites, but being federal, they tend to be scattered in bits & pieces and harder to put together. I found it impossible to find what I was looking for on the FDA site, unfortunately, but I did read a Memorandum of Understanding between the FDA & the ATF that had some info about how they cooperate in regulating different aspects of alcholic beverages in the US.

Basically it's the ATF and the TTB who regulate and interpret the US federal codes regarding the sale & resale of alcohol. In this instance, it is specifically about ethyl alcohol (ethanol) aka 'beverage alcohol' and the reasoning behind it is apparently at least two-fold. 1. Resale of beverage alcohol without proper licensing, fees, & tax payments is a federal offense (also states & municipalities often have additional requirements & restrictions); 2. Resale of beverage alcohol used in a non-beverage product is a risk to public health (some people are known to drink anything that contains alcohol, including mouthwash or hair tonic.)

On the Tissarand Institute site it says:

If you plan to sell a handmade product containing ethanol, check all the corresponding federal, state and county/city laws, restrictions and requirements first. This gets into some sticky areas that could get you into serious trouble.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

WSP's site has the most succinct information that is easy to find & read.

Excellent information, Earlene!

It was back in 2004 that I was making transparent soaps almost exclusively. Lovely soaps but stopped making them because the process of adding the polyol mix containing alcohol to clear the "true soap" was uber pricey. I used 195 Proof Everclear at that time which is covered in this section of the article.

Technically, the ATF considers you to be selling beverage alcohol without a license, proper reporting, and payment of taxes. That being said, beverage alcohol may be used as a processing aid (such as to reduce foam when filling bottles of liquid soap) or in processes where the natural chemical reaction of the process catalyzes or alters the beverage alcohol from its original form such as in true soap made with beer or wine.

At that time I did a lot of research on alcohol. Alas, most of that research is no longer in my files and my hazy memory is little help. That article succinctly covers all that I remember and more! I bookmarked it.

Obviously, the cost and adherence to government regulations makes it darn near impossible to sell any type of spray containing alcohol/ethanol. Even "perfumer's alcohol" that (now defunct) Snow Drift Farm sold, and used to be an affordable option, is prohibitive in the context of that article.

OPTION: It seems that WSP sells an alcohol-free water-based "Body Splash" to make spray perfumes and linen sprays. Interestingly, the ingredients are quite similar to the linen sprays both @atiz and @msunnerstood mentioned above!

Do I change my marketing to say 100% natural fragrance instead of 100% natural ingredients (for this product only)?

So, as I understand it, you can promote your linen spray as "nearly natural" or X% natural depending on the amount of preservative & poly-80 you add. You need to do a bit of T & E (Trial & Error) and research on both to find what amounts work. It will come in handy when/if you include lotions & creams in your product line.

I prefer Liquid Germall Plus because the amount required is the lowest of all... 0.1-0.5%. The amount of Poly-80 required to "solubilize" the EO/FO you use will vary. To test, add the Poly-80 to water first, then the fragrance. Stir until well mixed. Add more Poly-80 until the oils no longer separate out.
TIP: I find that 1 EO to 3-4 Poly-80 (or 20) is about right.

GOOD LUCK & HAPPY SPRAY MAKING!