PerfuMate › IFRA limits › Tagetes oil
How much Tagetes oil can you put in a perfume?
IFRA standard: Tagetes oil and absolute · Category 4, 51st Amendment
0.01%
of the finished perfume, at most
Under the IFRA Standards (51st Amendment, Category 4: fine fragrance on skin), Tagetes oil may make up at most 0.01% of the finished perfume. In an eau de parfum at 18%, that is at most 0.0555% of your concentrate: 0.0555% 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 Tagetes oil its concentrate can hold. If nothing else in the formula carries it:
| Perfume strength | Most Tagetes oil in the concentrate |
|---|---|
| Cologne, 5% | 0.2% |
| Eau de toilette, 10% | 0.1% |
| 15% | 0.0666% |
| Eau de parfum, 18% | 0.0555% |
| 20% | 0.05% |
| Extrait, 25% | 0.04% |
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.
Tagetes erecta may not be used at all; only Tagetes patula and Tagetes minuta may.
Which materials contain Tagetes oil?
Sold as Tagetes oil itself, counted in full:
A worked example
A 100 g concentrate, bottled as an eau de parfum at 18%:
| Material | Weighed |
|---|---|
| Tagetes Absolute | 0.083 g |
| Ethylene Brassylate no IFRA limit | 99.917 g |
Tagetes Absolute brings 0.0149% Tagetes oil to the finished perfume, against a limit of 0.01%: 1.49 times the limit. To bring it inside on its own, the calculator cuts Tagetes Absolute from 0.083 g to 0.056 g. Or keep the formula and bottle it weaker: the highest strength inside every limit is 12.04%.
Or paste these lines into the calculator:
Tagetes Absolute 0.083 g Ethylene Brassylate 99.917 g
Questions
Is Tagetes oil banned in perfume?
No. IFRA restricts it: at most 0.01% of a fine fragrance (Category 4).
How much Tagetes oil can I use in an eau de parfum?
At 18%, at most 0.0555% of the concentrate, if nothing else in the formula carries Tagetes 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.