Pine resinoid

Fresh pine resin, dry wood, balsam. A bright terpenic opening that dries to a slightly smoky, wood dust character.

Colophony (rosin, the solid left after distilling pine oleoresin) has been prohibited by IFRA as a fragrance ingredient since 2006. Pine oleoresin consists of a volatile part, turpentine, and a non-volatile part made mostly of the resin acids of colophony. A resinoid made from pine oleoresin therefore needs supplier confirmation of its IFRA status before use.

Turpentine (Pinus spp.) is on the EU fragrance allergen list under Regulation 2023/1545, with a peroxide value below 10 mmol/L. The IFRA standard "Pinacea derivatives" (1994) also requires peroxides to be kept as low as practicable.

Store dark, sealed and cool.

Pine oleoresin is collected by tapping cuts in the trunk of living pines. The exudate is an oleoresin: turpentine oil dissolved in resin acids. On distillation, turpentine comes over; the solid residue is colophony, also called rosin.

The resin industry is large in China, Brazil and Indonesia. Vietnam also taps resin from Merkus pine, Pinus merkusii, and Khasi pine, Pinus kesiya. Portugal was once a major European source.

A resinoid is the solvent extract of dried resin or oleoresin. In perfumery, pine resinoid is a minor material. It gives a dry, slightly smoky resin note for incense, woody and leather structures.

The key point is regulation. Colophony is a well documented contact allergen in dermatology and is prohibited by IFRA as a fragrance ingredient. Its abietic acid oxidises readily into more strongly sensitising products.

Before using a pine resinoid, IFRA documentation for the specific lot is therefore needed from the supplier. Trade names vary, and not every product called pine resinoid has the same composition.