Here’s a short summary on what dipropylene glycol (DPG) is, and why there’s absolutely no point in adding it to your products if you only purchase and create using liquids.
First…a bit about perfume making process.
When we create fragrances for you, for use in your candles, wax melts, perfume, soap…anything that you want to add fragrance to, that needs to be pourable.
What people often don’t realize, is that behind the scenes, in order to create these wonderful blends, we use a lot of raw material that are naturally powders. Whenever you see us list vanillin as an ingredient in our fragrances, like Asian Garden, that’s a powder. Varamoss, which gives off mossy woodsy notes, that’s also a powder. Same thing with raw materials like Ambrox Supper, which gives off amber, woodsy and musky notes…also a powder!
When we buy these, they essentially come in jars that look like powdered sugar. If you’ve ever tried mixing powders with liquids - you know that it can be a hassle and they sometimes don’t perfectly blend (think of Nestle Nesquick with cold milk), it just sits there.
So, how do we make them dissolve? In order to make them pourable, you add powders to DPG and let them blend at low speeds until they’re incorporated. Now, you have a liquid that binds with other liquids, and it allows us to provide fragrance oil in liquid form for you to use at ease.
The thing is, for makers who look at a SDS sheet that happens to have a fragrance that includes a lot of powders, like vanillin, or Ethyl Menthol, Ambrox, etc. that will end up having a lot of DPG in the formula, but only because it takes the solvent to turn the powders into a liquid.
Rumors have been starting to float that DPG is this secret ingredient that no one is telling you about which helps fragrances project, last longer, etc. and unfortunately, that’s simply not true.
It’s a SOLVENT and its only purpose is to be stirred into powders to make them pourable.
There’s absolutely no need, under any circumstances, to make DPG manufactures extra happy by buying it and just pouring it into your perfume. You’re just diluting your final product with no benefit.