PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Hydroxycitronellal
How much Hydroxycitronellal can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Hydroxycitronellal · Category 4, 51st Amendment
2.1%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Hydroxycitronellal may make up at most 2.1% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 11.6% of your concentrate: 11.6% of every 100 g.
Hydroxycitronellal is also one of the EU's declarable fragrance allergens: above 0.001% of a leave-on product it must be named on the label.
What the limit means at your strength
The limit is on the finished perfume, so the stronger the perfume, the less Hydroxycitronellal its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Hydroxycitronellal in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 42% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 21% |
| 15% | 14% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 11.6% |
| 20% | 10.5% |
| Extrait, 25% | 8.4% |
Which materials contain Hydroxycitronellal?
Sold as Hydroxycitronellal itself, counted in full:
It also arrives inside other materials. The limit is on the total, so the calculator adds every source together. The largest carriers in PerfuMate's catalog, by their typical composition:
| Material | Typical content | Alone at 18%, at most |
|---|---|---|
| Lysmerex™ (Fraterworks) | 28% | 41.6% of the concentrate |
| M-Muguet (F-TEC) | 25% | 46.6% of the concentrate |
| Fleurissimo (F-TEC) | 20% | 58.3% of the concentrate |
| Lily (F-TEC) | 20% | 58.3% of the concentrate |
| Naturelle (F-TEC) | 15% | 77.7% of the concentrate |
| True Lily (F-TEC) | 15% | 77.7% of the concentrate |
| Floranol 959281™ (Fraterworks) | 12.5% | 93.3% of the concentrate |
| Olibanum CNC™ (Fraterworks) | 12% | 97.2% of the concentrate |
28 materials in the catalog carry Hydroxycitronellal; the calculator counts every one of them.
Shares are the catalog's typical values. A real batch varies with origin and season, and your supplier's analysis (GC-MS or certificate of analysis) is the real figure.
A worked example
A 100 g concentrate, bottled as an eau de parfum at 18%:
| Material | Weighed |
|---|---|
| Hydroxycitronellal | 18 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 82 g |
Hydroxycitronellal brings 3.24% Hydroxycitronellal to the finished perfume, against a limit of 2.1%: 1.54 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Hydroxycitronellal from 18 g to 10.83 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 11.66%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Hydroxycitronellal 18 g Ethylene Brassylate 82 g
Questions
Is Hydroxycitronellal banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 2.1% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Hydroxycitronellal can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 11.6% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Hydroxycitronellal. 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.