Production of Perfume from Raw Materials to the finished product – This article will guide you on the methods or techniques used for the production of perfumes from the raw materials (extraction products) to the finished product (available for usage). Kindly follow the steps below to guide you on production processes of all kinds of perfumes both oil perfume and other related ones.

Production of Perfume from Raw Materials to the finished product

A perfume is a fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils extracted from flowers and spices, used to give a pleasant smell to one’s body.

Raw materials used for the production of perfume

Natural ingredients—flowers, grasses, spices, fruit, wood, roots, resins, balsams, leaves, gums, and animal secretions—as well as resources like alcohol, petrochemicals, coal, and coal tars are used in the manufacture of perfumes. Some plants, such as lily of the valley, do not produce oils naturally.

Methods Used in Perfume Production from the raw materials to the finished products

Collection

1 Before the manufacturing process begins, the initial ingredients must be brought to the manufacturing center. Plant substances are harvested from around the world, often hand-picked for their fragrance. Animal products are obtained by extracting the fatty substances directly from the animal. Aromatic chemicals used in synthetic perfumes are created in the laboratory by perfume chemists.

Extraction

Oils are extracted from plant substances by several methods: steam distillation, solvent extraction, enfleurage, maceration, and expression.

2 In steam distillation, steam is passed through plant material held in a still, whereby the essential oil turns to gas. This gas is then passed through tubes, cooled, and liquified. Oils can also be extracted by boiling plant substances like flower petals in water instead of steaming them.
3 Under solvent extraction, flowers are put into large rotating tanks or drums and benzene or a petroleum ether is poured over the flowers, extracting the essential oils. The flower parts dissolve in the solvents and leave a waxy material that contains the oil, which is then placed in ethyl alcohol. The oil dissolves in the alcohol and rises. Heat is used to evaporate the alcohol, which once fully burned off, leaves a higher concentration of the perfume oil on the bottom.

Oils are extracted from plant substances by steam disfillation, solvent extraction, enfleurage, maceration, or expression.
Oils are extracted from plant substances by steam disfillation, solvent extraction, enfleurage, maceration, or expression.

4 During enfleurage, flowers are spread on glass sheets coated with grease. The glass sheets are placed between wooden frames in tiers. Then the flowers are removed by hand and changed until the grease has absorbed their fragrance.
5 Maceration is similar to enfleurage except that warmed fats are used to soak up the flower smell. As in solvent extraction, the grease and fats are dissolved in alcohol to obtain the essential oils.
6 Expression is the oldest and least complex method of extraction. By this process, now used in obtaining citrus oils from the rind, the fruit or plant is manually or mechanically pressed until all the oil is squeezed out.

It is the ratio of alcohol to scent that determines perfume, eau de toilette, and cologne.
It is the ratio of alcohol to scent that determines perfume, eau de toilette, and cologne.

Blending

7 Once the perfume oils are collected, they are ready to be blended together according to a formula determined by a master in the field, known as a “nose.” It may take as many as 800 different ingredients and several years to develop the special formula for a scent.

After the scent has been created, it is mixed with alcohol. The amount of alcohol in a scent can vary greatly. Most full perfumes are made of about 10-20% perfume oils dissolved in alcohol and a trace of water. Colognes contain approximately 3-5% oil diluted in 80-90% alcohol, with water making up about 10%. Toilet water has the least amount—2% oil in 60-80% alcohol and 20% water.

We hope this guides you towards a successful preparation or production of perfume