Let’s Talk About Those New Ingredient Names on Your Labels
You might notice something different on our product labels starting this spring: ingredients like “Limonene,” “Linalool,” and “Citral” showing up, sometimes in a separate section, sometimes with an asterisk and a footnote.
No, we didn’t change our formulas. We’re still using the same essential oils we’ve always used. But Health Canada’s new allergen disclosure rules mean we now have to list the naturally-occurring components within those essential oils.
Here’s what’s happening: when you see “Limonene” listed, that’s the compound that makes lemons smell like lemons. It’s not an added chemical - it’s a natural part of lemon essential oil. Same with Linalool in lavender, or Citral in lemongrass. These components have always been there. We’re just required to name them now.
The threshold that triggers disclosure? 0.001% in a leave-on product, 0.01% in a rinse-off. That is a genuinely tiny amount - trace-level compounds that exist naturally inside ingredients we’ve always used. The goal is transparency for people with severe contact allergies who need to avoid specific compounds even in small amounts. And honestly? Transparency is kind of our whole thing. So we’re not mad about the intent.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
Ever notice how big commercial brands just list “parfum” or “fragrance” on their labels? That single word can contain dozens of undisclosed compounds. They don’t have to tell you what’s actually in there.
Full disclosure: we do use fragrance oils in a small number of our products - roughly 10% of our line, always clearly marked.
Here’s my honest reasoning: I want everyone to have access to the skin-loving benefits of ingredients like shea butter, argan, and all the plant- and mineral-based ingredients that makes our product line. If a familiar, comforting scent is what makes someone reach for a product with 99% of the good stuff in it - I’m not going to gatekeep that. We also offer fragrance-free options across the line, because choices matter.
And who knows? Maybe the person who starts with a familiar scent eventually gets curious about a Pink Lotus essential oil face oil. That’s the hope. Meet people where they are, show them what’s possible, keep it kind.
What I won’t do is use fragrance carelessly. Every fragrance oil we use gets vetted. I read every MSDS and run the allergen components through the same calculations I use for essential oils. When it’s in one of our products, it earned its place.
So yes, even our fragrance-containing products will list every disclosed allergen component. No hiding behind “parfum.” Not here.
A note for the formulators in the room.
Here’s something worth talking about, because it caught even my eye at first.
The current common format looks like this:
Ingredients: … Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) oil … Linalool*, Limonene*
*naturally occurring in essential oils
The problem? To a trained eye (and honestly to a lot of consumers) that reads like linalool was added separately. Like it was refined and put back in for fragrance impact. That’s not what’s happening. It’s the compound that exists naturally inside the lavender oil already listed. But the format makes it look like an extra ingredient.
We’re currently working toward a nested format instead:
Lavandula angustifolia (Lavender) oil (contains Linalool, Limonene)
Same information. Way clearer. The compound lives inside the ingredient it came from, right there where it makes sense.
I’ve reached out to Health Canada to confirm this format meets compliance requirements and are waiting to hear back. Once confirmed, that’s the direction we’re going - because how a label reads matters as much as what it says.
So when you see a longer ingredient list on our products this spring, don’t panic. Nothing changed in our formulas. We’re just showing you more - including the molecular compounds that exist naturally in the plants we use.
I’d rather you know exactly what’s on your skin than hide it under a vague term.
Full disclosure, always.🌿