What does "allergen-free" mean?

You have surely come across the term "allergen-free" before, but what does it actually mean?

Fragrance oils and perfume oils only need to be declared as “Parfum” in the INCI. This is actually extremely imprecise - as they often consist of a myriad of individual substances. In addition to the actual fragrance components themselves, perfume oils contain a wide variety of solvents, i.e., what the whole substance is actually dissolved in. The solvent often even makes up the main part of the product.

Various auxiliary substances such as antioxidants or even UV filters can also be added to a perfume oil to make it last longer. Some fragrances are unfortunately very sensitive and require this.

Unfortunately, we do not find any of these substances in the INCI. However, there are 26 legally defined allergens that must be declared. You have surely read terms like linalool, limonene, or geraniol before. These are fragrances that are considered more likely than average to trigger allergies. If a fragrance oil or essential oil is used that contains such an allergen, the allergen must be declared in the INCI in addition to the word "Parfum".

So, if you find an allergen such as “limonene” in the INCI of a cosmetic product, it does not mean that the substance was used intentionally or separately. It is much more likely that it was natural orange oil, which consists of approximately 95% limonene.

Actually, “allergen-free” products are more “low-allergen”. This means there may be minimal traces of certain allergens in the perfume oil, but in such low concentrations that they are below the declaration threshold. An allergen only needs to be declared from 0.001% upwards.

 

Allergen-free perfume oils