Fragrance (short for fragrance compounds) is a mixture of ingredients that give a product a pleasant or pleasing scent. It is also used to mask unpleasant or irritating odors in some products like cleaning sprays, dryer sheets and body lotions. Fragrances can come from natural sources, like flowers, plants and foods, or they can be synthetically manufactured. Fragrance ingredients are commonly listed by the generic name “fragrance” on product labels, and the average perfume or cologne may contain dozens to hundreds of chemicals. Some of these chemicals are known skin allergens like linalool, hexyl cinnamal and geraniol.
Historically, perfume and cologne were created by combining natural raw materials from plants and animals such as flowers, roots, bark, fruits, woods and trees with chemical compounds like aldehydes, alcohols, and musks. In addition to the scent chemicals, these products usually include diluents (solvents), stabilizers, preservatives and dyes. Today, most of the fragrances in perfumes and colognes are made from plant or animal raw materials but many contain synthetic ingredients as well.
In the early 20th century, perfumers began to use synthetic chemicals in place of natural ingredients. These new compounds gave perfumers a larger palette of scent molecules to work with and made it possible for these products to reach the mass market. In the future, it is likely that these fragrance chemicals will be combined with natural raw materials and natural extracts to create a wide variety of scents. In order to maintain the integrity of these products, the International Fragrance Association (IFRA) regulates the use of fragrance ingredients worldwide.