Alternatives To Alcohol Based Perfume
Alcohol is by far the most popular solvent used in the manufacture of products like Abercrombie perfume, because it has a number of positive effects on fragrances. To start with, most aromatic compounds are too heavy to use as a perfume by themselves. The undiluted scent is oftentimes unpleasantly strong, and some people have allergic reactions to pure scented oils.
While there are many substances that could be used to dilute a perfume, alcohol also evaporates quickly, carrying the fragrance with it. This helps to transport the scent from the skin to the surrounding air, making it easier to smell. The rate with which various chemicals evaporate in alcohol allows manufacturers to create a blend of scents that becomes richer and mellower over time.
Furthermore, suspending a perfume in alcohol keeps it stable and allows it to be used in a spray or an atomizer. Without alcohol, the fragrance might not remain correctly mixed over time.
Finally, alcohol works as an antibacterial agent, preserving your perfume from decay.
Why do some people look for alcohol-free fragrances?
* One reason is that alcohol not only evaporates quickly, but it is also a drying agent. The alcohol in fragrances can cause skin problems in some people.
* Secondly, ethanol, the most commonly used alcohol, contains elements causes allergic reactions in people.
* Third, when alcohol evaporates, it takes much of the perfume with it. This causes the scent to dissipate quickly, explaining why most fragrances last only a few hours.
* Perhaps most importantly for perfume lovers, alcohol can change and distort the scent of the fragrance. Think of a bottle of high-quality vodka, and you’ll have an idea of the subtly sharp scent of the alcohol in perfume. For purists, this scent distortion is unacceptable.
Alternatives to Alcohol in Perfumes
Although not as popular as alcohol, several different compounds can be used as the solvent in perfumes. For example, jojoba, coconut oil, and beeswax are frequent replacements for alcohol. These produce a solid perfume that is smoothed onto the skin like a lotion. Solid perfumes are easy to transport, have a warm and creamy fragrance, and moisturize the skin rather than drying it out.
Water can also replace alcohol as a perfume solvent. However, water doesn’t mix well with the oils used in aromatic compounds, meaning that the resulting liquid can be both cloudy and unstable.
Some advocate using pure essential oils without a solvent at all. This may work with some scents, but without the preservative features of alcohol, many of these pure perfumes and colognes have a short shelf life. Most essential oils must be diluted with another neutral oil to reduce concentrations to safe levels. It is commonly accepted that only two essential oils, lavender and melaleuca, may be applied at full strength, for the most part, safely.
