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Bitter Orange Oil
Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Peel Oil
Cold-pressed bitter-orange peel oil. Like bergamot and lime, it can cause a rash on skin that then sees sun.
What it does
It’s an oil pressed from bitter-orange peel, which a 2024 review names among the citrus fruits that carry furocoumarins, compounds that can cause a burn-like rash on skin that then sees sun. It’s different from sweet orange oil. Keep it to night use and off skin that will see sun.
The EU’s ingredient database lists it as a skin conditioner, its general term for an ingredient that keeps skin in good condition.European Commission, CosIng (© European Union, CC BY 4.0) · uses put in plain words by Drop ↗
The evidence, graded
expert consensusBergamot, lemon, lime, bitter orange and parsley contain furocoumarins (psoralens), and so do fig leaves and sap. On skin that then gets sun, these can cause a phototoxic reaction: redness, burning and blisters, then dark marks that can last a year or two. Scented products with such oils can leave dark streaks on the neck, called berloque dermatitis. Avoid them in leave-on products worn by day.Bowers 1999 · American Journal of Contact Dermatitis ↗ expert consensusIn 2023 the EU added more fragrance ingredients to the ones a label must name. Among them are lavender oil and extract, patchouli, rose, ylang-ylang, clove and sandalwood oils, terpineol and methyl salicylate. The EU says its scientific committee found these have clearly caused allergies in people. Labels name them so people who are already allergic can avoid them.EU 2023 · Official Journal of the European Union ↗ Graded per the methodology: strong · moderate · emerging · expert consensus. A weak source on a strong claim gets the weaker label.
Also known as
citrus aurantium amara peel oil
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