Bergamot oil
None of the restricted materials in IFRA's annex limits this oil in rinse-off soap.
IFRA maximum for soap
no IFRA limit in soap
Restricted constituents, at the typical levels IFRA's annex gives:
- Geranial
- 0.28 %
- Neral
- 0.2 %
- Geraniol
- 0.04 %
Worked out from typical levels. A supplier's certificate for your lot comes first, and its figure is the one to follow.
Check a blend against its IFRA limits and list its allergens in the fragrance and allergen calculator.
How essential oils behave in soap, and how much to use: Scenting soap.
Identity and labelling
Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil
- Botanical name
- Citrus bergamia
- CAS
- 89957-91-5
- EC
- 289-612-9
The EU names this oil itself as a fragrance allergen (Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, Annex III entry 352): it goes on the label by name above 0.01 % in a rinse-off product.
What it is and how it behaves in soap
Bergamot oil is pressed from the peel of the bergamot orange, Citrus bergamia, and more than nine-tenths of it comes from Calabria in southern Italy. It smells of sweet citrus with a floral, slightly woody edge.
In cold process soap it fades like other peel oils, but it does not noticeably speed trace and it helps other citrus scents stick (Grosso). Faiola pairs it with litsea at 2 to 4 % of the oils, and Cable uses 0.7 to 1.4 %. The IFRA figure on this page is the ceiling.
Pressed bergamot contains bergapten, which can mark skin left in the sun. IFRA restricts it in leave-on products but, so far, not in rinse-off soap; its 52nd Amendment, due in 2027, revisits these oils, and a furocoumarin-free (FCF) grade avoids the question. Ten of eleven bergamot oils bought online failed the ISO standard (Pierson and colleagues), so buy from a supplier who tests.
Recipes that use it
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: CITRUS AURANTIUM BERGAMIA PEEL OIL, European Commission
- Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 amending Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 as regards labelling of fragrance allergens in cosmetic products, European Commission. Annex, entry 352
- Navarra and colleagues, Citrus bergamia essential oil: from basic research to clinical application, Frontiers in Pharmacology 6, Frontiers (2015). Cold-pressed from the peel; more than 90 % of world production from Calabria; bergapten in the oil and a furocoumarin-free grade
- Alicia Grosso, The Everything Soapmaking Book, 3rd edition, Adams Media (2013). Bergamot rounds off citrus blends, helps other citrus scents stick, and does not appreciably accelerate trace
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Pure Soapmaking, Storey Publishing (2016). Bergamot with litsea cubeba in her recipes, about 2 to 4 % of the oils
- Kelly Cable, The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners, Althea Press (2017). Bergamot at 0.7 to 1.4 % of the oils in her recipes
- IFRA Standard: Bergamot oil expressed (Amendment 49), International Fragrance Association (2020). Restricted for phototoxicity in leave-on categories; no restriction in category 9
- IFRA publishes End of Consultation Letter for the 52nd Amendment to the IFRA Standards, International Fragrance Association (2026). The 52nd Amendment, expected in January 2027, reworks the Standards on furocoumarins in natural complex substances
- Pierson, Fernandez and Antoniotti, Type and magnitude of non-compliance and adulteration in neroli, mandarin and bergamot essential oils purchased on-line, Scientific Reports 11, Springer Nature (2021). Ten of eleven bergamot oils bought online did not conform to ISO 3520