Rose oil
Under the IFRA Standards a rinse-off soap may hold up to 0.085 % of this oil, a limit set by its Methyl eugenol.
IFRA maximum for soap
Restricted constituents, at the typical levels IFRA's annex gives:
- dl-Citronellol
- 32.5 %
- Geraniol
- 17.7 %
- Methyl eugenol
- 2 %
- trans-trans-Farnesol
- 1.37 %
- Eugenol
- 1.14 %
- Geranial
- 1.06 %
- Neral
- 0.79 %
- Citronellyl acetate
- 0.55 %
- Citronellal
- 0.51 %
- Benzyl benzoate
- 0.07 %
- Benzaldehyde
- 0.04 %
- 2-Hexenal
- 0.02 %
- Benzyl alcohol
- 0.02 %
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
Rosa Damascena Flower Oil
- Botanical name
- Rosa × damascena
- CAS
- 90106-38-0, 8007-01-0
- EC
- 290-260-3
The EU names this oil itself as a fragrance allergen (Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, Annex III entry 366): it goes on the label by name above 0.01 % in a rinse-off product.
What it is and how it behaves in soap
Rose oil, or rose otto, is distilled with water and steam from the fresh flowers of the damask rose, Rosa × damascena, cultivated in Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco (ISO 9842). Bulgaria and Türkiye grow 80 to 90 % of it, and about 4,000 kg of flowers make 1 kg of oil (Mykhailenko). It smells of deep, honeyed rose.
Few soapmakers can use it. Rose carries methyl eugenol, so the IFRA figure on this page is one of the lowest here; it is the ceiling, and it allows only a trace. Cable's rose bars use rose already diluted to 3 %, and Faiola adds precious oils to rebatched soap to spare them the lye.
Rose is among the most adulterated oils: surveys have found most samples cut with geraniol, citronellol, palmarosa, geranium or phenylethyl alcohol (Mykhailenko). For a bar that smells strongly of rose, a fragrance oil sold for cold process is the honest choice.
Sources
- CosIng, the cosmetic ingredient database: ROSA DAMASCENA FLOWER 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 366
- ISO 9842:2024, Essential oil of rose (Rosa × damascena Miller), International Organization for Standardization (2024). Water-steam distillation of the fresh flowers, cultivated in Turkey, Morocco and Bulgaria
- Olha Mykhailenko, Botanical Adulterants Prevention Bulletin on rose (Rosa × damascena) essential oil, ABC-AHP-NCNPR Botanical Adulterants Prevention Program (2024). Bulgaria and Türkiye grow 80 to 90 %; about 4,000 kg of flowers per kg of oil; adulteration rates of 56 % and more in published surveys, with geraniol, citronellol, palmarosa, geranium and 2-phenylethanol
- Kelly Cable, The Natural Soap Making Book for Beginners, Althea Press (2017). Rose essential oil in a 3 % dilution, because of its cost
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Pure Soapmaking, Storey Publishing (2016). Add exotic essential oils such as rose to rebatch soap to preserve them
- Anne-Marie Faiola, Soap Crafting, Storey Publishing (2013). Rose oil is costly because it takes more than 4,000 lb of petals to make 16 oz, and it is often extended