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Aldehydes are a family of reactive, organic compounds that occur in natural products like cinnamon bark (cinnamaldehyde) and vanilla bean (vanillin), and also can be manufactured in laboratories.
Some aldehyde compounds, for example formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, are common building blocks to make other chemicals used in resins, perfumes, dyes and organic acids.
Aldehydes are present in many organic materials, everything from rose, citronella, vanilla and orange rind. Scientists also can create these compounds synthetically to use as ingredients for sweet-smelling perfumes and colognes. In 1921, for example, Russian perfumer Ernest Beaux created Chanel No. 5, which contained a mix of aromatic aldehydes and popularized their use in perfumes.
Aldehydes are versatile compounds that can help make resins, dyes and organic acids, as well as perfumes for cologne, detergents and soaps. Of all aldehydes, formaldehyde is produced industrially on the largest scale. Formaldehyde is known for its preservative and anti-bacterial properties, and formaldehyde-based chemistry also is a component in a range of products, including composite and engineered wood products in building and construction.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates fragrance products, including perfume, cologne and aftershave. According to the FDA, fragrance ingredients in cosmetics must be safe when used according to directions on the label, or as people customarily use them. The Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), an independent expert scientific panel established by the Personal Care Products Council, has information and studies on the safety of fragrances, and other cosmetic ingredients, that it has reviewed available online.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulates consumer products, including many products that may contain fragrance ingredients but are not applied directly to skin, such as laundry detergents, fabric softeners and room fresheners. To help protect product safety, CPSC can issue and enforce mandatory standards or consumer product bans.
Because some aldehydes are volatile, flammable liquids, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set permissible exposure limits (PELs) for different aldehyde compounds to help protect workers who come into contact with aldehydes in occupational settings.
Aldehydes are sweet-smelling compounds that are found in plants like rose and citronella. When these compounds are added as an ingredient in products like perfume, cologne and even laundry detergent, they help add a sweet or fresh scent. Aldehydes were first popularized as an ingredient in perfumes in 1921, when Ernest Beaux created Chanel No. 5.
Aldehydes are organic compounds, in which a carbon atom shares a double bond with an oxygen atom, a single bond with a hydrogen atom, and a single bond with another atom or group of atoms (designated R in general chemical formulas and structure diagrams). These compounds help create fragrances for products like perfume, laundry detergent and soap.
Aldehydes can be created as by-products in important drinking water disinfection processes, particularly in ozonation. To protect drinking water from potential contaminants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) evaluates substances that may be in drinking water by developing Contaminant Candidate Lists (CCL) and issuing Regulatory Determinations as needed.
