We have gotten a lot of questions lately about masking fragrances, so we thought we would go over what they are and why we don’t use them. Essentially, masking fragrances and fragrances are the same thing, but their purpose differentiates them. Fragrances are designed to create a perceivable pleasant smell, while masking fragrances are designed to conceal a bad smell and create a neutral smell. Some commonly used raw materials have an unpleasant odor that is covered to allow regular everyday use.
Masking fragrances are no stranger in the skincare world. In fact, many brands find certain ingredients worth it despite their scent. For example, urea, sulfur/sulfa, and hydrolyzed collagen may have a foul odor to some, but a masking fragrance is used to make these ingredients pleasant to apply and wear.
As some may think, masking fragrances do not simply add scent on top of a foul odor. It is often a chemical combination that allows the foul odor to subside or appear neutral. The unpleasant smell may reappear, as is the case with many self-tanners. The longer you wear it, the more you may notice the scent. The goal of a masking fragrance is for a product to appear unscented. Thus, unscented does not always mean fragrance-free, but rather smell-free.
With this information in mind, it’s important to understand that products labeled fragrance-free aren’t necessarily free of fragrance. They may contain a very small percentage of masking fragrances to make the use of the product much more enjoyable. Unscented products definitely won’t contain added scents like essential oils or fragrance oils. However, most products deliberately add scents to offer additional benefits and make the product more appealing.
Why don’t we use masking oils?
The simple answer is that we don’t need it. Often people are worried that tallow soap will smell like meat, but it doesn’t! The soap will not smell like meat if you render the tallow and strain it correctly. It will smell like tallow, which has a very mild scent if any at all. We use essential oils in our soaps for their benefits and soothing qualities for sensitive skin; however, they aren’t necessary. Our unscented soaps are, in fact, fragrance-free.
If you are sensitive to fragrances and essential oils, we recommend you research to ensure that your products don’t include any masking agents. You can find a list of masking agents online. All of our products are gentle on your skin, but we also have options for people that need or choose to go fragrance-free. Our fragrance-free products are our Unscented Tallow Soap and Unscented Tallow Balm, perfect for sensitive skin.