Lemon eucalyptus oil
Under the IFRA Standards a rinse-off soap may hold up to 1.95 % of this oil, a limit set by its Citronellal.
IFRA maximum for soap
Restricted constituents, at the typical levels IFRA's annex gives:
- Citronellal
- 71.77 %
- dl-Citronellol
- 7.37 %
- Citronellyl acetate
- 1.81 %
- Longifolene
- 0.21 %
- Eugenol
- 0.12 %
- Geraniol
- 0.11 %
- Geranial
- 0.05 %
- Neral
- 0.03 %
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
Eucalyptus Citriodora Oil
- Botanical name
- Corymbia citriodora
- CAS
- 8000-48-4
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
Lemon eucalyptus oil is steam-distilled from the leaves and twigs of the lemon-scented gum, Corymbia citriodora, once called Eucalyptus citriodora. Three-quarters or more of it is citronellal (ISO 3044), and it smells of lemon and citronella, with little of the medicinal note of other eucalyptus. China, Brazil and India were the main producers in the 1990s (FAO).
Our books barely mention it: Grosso groups it with lemongrass and melissa as oils whose aldehydes smell lemony, and Simmons and Appleton listed it among soap perfumes in 1908. With no book rate, start low and test a small batch first (Faiola). Citronellal holds the IFRA figure on this page at or below an ordinary scent load, and that figure is the ceiling, so it works best as part of a blend.
The pure oil is not a tested insect repellent (CDC), and in a soap, which washes off, it keeps no insects away.
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: EUCALYPTUS CITRIODORA OIL, European Commission
- ISO 3044:2020, Essential oil of Corymbia citriodora (Hook.) K.D. Hill and L.A.S. Johnson (syn. Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.), International Organization for Standardization (2020). Steam distillation of the leaves and twigs; citronellal 75 to 85 %
- J. J. W. Coppen, Flavours and fragrances of plant origin (Non-Wood Forest Products 1), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (1995). China, Brazil and India the main producers of Eucalyptus citriodora oil
- Alicia Grosso, The Everything Soapmaking Book, 3rd edition, Adams Media (2013). Melissa, lemongrass and lemon eucalyptus all contain aldehydes that smell lemony
- W. H. Simmons and H. A. Appleton, The Handbook of Soap Manufacture, Scott, Greenwood & Son (1908). Eucalyptus citriodora oil, almost entirely citronellic aldehyde, one of two eucalyptus oils of importance to the soapmaker
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting, Storey Publishing (2013). Test an untried scent in a batch of 1 lb or less
- Mosquitoes, ticks and other arthropods, CDC Yellow Book, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Pure oil of lemon eucalyptus is not recommended as a repellent: it has not undergone validated safety and efficacy testing