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Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil

Rosemary oil

Depends on youEssential oilfragranceantioxidantmasking

Genuinely relevant for some people, or depends on dose and pH.

Also written as: Rosemary Oil · Salvia Rosmarinus Leaf Oil · Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Oil

What it is

Rosemary leaf oil is steam-distilled from Rosmarinus officinalis, now botanically reclassified as Salvia rosmarinus. Depending on chemotype it is rich in 1,8-cineole, camphor, alpha-pinene and limonene. It should not be confused with rosemary leaf extract, which contains the antioxidants carnosic acid and rosmarinic acid and behaves quite differently.

How it shows up on a label

Camphor-rich chemotypes are the ones aromatherapy practice keeps away from infants and young children; this caution comes from inhalation exposure rather than from cosmetic skin contact.

What it does well

  • Contributes mild antioxidant activity

    Rosemary compounds scavenge free radicals in laboratory tests, though the non-volatile extract is a far better antioxidant than the essential oil. At fragrance levels the contribution is small.

    Limited evidence

Worth knowing

  • Contains several declared allergens even though the oil itself is not listed

    Rosemary oil is not named in the EU fragrance-allergen list, but its limonene, linalool, camphor and pinene content can push those individual substances over the labelling threshold. Camphor and pinene both joined the list under Regulation (EU) 2023/1545.

    Matters most toPeople with a terpene or fragrance allergy who are checking labels.

Where the EU stands

No specific restriction

Rosemary leaf oil is not listed in Annex II or on the Annex III fragrance-allergen labelling list, so there is no maximum concentration and no direct labelling obligation. That holds under the newer botanical name as well: neither Rosmarinus nor Salvia appears anywhere in the annexes. Individual constituents must still be declared once they exceed the thresholds, and four of them have their own entries: Linalool at 84, Limonene at 88, Camphor at 331 and Pinene at 371, the last two added by Regulation (EU) 2023/1545.

Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009 - no annex entry under Rosmarinus officinalis or its current name Salvia rosmarinus; the constituents named are Annex III entries 84 (Linalool), 88 (Limonene), 331 (Camphor) and 371 (Pinene) · source ↗

Masks that contain Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil