In our everyday life, most of the products like dettol, izal, hair cream, body cream, toothpaste, bar and liquid soap, beverage, conditioner, relaxer, vaseline, body wash, sanitizer, air freshener, detergent, shampoo and snacks we make use of in our homes, offices, saloons hospitals,resturants, schools and factories have some pleasant scents in them. this pleasant scent is refers to as perfumes, fragrance, flavour, or aroma, depending on the product type.This is to tell us that perfumes are used both in foods and inthings:for instance, you can spray perfumeon your skin, rooms, pets, laundries, clothes or add flovour to your cake, ice cream, sandwich, biscuit,and chocolate. Different foods have thier ownfragrancesin them,when it comes to foods the type of perfumesused inthemis called flavouror spice. this is not the same as the one we wear on our bodies.

What is perfume?

Perfume is simply the mixture of alcohol and fragrant essential oils extracted from flowers, leaves, stembarks,seeds,bud,roots,resin and petals or synthetically, used especially to ignite pleasant long lasting scent to the body. Wearing of perfume is another aspect of fashion or make-up for both males and females, this is because everyone wants to be noticed and envied by others which creates self esteem and in turn build self confident.

My reason for putting up this article is to help the present and upcoming generation in job creation ( self employment) especially in a society where there is hardly job opportunities for the rapid growing population. Perfumes can be manufactured both at home and at the laboratory just with a little sum of money . Perfume production enables one to have a choice of fragrance ( essential oil) to experiment with, most especially when producing the perfume for oneself or a friend’s birthday party. Also, it allows buyers to directly depend on you since you are the one that have the knowledge of the perfume formula. This process is very simple and cost low.

 

Why do people wear perfumes?

Number one reason why we wear perfumes is because it makes us happy, this is dependent on individual motive other reasons why we wear (spray) perfumes are:

– Perfumes awakenmemories,for instance a particular fragrance could remind us of some similar fragrances in foods like chocolate,clothes, or environments we’ve come across before especially when we were a bit younger.

-It builds a better relationship with people around you, it triggers memories andhelpspeople to remember you when you are not around them for a longer time.

– Perfumes help to relax or calm our minds through massage,shower-bath with the use of fragrance which in turn help us to get rid of the stress we had during the day.

– It helps to reflect our unique personality by creating self esteem and afeeling of attractiveness.

What makes most perfumes to last longer than others ?

What makes most perfumes to last longer than others are as a result of:

1. Skin type: perfumes evaporatefaster on dry skin because of lack of oil which the perfume needs to absorb into the skin,this can be corrected by using unscented moisturizer ( petroleum jelly or jojoba oil before applying perfume on the skin

2. Concentration: the higher the alcoholic content, the less the fragrance;while the higher the concentration, the more the fragrance, for instance, a body spray would be of less concentration than an “eau de toilette”.

3. Notes: most fragrances have top, middle and base notes. These notes are scent with different molecular weights that appears at different rates whenapplied to the skin.

(a.) Top notes:– The top notes usually contain anti viral properties and it provides the first scent impression of fragrance once it is applied to the skin;it is usually higher with amore volatile aromathat evaporates easily. The scent sometimes last for about 5-20minutes. Example of top notes are: citrus (orange, lemon and grape fruit), berries, sage, lavender, rosemary andpine among others.

(b). Middle notes:– These areblends of warm and softfragrances,theytakea little longer to be noticed at thestart. theyusually take10-30 minutes before developing on the skin than the top notes they are often refers to as medium or heart notes, these show up after the top notehasdisapeared. Examples of middle notes include: geranium, rose, lemon grass, Eucalyptus, frankincense, cinnamon,peppermint, basil, ylang ylang, jasmine, cider wood, coriander among others.

(c). Base notes:– These are the final scents or the full body of the perfume to developand they lastlonger, they are regardedas heavy oil; they arealso known as ‘fixatives‘ because theyhelpother scents to last longer by helping to slow down the evaporation rates of the higher notes – giving the fragrance a holding . Example of base notes are;vanilla, cassia, myrrh,amber,oak moss, cerderwood,sandal woodand musk.

 

Side Effects of perfumes on humans.

1. It could cause skin irritation, running eyes and nose

2. The symptoms are greater especially on asthmatic patients who are expose to the fumes.

3. It could cause sneezing,headache, and vomiting

4. It could cause dermitities- a condition in which the skin becomes red,sore or inflammed after direct contact with chemicals.

5. It could cause bees to easily stink when they perceive the scent. So do not go near bees when wearing a perfume

 

Chemicals for perfume manufacturing

* Methanol, 1/2 litre

* Ethanol, 1/2 litre

* Essential oils (vanilla,geranium, rose or lavender, jojoba oil, sweet almond oil,cinnamon Or clove.),10 drops.

 

Steps on how to make perfume

1. Measure methanol and Ethanol in a bottle

2. Add any of the essential oil of your choice. You can use more than 10 drops essential oil.

3. Shake well and filter it with a chiffon cloth.

4. Pour into a spray bottle and use it whenever you want.

Note: Be sure to filter your perfume and to use clean containers. You don’t want to introduce bacteria, fungi, or mold into your perfume, nor encourage their growth. Many essential oils inhibit microbial growth, so this is less of a concern with perfume, but it becomes more of a concern if you dilute the perfume to make cologne.