Lavender 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:
- 1-Octen-3-yl acetate
- 1.04 %
- Geraniol
- 0.48 %
- 2-Hexenal
- 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
Lavandula Angustifolia Oil
- Botanical name
- Lavandula angustifolia
- CAS
- 8000-28-0, 90063-37-9
- EC
- 289-995-2
The EU names this oil itself as a fragrance allergen (Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, Annex III entry 360): it goes on the label by name above 0.01 % in a rinse-off product.
What it is and how it behaves in soap
Lavender oil is steam-distilled from the freshly cut flowering tops of true lavender, Lavandula angustifolia (ISO 3515). Bulgaria is now the largest producer, ahead of France and China (Massoud and colleagues). It smells sweet, floral and herbal, from linalool and linalyl acetate.
It is the first essential oil most soapmakers use. Watson suggests starting with it, Faiola lists it among the oils that behave well in cold process, and Fisher calls it his desert island oil because it blends with practically everything. Recipes use it at 1.2 to 3.1 % of the oils (Cable) and 1.5 to 4 % (Faiola). The IFRA figure on this page is the ceiling.
Lavender is among the most adulterated oils, stretched with lavandin or with synthetic linalool and linalyl acetate (Capetti and colleagues; Gafner and colleagues). Air makes it a stronger skin sensitiser as those components oxidise (SCCS), so keep the bottle cool, full and closed.
Recipes that use it
- Bastile soap
- Cedarwood and lavender bar
- Charcoal and tea tree facial bar
- Classic olive, coconut and palm bar
- Cornmeal and juniper scrub bar
- Cream soap
- Dead Sea mud facial bar
- Egg yolk feather swirl bar
- Hand-milled glycerin bar
- Hot-process clay swirl bar
- Indigo in-the-pot swirl bar
- Kukui and almond shampoo bar
- Lavender and calendula bar
- Lavender goat milk bar
- Liquid hand soap
- Madder and alkanet swirl bar
- Palm-free classic bar
- Red wine bar
- Rhassoul clay and argan facial bar
- Rustic slow cooker hot process bar
- Sea salt bar
- Seawater marine soap
- Seaweed and sea salt bar
- Shampoo bar for normal to oily hair
- Stearic acid shaving soap
- Taiwan swirl bar in charcoal and rose
- Three-colour hanger swirl bar
- Three-layer clay bar
- Transparent glycerin bar
- Yogurt and lavender bar
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: LAVANDULA ANGUSTIFOLIA 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 360
- ISO 3515:2002, Oil of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia Mill.), International Organization for Standardization (2002). Steam distillation of the recently cut flowering tops
- Massoud and colleagues, Comparative study on the chemical composition and biological activities of the essential oils of Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula x intermedia cultivated in Lebanon, ACS Omega 9, American Chemical Society (2024). Bulgaria the world's leading producer of lavender oil, followed by France and China
- Anne L. Watson, Smart Soapmaking, Shepard Publications (2013). Start with lavender: pleasant, available and generally safe
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting, Storey Publishing (2013). Lavender among the essential oils that are typically wonderful in cold process soap
- David Fisher, The Complete Photo Guide to Soap Making, Creative Publishing International (2018). Lavender 40/42 his desert island oil, blending well with practically everything
- Kelly Cable, The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners, Althea Press (2017). Lavender at 1.2 to 3.1 % of the oils
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Pure Soapmaking, Storey Publishing (2016). Lavender 40/42 at 1.5 to 4.1 % of the oils
- Capetti and colleagues, Adulteration of essential oils: a multitask issue for quality control. Three case studies: Lavandula angustifolia, Citrus limon and Melaleuca alternifolia, Molecules 26, MDPI (2021). Lavandin and synthetic linalool and linalyl acetate as adulterants of lavender
- Gafner and colleagues, Botanical ingredient forensics: detection of attempts to deceive commonly used analytical methods for authenticating herbal dietary and food ingredients and supplements, Journal of Natural Products 86, American Chemical Society (2023). Lavender oil among the botanical ingredients at risk of adulteration
- Opinion on fragrance allergens in cosmetic products (SCCS/1459/11), Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety, European Commission (2012). Air exposure of lavender oil increased its sensitising potency