Ingredient Deep Dive - Part 5
Essential Oils vs. Fragrance Oils: What’s the Difference?
When it comes to scenting our handmade soaps at Wild Roots Artisan Soaps, we’re often asked: “What’s the difference between essential oils and fragrance oils?” It’s a great question—and an important one. In this ingredient deep dive, we’ll explore what sets them apart, why we choose to primarily use essential oils, and how we make exceptions thoughtfully.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are natural plant extracts obtained through methods like steam distillation or cold pressing. These oils capture the scent, essence, and often the beneficial properties of the plant they come from.
Lavender essential oil is derived from the flowers of the lavender plant.
Peppermint oil comes from the leaves of the peppermint plant.
Citrus oils like orange or lemon are pressed from the rinds.
Not only do essential oils provide a clean, true-to-nature scent, but they also align with our commitment to simple, plant-based ingredients. They are biodegradable, derived from renewable sources, and offer an aromatherapeutic experience that many of our customers love.
What Are Fragrance Oils?
Fragrance oils are synthetic or blended scents that do not occur in nature on their own. They are typically made in labs by combining aroma chemicals to mimic a wide range of smells—from baked goods and florals to ocean breezes and campfires.
Many commercial soaps and body products use fragrance oils because they are cost-effective, highly stable, and allow for a much broader range of scent options. However, because of their synthetic nature, they can sometimes include chemicals that cause irritation or are linked to environmental and health concerns.
Why We Choose Essential Oils
At Wild Roots Artisan Soaps, we prioritize essential oils because they are natural, transparent, and derived directly from the plants we love. Using essential oils allows us to keep our ingredient lists clean and simple, while also offering gentle, pleasant scents that support our earth-first philosophy.
Essential oils also behave differently in cold process soap. Their natural volatility and purity mean they blend well with our plant-based oils and butters, without the need for added stabilizers or fixatives.
A Thoughtful Exception: Wild Rose
While we strongly favor essential oils, we do make one intentional exception: our Wild Rose soap. To achieve the distinct, nostalgic aroma of blooming roses—something that’s nearly impossible with essential oils alone—we use a specially selected fragrance oil from the CleanScents™ line by CandleScience.
CleanScents™ are formulated with a focus on safety, intentionally excluding known carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and other potentially harmful chemicals. This allows us to offer a beloved floral scent while still honoring our standards for ingredient integrity.
Transparency and Trust
We believe in being upfront about everything that goes into our soaps. You’ll always find a full list of ingredients on our packaging and product pages. If we ever use a fragrance oil, we’ll let you know—because your trust means everything.
Final Thoughts
Essential oils and fragrance oils both have their place in the world of soapmaking, but at Wild Roots, we choose to work with nature whenever possible. Essential oils allow us to create beautiful, aromatic bars that stay true to our values—simple, natural, and handmade with care.
If you're ever curious about a particular soap’s scent, feel free to reach out—we're always happy to talk ingredients!
