CandleScience Clean Scents™ Exclusion List

The standards for CandleScience Clean Scents™ are the most comprehensive, rigorous standards in the fragrance industry. You may already be familiar with our exclusion of phthalates, but we also exclude many other chemicals with similar health concerns.  

The chemicals listed below are ingredients often found in a fragrance that CandleScience Clean Scents™ will never contain. Due to the extensive number of exclusions, not every ingredient is listed. If you have concerns about a specific chemical not listed and want to verify it is excluded, please write in to our support team. 

Phthalates are esters of Phthalic acid and are used to dissolve raw materials when making fragrance oils. They have been used for decades in a myriad of pharmaceuticals, household, and industrial products.

• Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)
• Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
• Diethyl phthalate (DEP)
• Diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP)
• Diisononyl phthalate (DINP)
• Dimethyl phthalate (DMP)

• Ambergris
• Castoreum oil
• Civet oil

These ingredients are flagged for potential acute and reproductive hazards and are banned by the FDA. 

• Cloflucarban
• Fluorosalan
• Hexachlorophene
• Hexylresorcinol
• Iodine complex (ammonium ether sulfate and
• polyoxyethylene sorbitan monolaurate)
• Iodine complex (phosphate ester of alkylaryloxy
• polyethylene glycol)
• Methylbenzethonium chloride
• Methylisothiazolinone
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Nonylphenoxypoly (ethyleneoxy) ethanoliodine
• Oxychlorosene sodium
• Poloxamer-iodine complex
• Secondary amyltricresols
• Tribromsalan
• Triclocarban
• Triclosan
• Undecoylium chloride iodine complex

• 1,3-Dibromo-2-methoxy-4-methyl-5-nitrobenzene (Musk KS)
• 1,3-Dibromo-2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-6-methyl-benzene
• 1,3-Dibromo-2-methoxy-4-nitro-5-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-6-methyl-benzene (Musk alpha)
• 2-Pentylidene cyclohexanone
• 2,2-Dichloro-1-methylcyclopropylbenzene
• 2,4-Dienals
• 2,4-Dihydroxy-3-methylbenzaldehyde
• 2,4-Dodecadien-1-ol
• 2,4-Hexadien-1-ol
• 3- and 4-(4-Hydroxy-4-methylpentyl)
• cyclohex-3-ene-1-carbaldehyde (Lyral)
• 3-Bromo-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo[2.2.1]heptane-2-one
• 3-Methyl-2(3)-nonenenitrile (Citgrenile)
• 3,7-Dimethyl-2-octen-1-ol
• 4-Methyl-7-ethoxycoumarin (Maraniol)
• 4,6-Dimethyl-8-tert-butylcoumarin (Butolia)
• 6-Isopropyl-2-decalol (Decatol)
• 6-Methylcoumarin (Toncarine)
• 7-Methoxycoumarin
• 7-Methylcoumarin
• Acetyl ethyl tetramethyl tetralin (AETT, Versalide)
• Acetyl isovaleryl (5-Methyl-2,3-hexanedione)
• Alantroot oil (Elecampane oil)
• Allyl heptine carbonate
• Allyl isothiocyanate
• alpha-Methyl anisylidene acetone (1-(4-
• Methoxyphenyl)-1-penten-3-one)
• Amber dioxane (Karanal)
• Ammonium nonadecafluorodecanoate
• Ammonium pentadecafluorooctanoate
• Ammonium perfluorononanoate
• Ammonium perfluorooctane sulfonate;
• Ammonium heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate
• Amylcyclopentenone
• Anisylidene acetone (4-(p-methoxyphenyl)-3-
• butene-2-one)
• Benzene
• Benzyl cyanide
• Benzylidene acetone (4-Phenyl-3-buten-2-one)
• Birch wood pyrolysate (Crude)
• Boldo oil
• Bromostyrene
• butane-2,3-dione (diacetyl)
• Cade oil - Juniperus oxycedrus L. (Crude)
• Carvone oxide
• Chenopodium oil
• Cinnamylidene acetone
• cis-and trans-Asarone ((E)-and(Z)-2,4,5-Trimethoxypropen-1-yl benzene)
• Colophony
• Costus root oil, absolute and concrete
• Cresol (mixed isomers)
• Cyclamen alcohol (3-(4-Isopropylphenyl)-2-methylpropanol)
• D&C Yellow #11
• Diethyl maleate
• Diethylene glycol monomethyl ether
• Dimethyl citraconate
• Diphenylamine
• Esters of 2-nonynoic acid, (Except Methyl octine carbonate)
• Esters of 2-octynoic acid (Except Methyl heptine carbonate which is IFRA Restricted)
• Ethyl acrylate
• Ethyl methacrylate
• Ethyl non-2-enoate
• Ethylene glycol monoethyl ether and its Acetate
• Ethylene glycol monomethyl Ether and its
• Acetate
• Fig leaf absolute
• Formaldehyde
• Furfural
• Furfuryl alcohol
• Furfurylidene acetone
• Geranyl nitrile
• Hexahydrocoumarin
• Hydroabietyl alcohol, dihydroabietyl alcohol
• Hydroquinone monoethyl ether (4-ethoxy-Phenol)
• Hydroquinone monomethyl ether (4-methoxy-Phenol)
• Iodoform (Triidomethane)
• Isobutyl­paraben
• Isophorone
• Isopropy­lparaben
• Lithium perfluorooctane sulfonate; lithium
• heptadecafluorooctanesulfonate
• m-Cresol
• m-Phenylen­ediamine and its salts
• Massoia bark oil
• Massoia lactone
• Mercury
• Methoxydiglycol
• Methyl crotonate
• Methyl methacrylate
• Methyl Salicylate
• Methylene glycol
• Moskene (1,1,3,3,5-Pentamethyl-4,6-dinitroindane)
• Musk ambrette
• Musk ketone
• Musk tibetene (1-tert-Butyl-2,6-dinitro-3,4,5-trimethylbenzene)
• Musk Xylene
• Nitrobenzene
• Nonadecafluorodecanoic acid
• o-Cresol
• o-Phenylen­ediamine and its salts
• p-Cresol
• p-Methylhydrocinnamic aldehyde
• p-tert-Butylphenol
• Paraform­aldehyde
• Perfluorononanoic acid Perfluorooctane
• sulfonate (PFOS); heptadecafluorooctane-1-sulfonic acid
• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Peru balsam crude
• Phenyl acetone (Methyl benzyl ketone)
• Phenyl benzoate
• Pseudo Methylionones
• Pseudoionone (2,6-Dimethylundeca-2,6,8-trien-10-one)
• Quaternium-15
• Quinoline
• Safrole, Isosafrole, Dihydrosafrole
• Santolina oil
• Savin oil (Juniperus Sabina L.)
• Sodium heptadecafluorononanoate
• Sodium nonadecafluorodecanoate
• Styrax (Crude)
• Tobacco leaf absolute (Nicotiana affinia)
• Tobacco oil/extracts
• Toluene
• trans-2-Heptenal
• trans-2-Hexenal diethyl acetal
• trans-2-Hexenal dimethyl acetal
• Verbena oil
• Xylene

Whew! Is that a long list of long words or what?! Now that you're in the know about the ingredients CandleScience Clean Scents™ excludes, learn more about this industry-changing initiative and what it took to get here.