Cinnamon leaf oil
Under the IFRA Standards a rinse-off soap may hold up to 0.83 % of this oil, a limit set by its Safrole, Isosafrole and Dihydrosafrole.
IFRA maximum for soap
Restricted constituents, at the typical levels IFRA's annex gives:
- Eugenol
- 74 %
- Benzyl benzoate
- 3.5 %
- Cinnamic aldehyde
- 1.5 %
- Safrole
- 1.2 %
- Coumarin
- 0.3 %
- Benzaldehyde
- 0.16 %
- Isoeugenol
- 0.13 %
- Farnesol
- 0.12 %
- Benzyl alcohol
- 0.1 %
- Methyl eugenol
- 0.01 %
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
Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Leaf Oil
- Botanical name
- Cinnamomum verum
- CAS
- 84649-98-9
- EC
- 283-479-0
The EU does not name this oil itself as an allergen to label, but some of its constituents may be: the fragrance allergen tool works them out for a recipe.
What it is and how it behaves in soap
Cinnamon leaf oil is distilled from the leaves left when Ceylon cinnamon trees are trimmed, usually dried for a few days first (FAO); the trees grow mainly in Sri Lanka (ISO 3524). It is mostly eugenol, so it smells more like clove than cinnamon candy, and in FAO's price figures it cost a small fraction of the bark oil.
It is the cinnamon soap books prefer: Cable uses leaf rather than bark, at 0.7 to 3 % of the oils, often with orange and clove. Faiola still calls it a skin irritant to be used sparingly, and eugenol oils such as clove can make fresh soap overreact (Cavitch), so add it by hand at thin trace. The IFRA figure on this page is the ceiling, and Cable's highest rate is well above it.
Cats are especially sensitive to phenols such as eugenol (Merck Veterinary Manual), so keep the bottle out of their reach.
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: CINNAMOMUM ZEYLANICUM LEAF OIL, European Commission
- J. J. W. Coppen, Flavours and fragrances of plant origin (Non-Wood Forest Products 1), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1995). Distilled from leaves left from trimming, usually dried for a few days; far cheaper than the bark oil
- ISO 3524:2003, oil of cinnamon leaf, Sri Lanka type, International Organization for Standardization (2003). Trees grown mainly in Sri Lanka; eugenol 70 to 83 %
- Kelly Cable, The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners, Althea Press (2017). Cinnamon leaf rather than bark, at 0.7 to 3 % of the oils
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting, Storey Publishing (2013). Clove and cinnamon leaf are skin irritants to be used sparingly
- Susan Miller Cavitch, The Natural Soap Book, Storey Publishing (1995). Clove and cassia can make the fresh soap mixture overreact
- Kia Benson, Toxicoses From Essential Oils in Animals, Merck Veterinary Manual, Merck & Co. (2025). Cats are very sensitive to phenol and phenolic compounds