Why Idoine Chooses Essential Oils Over Natural Fragrances

When Scent Becomes Skincare: Understanding Our Choice of Active Ingredients

At Idoine, every ingredient is selected with great care — for its origin, its benefits, its safety, and its environmental impact. That’s why we’ve made a clear decision: to use only therapeutic-grade essential oils, and never to include fragrances, even those labeled “natural.”

But why reject something that seems “natural”?

1. A misleading sense of naturalness

The term “natural fragrance” is often vague and misleading. It can refer to blends of plant-based extracts that have been chemically modified, diluted with solvents, or standardized with synthetic molecules. This lack of transparency makes it hard to assess their safety — especially for sensitive skin.

2. Essential oils: real active ingredients for your skin

Essential oils are far more than just pleasant scents. They are powerful concentrates of bioactive molecules. Even at very low percentages (often under 1%), they deliver real results: soothing, purifying, toning, repairing, or stimulating circulation, depending on their molecular composition.

Why give up such highly effective skincare ingredients for a fragrance — even a “natural” one — that offers no benefit to your skin?

3. A choice guided by science and transparency

Unlike synthetic or so-called natural fragrances — whose formulas are often trade secrets — essential oils are clearly identified, traceable, and well-documented. We know exactly what molecules they contain and how they will interact with your skin. This is key to creating safe, effective formulas you can trust.

4. Local and responsible choices

At Idoine, we use only undenatured essential oils, extracted through respectful distillation methods. Whenever possible, we source locally. Labrador tea and balsam poplar, for example, come from Quebec and offer remarkable soothing and anti-inflammatory properties — along with a soft, woody scent that’s naturally therapeutic.