Essential oils and fragrance in shaving soap/creams - are they healthy for the skin ?

Fragrance oils can be synthetic, natural, or a blend of both. There are a lot of 100% natural fragrance compounds that are not essential oils. Guidelines for safe fragrance use are published by the IFRA (http://www.ifraorg.org/). Check it out.

As long as the fragrance is obtained from a reputable source and the concentration adheres to the IFRA recommendation, I don't see any real reason to worry.

And don't forget, just because something is 100% natural doesn't mean its necessarily good for you. Take Monkshood or Foxglove for example. Both 100% natural plants that are highly toxic. The Castor Bean plant is beautiful, all natural and is also the source for Ricin, a highly toxic substance - a dose the size of a couple of grains of salt can kill you. Naturally.

I was thinking the same this as Marko . Back in the Cold War, the Soviets would take an umbrella or walking can and hide an injector that would deliver a little ricin, then bump into the target and a week or two later they would die.

Bufflehead Soap Co. - 100% Ricin free or your money back.*



* Refunds will take 2 - 3 weeks to process.

Bufflehead Soap Co. - 100% Ricin free or your money back.*


* Refunds will take 2 - 3 weeks to process.

Justin's Bufflehead reply was really funny, especially the part about the refund processing time being after the person would die.

EO and FO can both cause adverse reactions in certain people with sensitivities.

EOs are used for all sorts of homeopathic remedies because they can have an actual physical effect on the body.

My guess is that the amounts we are taking about in a typical soap is minimal. Most negative reactions to essential oils occur when they are not mixed with an appropriate carrier oil, or when concentrations become too high.

I always look for what EOs are used in a soap if that information is available. I am not a sensitive person that is subject to a lot of allergies so I don't worry too much, but there is always a chance of having a negative allergic reaction to any or all of the oils and even the soap ingredients...


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EO and FO can both cause adverse reactions in certain people with sensitivities.

EOs are used for all sorts of homeopathic remedies because they can have an actual physical effect on the body.

My guess is that the amounts we are taking about in a typical soap is minimal. Most negative reactions to essential oils occur when they are not mixed with an appropriate carrier oil, or when concentrations become too high.

I always look for what EOs are used in a soap if that information is available. I am not a sensitive person that is subject to a lot of allergies so I don't worry too much, but there is always a chance of having a negative allergic reaction to any or all of the oils and even the soap ingredients...


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Perhaps I haven't pointed this out thoroughyl enough, if at all, but my worry is not what can happen in short run, as in an allergic immediate reaction to the soap/cream, this will be quite obvious to the guy using the soap/cream. Solution to an allergic reaction to a soap/cream is very simple to correct.

Stop using that particular product.

My concern is what can and will happen in the long term from using soaps and cream on open skin pores on a daily basis.

This is my real concern. And I frankly can't find anyone with a thorough lab test/in field test/investigatioin regarding long term effects of using scented shaving soaps/creams on a daily basis.

You basically open up your entire skin pores, when you scrape the skin free from hair, and especially for 2.nd and 3.rd pass you smear/massage/press the soap/cream directly into your open skin pores, especially if you face lather.

THIS is my REAL concern. Not a short term alergic reaction, which will be quite obvious and easy to avoid.

I think fragranced hygiene products have been around long enough and used by a wide enough data set that a reasonable assumption can be made without specific lab testing results.

A hundred years of scenting soaps and fragrances for people to use directly on the skin and no record of major mutations, defects, or associations with onset disorders may not be scientifically conclusive but it is certainly statistically viable...


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I'm with BadDad on this. While I understand your concern about the unknown I see no evidence to be worried about it.

I think fragranced hygiene products have been around long enough and used by a wide enough data set that a reasonable assumption can be made without specific lab testing results.

A hundred years of scenting soaps and fragrances for people to use directly on the skin and no record of major mutations, defects, or associations with onset disorders may not be scientifically conclusive but it is certainly statistically viable...


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I agree with you. However, a lot of these products may have been checked by independent sources. But if Harry down the street gets a recipe to make a soap and he puts a little of this and a little in it could there be a problem? With that in mind my face looks as good as it did several years ago so maybe not a big deal especially when it takes over a month to go through my rotation.