Labeling Candles, Reed Diffusers and Room Sprays: EU, GB and US

This is a map of what applies, not legal advice. Classification of a specific mixture is a technical job: do it with a competent person or service, from your materials' safety data sheets.

Why these labels look different from a perfume's

A perfume is a cosmetic, labeled with an ingredient list under cosmetics law (see perfume label requirements). A candle or diffuser is a mixture of chemicals sold to the public, so the questions change: is it flammable, is it harmful if swallowed, does it contain skin sensitizers above a threshold, and is it a fire risk in use? The answers come from the classification of the whole mixture, which depends on the fragrance and the base together.

EU and Great Britain

CLP hazard labels

Under the CLP Regulation (and its retained version in Great Britain, administered separately), a mixture supplied to the public that is classified as hazardous carries a label with:

• the product identifier and, for a mixture, the substances that drive certain classifications;
• the supplier's name, address and telephone number;
• the nominal quantity, for packages sold to the general public;
• hazard pictograms, a signal word ("Warning" or "Danger"), hazard statements and precautionary statements;
• a unique formula identifier (UFI) for mixtures classified for health or physical hazards, linking to the information submitted to poison centers.

Two features catch home fragrance makers most often:

• Sensitizer statements. A mixture that contains a skin sensitizer above a set threshold — 0.1% for most, 0.01% for the strongest (Category 1A), or a tenth of a substance's specific concentration limit — without being classified as a sensitizer itself, must carry "Contains [name]. May produce an allergic reaction." Many fragrance materials and essential oils are sensitizers, so many candles and diffusers carry this line.
• Classification as a sensitizer. Above the classification threshold, the whole product is classified (with a pictogram and "May cause an allergic skin reaction") — a reason to look at load and materials together.

CLP was revised by Regulation (EU) 2024/2865, which added rules on label format and legibility; the dates from which some of those rules apply were later amended. Check the current consolidated text before redesigning a label.

Child-resistant fastenings and tactile warnings

CLP Annex II requires child-resistant fastenings on packaging, of any capacity, for mixtures supplied to the general public that are classified for certain hazards — including acute toxicity categories 1 to 3 and aspiration hazard (unless sold as an aerosol or with a sealed spray attachment). A tactile warning of danger is required for a wider list, including aspiration hazard and flammable liquids of categories 1 and 2 (again with an exemption for aerosols and sealed sprays that are classified only for aspiration hazard). For a reed diffuser in a hydrocarbon-rich base, that typically means a child-resistant cap and a raised triangle on the bottle; for an alcohol room spray in a pump bottle, a tactile warning. Which hazards your liquid has is the classification question above; flammability categories are explained in perfume flash point.

Candles: product safety labels

Candles are covered by general product safety law. The European standard EN 15494 specifies safety information for indoor candles and how to display it — a set of pictograms and warnings such as never leaving a burning candle unattended and keeping it away from things that can catch fire — with which items apply depending on the candle type. EN 15493 covers candle fire safety itself. These standards are the usual way to show a candle's warnings meet the expected level of safety; a scented candle may also need the CLP elements above.

United States

FHSA cautionary labeling

Household products are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, not the FDA. Under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act, a product that is toxic, corrosive, an irritant, a strong sensitizer, flammable or combustible — and may cause substantial injury in foreseeable use, including ingestion by children — must carry, on the immediate container:

• a signal word (DANGER, WARNING or CAUTION, or POISON where required);
• the principal hazard (for example "FLAMMABLE");
• the common or chemical name of the hazardous component;
• precautionary measures, first aid where needed, and handling and storage instructions;
• "Keep out of reach of children" or equivalent;
• the name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, distributor or seller.

Flammability under the FHSA is defined by flash point with its own thresholds — extremely flammable at or below 20 °F, flammable above 20 °F and below 100 °F, combustible from 100 °F up to 150 °F — which differ from the transport and GHS figures.

Child-resistant packaging for hydrocarbons

Under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act, a rule adopted in 2001 requires child-resistant packaging for non-emulsion liquid household products that are hazardous substances, contain 10% or more hydrocarbons by weight, and have a low viscosity (under 100 Saybolt Universal Seconds at 100 °F) — the aspiration risk again. Self-pressurized sprays are excluded. Check the current text at 16 CFR 1700.14 against your diffuser liquid.

Candles and other rules

• ASTM F2058 is the US standard specification for candle fire-safety labeling, widely used by the industry.
• Net quantity on household consumer products is regulated under the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act as it applies to non-FDA products.
• California Proposition 65 may require a warning if a product exposes people to a listed chemical; see OEHHA's Proposition 65 site.

Product by product

What you need in your records

Classification starts from data: the safety data sheet of every material and base, the formula with its exact percentages, and the fragrance's own composition (which you know if you composed it, or obtain from your supplier's SDS if you did not). Keep the classification, the label text and the formula version together, so that a formula change triggers a label check. The REACH and CLP duties of selling the fragrance oil itself are in REACH and CLP for fragrance oils; the products are covered in home fragrance formulation and, for diffusers, reed diffuser formula.

Sources

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP), Annex II sections 2.8 (sensitizer statement), 3.1 (child-resistant fastenings) and 3.2 (tactile warnings); Annex II text checked October 10, 2026.
• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EU) 2024/2865, revising CLP; checked October 10, 2026 (link format).
• US CPSC — FHSA requirements: definition of a hazardous substance, flammability thresholds, label elements; checked October 10, 2026.
• eCFR — 16 CFR 1700.14, substances requiring special packaging; the hydrocarbon provision was adopted in 2001 (66 FR 53951); checked October 10, 2026 (link format).

Cleaning products follow detergent law as well as CLP, including allergen labeling above 0.01%; see fragrance for cleaning products. Car fresheners are covered in car air freshener fragrance.

Frequently asked questions

Does a candle need an ingredient list like a perfume?

Not under cosmetics law, because it is not a cosmetic. It may need named hazardous components and allergen statements under CLP, which is a different list for a different purpose.

Can I use my supplier's label for a diffuser made with their oil?

Only if you sell their oil unchanged. Once you dilute it in a base, the mixture is yours and its classification changes; the base can add hazards (aspiration, flammability) that the oil alone did not have.

Is a child-resistant cap needed on every reed diffuser?

No — only when the liquid's classification (EU and GB) or composition and viscosity (US) triggers it. Many hydrocarbon-based diffusers do; many glycol-ether or water-based ones do not. Classify first.