Personal Protective Equipment for Fragrance Oil

A quick blog on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Do you wear PPE while handling fragrance oils or essential oil whilst making your wax melts or candles ?

All concentrated fragrance oils and essential oils are hazardous. You can see this by looking at section 2 of the SDS (safety data sheet). It is important that you read and retain a copy of the SDS for each product that you purchase and use for your business. 

It is a good idea to wear something over your clothing while you are working with hazardous materials. We recommend a lab coat, warehouse coat or similar and a plastic apron. Eye protection should be worn such as safety spectacles or goggles, depending on the product in use. It is also advisable to have an eye wash as part of a basic first aid kit. You should work in a well ventilated room and wear a mask suitable for protection against oil vapours. Disposable gloves to protect your hands are essential. Gloves are made out of different materials and offer different levels of protection. Household rubber gloves are made out of latex rubber which is natural. These are not designed to be as strong against puncturing, tearing or as chemical resistant as nitrile gloves which are a synthetic rubber. Chemicals can get through household rubber gloves much quicker than they can with nitrile gloves so make sure you use nitrile gloves.  Nitrile gloves tend to be less bulky than household gloves which helps with dexterity whilst working.

If you have employees it is your responsibility to provide your employees with the appropriate PPE and ensure that they wear the appropriate protection whilst working.

Heres a link to the current regulations 

If you are looking for advice on PPE and would like to purchase it in one place, here is a link to the company we use. Jeff is very knowledgeable and provides a great service.