Fragrance Longevity and Proper Storage
Do fragrance oils expire? Understanding how fragrances work will help you get the most out of them and avoid waste. Fragrance oils are non-polar substances, which are made of molecules that have low to no electronegativity. This means they don’t mix with water. Water is essential to support life, which is where bacteria, mold, and fungus growth come in. But substances without water, like fragrance oils, cannot support this growth. As such, a fragrance oil will never go moldy or rotten like food or plant matter would. You could leave a fragrance oil on a shelf for decades and find it mold-free!
They are oils, which deteriorate in a unique way. As oils are exposed to the atmosphere, heat, and UV light, they oxidize—the process by which an atom or molecule loses electrons in a chemical reaction. When this happens, oils go rancid. If you’ve ever kept a bottle of vegetable oil for too long, you’ll know what I mean by rancid. Even though you won’t see any mold growth, its color and odor start to change. Many describe the odor as waxy, like crayons, or even metallic.
Fragrance oils are very different from oils like the ones you’d find in your kitchen, so they won’t go rancid, but they will oxidize. This change in their molecular structure will cause them to smell “off” and change color. When this happens, they may cause performance problems in your products. At the very least, they’ll smell off.
To get the most out of your fragrances, store them away from anything that would speed up oxidization. Keep them in their original containers and only measure out what you need at a given time. Seal them tightly and store them away from any heat sources and/or UV light.
When Should You Replace Your Oils?
So, fragrances won’t go moldy or rancid, but over the years, you may start to notice them smelling a little different even if you follow all the proper storage methods. We recommend using our fragrances within a year or two of purchasing them, as their aroma will change slowly over time. Generally, if the oil smells the same years after you bought it, it’ll still be just fine to use.
To avoid wasting fragrance oil that has potentially gone bad over the years, it helps to keep track of inventory so you know how quickly you go through raw materials. Make sure to note the date you received and opened each of your fragrances. Knowing how much fragrance you need to have on hand at any given moment to stock product inventory or fulfill orders will save you a lot of trouble in the long run—both from running out of fragrance or having too much of it.
