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From time to time we are asked - What does it mean to be unscented, fragrance free,
no scent added, scent free, no fragrance added, hypoallergenic, natural and on and on?
There are no absolute definitions set by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration).
As found on their page http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-safe.html
about half way down the page -
In the section labeled -
"The Meaning of Makeup"
You will find the definition they give
* fragrance-free
products so labeled may still contain small amounts of fragrances to mask the fatty odor
of soap or other unpleasant odors
* hypoallergenic
cosmetics that are less likely to cause allergic reactions
* natural
ingredients extracted directly from plants or animal products as opposed to being produced synthetically
but at the end of that section is the following statement
(* There are no official, government definitions for these terms.)
They do not mention any other of the words people use to say "something has no smell".
I try to explain to people that when you think of water. Even Water, normally, should not have smell.
But even water has a smell.
Every substance on earth has a smell. Even our unscented products may have a slight smell.
Did you know that when a product is labeled fragrance free it can have chemicals added to removed other odors?
But it can be labeled fragrance free!
They are made from the naturally based ingredients listed on the labels.
We can't detect any fragrance or scent of any kind.
But then again everything can have an odor, be it ever so slight.
Some folks tell us they can smell something but can't describe it.
We wonder, are they smelling the plastic bottle?
As plastic does have an odor.
Are they smelling their own body, mouth or nasal odors?
We certainly don't know.
We do know, we keep all our unscented products separated, in a different room altogether, than our essential oils.
We also are very strict when it comes to handling these products.
We are constantly washing our hands to remove any signs of odor from us too.
We use our own unscented Liquid hand soap to make sure we don't contaminate anyone's order with any type of scent.
No one knows for sure what their nose may be able to differentiate or detect.
Some folks can detect extremely small amounts of scents while others could
stand next to a skunk that has sprayed and not even smell anything.
Hope this has helped some to understand the meaning of the words unscented, scent free, and fragrance free.
They are made of all natural products that have no odor, or extremely low odor.
Might you smell something? It depends on how sensitive your nose is.
Most people smell nothing.
Others may smell a slight odor of the plastic bottle.
Others have said they can differentiate between the products but then again remember
even ingredients can have an odor.
It doesn't mean our products aren't scent free.
Remember we have added nothing to them nor has the manufacturer.
Some people have sensitive enough noses they can detect even the differences in the ingredients.
To give you an idea. We sell Almond oil, Sunflower oil and Fractionated Coconut oil
These oils are virtually odor free. Yet we can smell an extremely small
difference in their scent if we try.
They are unscented, scent free and fragrance free.
They have no odor. Yet we can tell they are slightly different when
we take a little whiff of them.
The fractionated coconut oil has the hardest odor to detect.
Also this is what many of the unscented base products use
as a base oil to make those products.
So since the products are derived from coconut oil the products made from it's
components are virtually odor free also.
Every substance on earth can be a potential allergen. Everyones chemical makeup is different and
anything could cause someone to have an allergic reaction.
Some substances are common allergens. Meaning more than likely if you took a crowd of 100 people
you would find that anywhere from 1 to 25% or more could have some type of reaction.
So the term Hypoallergenic, means that the majority of people have not had and should not have an
allergic reaction to the ingredients in that product.
Could you? Maybe, if you have a rare allergy but the majority of people probably won't.
Well, Natural means it comes from plants and plant derived sources.
Again, it doesn't necessarily mean that the whole product is from naturally derived
products unless the manufacturer states it on the label that it is 100% Natural.
It could just say it is natural and that the product can have
other - man-made products in it and still be considered natural.
(See the FDA meaning and see their website above. )
It has been reported to us by several of our
MCS and fragrance sensitive customers,
that they are able to use these unscented products. Especially those who have extreme
sensitivity to chemicals and artificial fragrances that irritate the skin, and respiratory systems.
They have been wonderful for them.
So if you have been having a hard time finding something to use because of your sensitivities
- you might want to give these products a try.
Another Important note: The products themselves are unscented.
And we do keep all of our essential oils away from our shipping materials.
BUT, if you are extremely sensitive - Please note that you could have a reaction to
the box and packing peanuts inside.
Essential oils can sometimes be absorbed by the packaging materials, even though we
are very careful about this.
All packing peanuts and boxes have their own smell too.
If you do find you are sensitive to the packaging, Remove the product bottles from the
packaging material and let the product air out for a couple days.
If there still seems to be a problem, contact us.
Hope our page has helped you to understand that our products have been manufactured (not by us)
using natural, no fragrance added (additive free), and are unscented (we don't add anything to them either).
Although they may have a slight odor, nothing has been added to these products to disguise or hide odors.
What you might smell is the natural ingredients used to make these products. Again, they are virtually scent free.
We have had reports from many, many sensitive people that have not been able to use any other product but who can use our products.
Birch Hill Happenings Aromatherapy, LLC
2898 County Road 103
Barnum, MN 55707-8808
More contact info Click Here
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Copyright © 2005-2007 Penny Keay
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