Fragrance & allergen check
Your fragrance load as a percentage of oils and of the finished product, checked against the certificate maximum for the right IFRA category — and what your supplier's allergen declaration comes to on the label. Nothing here invents a limit: it does the arithmetic on the documents you already have.
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- Every oil value sourced
Inputs
add a fragrance
Results
Load
| Fragrance | Weight | % of oils | % of product | Max |
|---|
The certificate maximum is a percentage of the finished product, so it is the fourth column that must stay under it.
Combined load
Together your fragrances use — % of the allowed total.
Allergens in the finished product
| Allergen | % of product |
|---|
Threshold for a rinse-off product: 0.01 %. Anything above it is named in the ingredient list in addition to "parfum".
The formula, and where it comes from
Load, both ways
f (g) = oils × p ÷ 100 # p = % of oils, the PPO habit
f (g) = base × p ÷ (100 − p) # p = % of finished product
% of oils = f ÷ oils × 100
% of batch = f ÷ (base + f) × 100 # what every limit is measured against
IFRA
% of finished product ≤ the certificate maximum for the product's category
blends (conservative): Σ (loadᵢ ÷ maxᵢ) ≤ 1
Allergens
C_j = Σ_i (d_i × a_ij ÷ 100) ÷ (1 − cure loss)
d_i = fragrance i as % of product
a_ij = allergen j as % of fragrance i, from the supplier declaration
declare if C_j > 0.001 % leave-on, > 0.01 % rinse-off - IFRA, "Guidance for the use of IFRA Standards", 51st Amendment (June 2023), Table 11 product-category mapping and §6 on calculating the concentration of a fragrance mixture in a finished product. — IFRA Standards are voluntary; limits are maximum concentrations in the finished product; a Certificate of Conformity is issued by the fragrance supplier, not by IFRA.
- Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, Annex III, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2023/1545: fragrance allergens must be named in the ingredient list when their concentration exceeds 0.001 % in leave-on products or 0.01 % in rinse-off products.
The dates that matter
European Union. Regulation (EU) 2023/1545 grew the list of fragrance allergens that must be named on a label from 26 entries to 82, by adding 56. You will also see the figure quoted as 24 and 80: the difference is that two of the original entries are natural extracts rather than single substances, so 82 entries cover 80 named chemicals plus oak moss and tree moss. Products newly placed on the market must comply from 31 July 2026; everything on shelves must comply by 31 July 2028. The thresholds themselves are unchanged: 0.001 % in a leave-on product, 0.01 % in a rinse-off one.
Great Britain has not adopted the expansion and still works to the original 26. Northern Ireland follows the EU. If you sell to both, you need two label versions.
Canada phases in its own list: 24 allergens on all cosmetics from 12 April 2026, and the EU's expanded list on new products from 1 August 2026 and on everything by 1 August 2028.
IFRA is on its 51st Amendment. A 52nd was consulted on through June 2026 and is expected to be notified around January 2027, with eleven months for new creations and thirty for existing ones.
Which category is my product
Bar soap, liquid soap, body wash, shampoo, rinse-off conditioner, bath bombs and anything else added to bathwater are all category 9. Body lotion is 5A, face moisturiser 5B, hand cream 5C, baby products 5D. Lip balm is category 1, which carries the lowest limits of all. Deodorant is 2, solid perfume 4, leave-in hair products and beard oil 7B. Candles and wax melts are 12; a room or linen spray is 10B, and a reed diffuser 10A. Where a product could be two things, the stricter category applies.
What this does not do
It does not read your certificate for you, hold a copy of the IFRA standards, or know your fragrance's composition. Those limits come from your supplier and belong in your Product Information File. Automatic certificate reading, per-lot allergen records and a dossier for your assessor are what the business tier is being built for.
Common questions
Why does my 6 % fragrance show as 3.8 %?
Because those are two different percentages of two different things. Soapmakers dose fragrance per weight of oils, which is what "6 % PPO" means. Every regulatory limit is a percentage of the finished product — oils plus lye plus water plus everything else. In a typical bar recipe a 6 % load on the oils is about 3.8 % of the batch. Quoting the wrong one against a certificate is the most common compliance mistake in this craft, so this page shows both and checks the limit against the right one.
Where do I get the maximum for my fragrance?
From your supplier. They issue a Certificate of Conformity for each fragrance, listing a maximum percentage for each of the twelve IFRA product categories. It is usually in the documents tab of the product page. IFRA itself issues no certificates and authorises nobody to certify on its behalf, so a supplier who cannot produce one has not got one.
What about a blend of two fragrances?
Certificates do not disclose which restricted materials are inside each fragrance, so the per-material sum the guidance describes is impossible for a maker to do. The conservative substitute, which this page uses, is that each fragrance uses up a share of its own allowance and the shares must not add past 100 %. Two fragrances each at half their own maximum are at the limit together.
Which allergens am I being asked about?
The ones your supplier declares. An allergen declaration is a separate document from the IFRA certificate: it lists each regulated fragrance allergen and its percentage in the fragrance compound. Paste that list and this works out what each one comes to in your finished product. The European list grew from 26 entries to 82 entries under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545, which applies to products newly placed on the market from 31 July 2026 and to everything from 31 July 2028. Great Britain has not adopted the expansion and still uses the 26.
Why does cure weight loss matter?
A cold-process bar loses roughly 10–15 % of its weight as water during cure, which concentrates everything left behind. An allergen at 0.0009 % in the wet batch can be over the 0.001 % leave-on threshold in the cured bar. The conservative reading, and the one an assessor expects, is the as-sold weight.
Is this a compliance document?
No. It is arithmetic on numbers you supply from your own supplier documents. IFRA standards are voluntary and responsibility for a finished product rests with whoever makes it; an allergen declaration on a label has to be signed off by your Responsible Person or safety assessor. Use this to find problems early, not to prove you do not have any.
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