The response from the Cosmébio association.

Allergens in perfumes

A fragrance allergy is an unusual or excessive reaction of a living organism's immune system following contact with a foreign substance (allergen). An allergy is an individual response, specific to the individual. Although it can be severe, an allergy remains a rare phenomenon within the population. Therefore, people predisposed to reacting to an allergen must remain vigilant to avoid any contact (depending on their level of reaction) with the allergen.

In cosmetics, European regulations list 23 allergens (limonene, cinalool, geraniol, etc.) whose presence must be mentioned by the brand on the packaging above a certain threshold. The thresholds are set at 100 ppm for rinse-off products and 10 ppm for leave-on products.

In a natural cosmetic formula, these allergens are not added intentionally; they always come from natural ingredients. Natural allergens are often part of the multitude of molecules that make up essential oils.

As a guarantor of transparency in cosmetics, the Cosmébio association confirms the need to declare allergenic substances on the packaging of a cosmetic (EC N°1223/2009). As with cosmetics, food allergens are also specified (nuts, eggs, milk, etc.).

Cosmébio is committed to safe and effective cosmetics

For Cosmébio, a product containing naturally occurring allergens should not be discriminated against by rating applications. Due to the presence of listed allergens, cosmetics containing essential oils often receive an unfavorable rating from cosmetic product "decoding" applications. Cosmébio wishes to point out that essential oils are essential to guarantee the sensoriality of natural cosmetics and often contain active ingredients that are beneficial for the consumer.

The association therefore wishes to promote the function of essential oils in cosmetics. Essential oils are natural ingredients that bring benefits to cosmetics far beyond perfumes: calming or soothing effects as well as antimicrobial, tonic, anti-acne benefits… are attributed to them. All the molecules extracted by distillation are part of the totum of the plant and are an integral component of essential oils, including allergens. For millennia, humans have been confronted with these molecules naturally present in the environment.

The risk of allergy, the difference between food and cosmetics

Milk is not criticized in the applications, so why would some of the components of a cream naturally scented with essential oils be criticized when the allergenic aspect of a cosmetic remains linked to the user? Two different people exposed to the same substance will not necessarily react in the same way. And the risks to health, the body, or more specifically the skin, linked to the allergens in a fragrance, such as irritations or allergies, only concern people sensitive to these substances...

Certainly, a person allergic to one of these molecules can experience unpleasant symptoms if exposed. For this reason, Cosmébio reiterates the importance of transparent and legible labeling on products. However, this does not present a "danger" for the general public. Since these risks of reactions are quite limited, the mention of these ingredients in the INCI lists is more for informational purposes than for health reasons. The goal is to facilitate their detection for sensitive individuals. Moreover, the European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) has published an information sheet explaining that only 1 to 3% of the European population has reported a perfume allergy.

It's worth noting that when peeling a mandarin or an orange, exposure to limonene is 1,000 times higher than that of a cosmetic. And yet, peeling an orange poses no risk to people without allergies.

We can therefore say that fragrance allergens are to cosmetics what nuts are to food products. They are mentioned on packaging to reassure people who cannot tolerate them, but they pose no risk to non-allergic people. In food, the presence of these allergens does not affect the overall rating of the product given by "decoding" applications. So why do it in cosmetics?

In conclusion

We therefore propose that rating applications continue to identify allergens in products for people with allergies, but that the presence of allergens no longer plays a role in product ratings, in order to place cosmetics on an equal footing with food and move away from a rating system that is unfavourable to natural and organic cosmetics.

We would like to point out that certified organic cosmetics certainly represent the most advanced form of sustainable cosmetics by promoting the use of renewable resources and contributing to the development of organically cultivated agricultural areas.

The transparency that the applications provide to the consumer is indeed consistent with our missions, but it seems absurd to us to disadvantage a source of natural fragrance when the use of natural ingredients contributes to advancing the cosmetics industry to offer consumers products that are ever healthier for both humans and the environment.