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2007-01-23 19:23:07 · 3 answers · asked by stella 1 in Beauty & Style Other - Beauty & Style

3 answers

The manufacturing process to create a perfume starts with the collection of the ingredients used in the scent. The perfume can be based either on one scent or a combination of hundreds of aromas. Ingredients come from many different sources such as flowers, grasses, spices, fruit, wood or leaves, among others. Only about 2,000 of the 250,000 flowering plant species actually produce oils naturally, so synthetic chemicals are often used to duplicate these smells. Synthetic chemicals are also used to create scents not found in nature. Perfumes can incorporate animal products (e.g. musk comes from male deer), which are often used as fixatives that prolong scent by slowing the evaporation process. Other fixatives used are coal tar, mosses, resins or synthetic chemicals.

After collection, comes extraction of the oils. Several methods are used for extraction.

In steam distillation, steam is used to turn essential oils into gas which is then liquefied. Solvent extraction is when flowers are put into large tanks with benzene or petroleum, dissolving flowers into a waxy material that contains the oil. After being placed in ethyl alcohol, the oil dissolves and rises, then heat is used to evaporate the alcohol leaving a high concentration of perfume oil on the bottom. Enfleurage is when flowers are spread on glass sheets coated with grease, which absorbs the fragrance. Maceration is a similar process in which warmed fats are used to soak up the flower smell. In expression, the oils are simply pressed until all the oil is squeezed out—this is the oldest method of extraction..

Once the oils have been extracted from the ingredients, they are blended together. Once blended, they are mixed with alcohol. The ratio of alcohol to oils varies depending on if a full perfume is being made or if a variation, such as a cologne or toilet water, is being made. Most full perfumes are made of 10-20 percent oil whereas toilet water only has two percent oil.
The next step in manufacturing is aging. Perfume can be aged anywhere from several months to several years after it has been blended. It is continually tested to determine when the desired scent has been achieved. When testing, they are looking for three notes in the scent: top notes, which have tangy smells; central notes that will provide body; and base notes which provide a lasting fragrance.
The collection and extraction of oils can be a very delicate process. Raw materials must be collected in mass quantities just to create a minimal amount of perfume and the extraction of the oils requires precision and a high level of expertise. More and more, manufacturers are relying on synthetic chemicals to create scents, finding it a more economical method, but the manufacturing of fine perfumes is still going strong.

2007-01-23 19:36:26 · answer #1 · answered by kirti u 2 · 0 0

Have a good read here. Interesting and knowledgable.

2007-01-24 03:31:49 · answer #2 · answered by Fish Master 5 · 0 0

will this help?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragrance

2007-01-24 05:15:55 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 0 0

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