PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Cumin oil
How much Cumin oil can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Cumin oil · Category 4, 51st Amendment
0.4%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Cumin oil may make up at most 0.4% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 2.22% of your concentrate: 2.22% of every 100 g.
What the limit means at your strength
The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Cumin oil its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Cumin oil in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 8% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 4% |
| 15% | 2.66% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 2.22% |
| 20% | 2% |
| Extrait, 25% | 1.6% |
What the standard says
It is capped because it is phototoxic: on skin it can react with sunlight, so this limit is about sun exposure rather than allergy.
Which materials contain Cumin oil?
Sold as Cumin oil itself, counted in full:
A worked example
A 100 g concentrate, bottled as an eau de parfum at 18%:
| Material | Weighed |
|---|---|
| Cumin Seed Essential Oil | 3.3 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 96.7 g |
Cumin Seed Essential Oil brings 0.594% Cumin oil to the finished perfume, against a limit of 0.4%: 1.49 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Cumin Seed Essential Oil from 3.3 g to 2.198 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 12.12%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Cumin Seed Essential Oil 3.3 g Ethylene Brassylate 96.7 g
Questions
Is Cumin oil banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 0.4% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Cumin oil can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 2.22% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Cumin oil. Every other source counts toward the same total.
Does this limit apply to candles or soap?
No. This is Category 4, fine fragrance on skin. Other products sit in other IFRA categories with other limits, which these pages and the calculator do not cover.